Pirosmani Museum Hosts Exhibition Saint Pirosmani by Takehide Harada
By Khatia Bzhalava
Thursday, January 27, 2022
Exhibition ‘Saint Pirosmani’ by Takehide Harada organized by the Embassy of Japan has opened in Pirosmani Museum, Tbilisi. Takehide Harada is a Japanese award-winning author and illustrator of numerous children’s books.
In 1977, he first encountered the works of Pirosmani at an exhibition in Tokyo and the following year he organized a screening of the film Pirosmani by Georgi Shengelaia. According to Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Georgia, IMAMURA Akira, since then Harada has fallen in love with Georgian films and the art of Pirosmani. He has published books on Pirosmani and organized Georgian Film Festivals many times in Japan.
According to Ambassador Imamura, Harada’s paintings of Pirosmani presented at the exhibition are an expression of how a Japanese person understood the life of a Georgian genius.
“They convey spirituality of a wandering ascetic, even a sense of holiness. That’s why it is titled Saint Pirosmani … I hope that many Georgians will rediscover Pirosmani through Mr. Harada’s eyes,” the ambassador noted.
It is noteworthy that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Japan and Georgia. The ambassador notes that since 1992, Japan has been supporting Georgia’s independence and territorial integrity as well as assisting nation-building and development of Georgia.
According to him, the two countries have developed friendly relations in all areas including cultural ties, noting that this exhibition serves as the opening of this important anniversary. The Embassy plans to hold a series of events this year, including on literature, art, music, film, and food.
The logo of the 30th anniversary of Georgian-Japan diplomatic relation is also illustrated by Mr. Harada and uses patterns from the Japanese and Georgian national flags as well as a Japanese sake cup and a Georgian kantsi, representing a toast for friendship between the people of two nations.
According to Kakha Sikharulidze, First Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, Japan is a very important partner of Georgia, noting that the relationship has been based on mutual respect, understanding, common interests and support to territorial integrity, the most important and painful issue for Georgia. The minister stressed that Japan is a distinguished country in every way for its unique traditions, history and art.
“It is a great pleasure that our 30 year anniversary can be celebrated precisely through culture, intellect, and art that symbolizes our similarities,” Sikharulidze noted.
According to Dali Abashidze, Director of Pirosmani Museum, in the future it is planned to organize a larger exhibition, noting that Pirosmani State Museum will always be ready to greet Japanese people. The exhibition in Tbilisi will be open for one months for visitors and after that it will also travel around Georgia’s different regions.
