Between the commander-in-chief and the paint shop owner,
A strange story of friendship
When he received a summons from General MacArthur's headquarters, Gekkoso founder Heizo Hashimoto decided that this was the end. An investigation into war criminals had begun.
Although he did not go to the battlefield, he continued to make paints throughout the war. These became the backbone of war paintings. It is no wonder that his work contributed greatly to boosting morale.
Recollections from the founder of Gekkoso.
"At that time, we would get letters from our own peers, it was awful. In the end, two people were named as responsible for the war paintings. One was Tsuguharu Foujita, who passed away recently, and he was the head of the painting team. The other person was the paint maker, and they said that he was to blame, so my name was mentioned.
Professor Fujita said he wanted to escape from this Japan. So I went to Professor Genichiro Inokuma and asked for his advice. He told me, "It's all fate. It doesn't matter if people say it's your fault now. Give up, old man." So I made up my mind."
Thus the victorious commander-in-chief of the occupying forces and the defeated Japanese art materials merchant met face to face. However, what came out of MacArthur's mouth was completely contrary to expectations.
"After the war, America brought back a lot of Japanese war paintings to their home country, but they were damaged during transportation. But America didn't have the paints to repair them. I was shocked by this."
The order for paint came from a victorious country that should have been rich in material resources.
"And then MacArthur said, 'You're the only person in the world who continued to make paints during the war. You're a hero.' So I told him, 'You're a hero, because you landed on enemy territory without firing a single shot. Even among the great generals who have gone down in history, there are very few people like that.'
Before World War II, British and French Enog was the only manufacturer to dominate the market, but the fires in the furnaces were extinguished during the war. Gekkoso was the only manufacturer that continued to keep the fires in the furnaces, and continued to develop the product with the utmost in color purity.
Paints produced during the war
The "summons" turned into "business negotiations," and Colonel Kades of GHQ immediately came to the store in person, accompanied by a lieutenant and a second generation Japanese soldier. However, he said he would come back later to collect the payment. The owner of Gekkoso was not happy about this.
"I've never done business where I had to go out and collect money," he protested. A look of murder flashed in the eyes of his attendants. They thought it was presumptuous of a merchant from a defeated country to say such a thing. The colonel said,
"Don't Japanese merchants always come to collect money at the end of the month with a smile on their face?"
This was also refuted.
"It would be nice to have at least one store like this."
Finally, the "hero"'s will prevailed. It was a very courageous attitude at the time of the occupation. The colonel understood that even if a country could be occupied, it could not occupy the traditional spirit of the craftsmen. And, I heard from Matt, the civil affairs chief at Yokosuka Naval Base, that the colonel issued instructions to all civil affairs chiefs of the U.S. military on the same day about how to deal with the craftsmen.
Later, a second-generation Japanese soldier who came to pick up Enog said, "I didn't know the Japanese proverb, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do,' so I couldn't translate well and just kept worrying about whether I was going to be shot or not. I want to spread this short play to all second-generation Japanese soldiers."
When Colonel Kades returned to Japan,
"You're the only friend I made in Japan."
He came all the way to the store to say goodbye, and we shook hands tightly, promising to meet again.
After MacArthur, Lieutenant General Ridgway was posted to Japan. His wife visited Gekkoso on the fourth day after her arrival in Japan. The wife was also an artist, but even in her previous posting in Paris, there were still no decent paints to be found. The reason she came to the shop so early was that she had received the following letter from MacArthur:
"There is one art supply store in Japan that is small but has everything you need."
The lady, who had been very excited about coming to Japan, immediately visited the store and was very impressed, exclaiming, "This is truly the country of art. The country of ukiyo-e."
Mr and Mrs Ridgway and their children
During the war, only "Gekkoso paint" was produced. Therefore, all war documentary paintings were painted with "Gekkoso paint". The history of war documentary paintings is also the history of "Gekkoso paint".
During his lifetime, the owner of Gekkoso left behind these words.
"Young people tend to look down on war paintings, but that's because they don't know the history of painting around the world. No matter which foreign art museum or palace you go to, the most prestigious paintings are those of war. They all tell a sad but glorious story, created with the utmost skill of the time."
