Azechi Umetaro

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Umetaro Azechi was born in 1902 in Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku. For someone who intended to pursue a career as an artist, Umetaro's life began with two disadvantages: his birthplace was far from the major cities, and his parents were poor farmers.

Nevertheless, Umetaro Azechi wanted to become an artist. Often, people from an underdog position develop astonishing energy when they have a goal in mind. Umetaro belonged to this species. He purchased a correspondence art course from Tokyo. In 1920, he came to Tokyo, took a job as a newspaper delivery boy, and continued his correspondence art course.

When Tokyo was hit by the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, Umetaro Azechi was happy to return to his hometown. But two years later, he returned to Tokyo. He felt that he would not be able to fulfill his dream of an artistic career in the provinces. He got a new job at a government printing company. The company had the necessary tools and materials for printing, and Azechi began experimenting with zinc plates without any training.

His art style was primitive, but intentionally so in the same way as the naive artists. He used the same striped patterns on both people and animals, showing the similarities between the two.