Shokichi Hata was a senior figure in Japanese sculpturing. In 1906, he graduated from the sculpture department of the Tokyo School of Fine Arts and subsequently became an overseas trainee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. After his return in 1911, at the 5th Bunten Exhibition he won the first of several prizes. In the following year, Hata was appointed professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts. In 1920, he was allowed to study the Western style of sculpturing, after which he became a professor at the newly established High School of Technology and Design in Tokyo and was a lecturer there until 1941. Until his resignation in 1945, Hata was also involved in making commemorative medals for the Tokyo Mint. Many of his students became reputed sculptors. After the war, he became a leading figure of the Japan Sculpture Federation (in 1962 renamed Japan Sculpture Association). Especially in his later years, his focus was on carving for the Japanese No-theatre. One of his last works was a commemorative medal for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The original Japanese title of his 1936 entry simply means Start.
Japan