Collection: Katori Masahiko 香取 正彦

Katori Masahiko (1899-1988) was born in Tokyo the eldest son of the distinguished metal artist Katori Hozuma. He spent his childhood in present-day Sakura City, Chiba Prefecture. From 1916 to 1920 he studied Western-style painting at the Taiheiyō Gakai Research Institute, before entering the Casting Department of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts) in 1920, where he studied under Tsuda Nobuo with a strong foundation in classical research. After graduating in 1925, he received a bronze medal at the Paris International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts for Vase with Strawberry Arabesque Design. Katori made his debut at the 9th Teiten (1928) and went on to receive Special Prizes for three consecutive years (1930–1932), achieving jury-exempt status. After World War II, he devoted himself to the restoration and protection of cultural properties and, from 1950 onward, produced more than 150 Buddhist temple bells. Notable works include the Friendship Bell (San Diego, 1958), bells for Enryaku-ji (1963), Ikegami Honmon-ji (1964), and the Peace Bell at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (1967). He received the Japan Art Academy Prize in 1953, was designated a Living National Treasure (Important Intangible Cultural Property holder) in 1977, and became a member of the Japan Art Academy in 1988.