Toshio Yodoi

Toshio Yodoi (淀井 敏夫, Yodoi Toshio, February 15, 1911 – February 14, 2005) was a Japanese sculptor, a pioneer of Japanese modern and contemporary arts. In 1994, he was officially recognized by the Japanese government as a "Person of Cultural Merit;" and in 2001, the Order of Culture was conferred.[1]

Early life

Toshio was born in 1911 in Asago in Hyōgo Prefecture. He was a 1933 graduate of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts.[1]

Honors

Emperor Akihito personally conferred the Order of Culture on sculptor Toshio Yodoi as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi looked on. Only the highest-ranking awards, such as this rare honor, are bestowed personally by the emperor.[2]

• 2001 – Order of Culture.[3]
• 1994 – Person of Cultural Merit.[1]

Notes

1. International Art Institute: Toshio Yodoi, biography
2. Magnier, Mark. "Badges of Honor, Discord; Japan's imperial awards, which often go to bureaucrats, point up its rigid, elitist ways and are in need of new selection criteria, critics say," Los Angeles Times. April 26, 2002.
3. "Cultural Highlights; From the Japanese Press (August 1–October 31, 2001)," Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Japan Foundation Newsletter, Vol. XXIX, No. 2, p. 7.

References

• Yodoi, Toshio. (1997) 彫刻家淀井敏夫の世界展 : 溶け合う形, 自然と人と (Chōkokuka Yodoi Toshio no sekai ten: tokeau katachi, shizen to hito to or Nature and human beings, a fusion of forms: the sculpture of Toshio Yodoi). Tokyo: Setagaya Bijutsukan. OCLC 46715855