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Saeki Shunkō was a Japanese artist born in 1909. In 1927, he began his career as a graphic designer for Shirokiya Department Store (later known as Tokyu) in Nihonbashi and won various awards in juried shows for designers. At only 27, he exhibited at the 1936 Teiten and participated in the Paris Exposition in 1937.Shunkō was admired for his modern and novelty style.
Unfortunately he died young (age 33) of an illness.Today we present a piece that seems to be connected with Shunkō's experience with department stores. In the 1920s and 1930s, Japan's major metropolitan centers experienced an influx of young women and men drawn from the countryside by the promise of jobs and the allure of modern life. In this large painting, which stands over eight feet tall, two waitresses with permed hair stand impassively beside an étagère adorned with exotic plants.