Yamashita Kiyoshi, the genius artist on wandering

Yamashita Kiyoshi (1922-1971) was a famous collage artist.
He left various great collage works to our society.
Also his travel to all over Japan have been a legend.

Kiyoshi was born at Asakusa, Tokyo.
He had a mild intellectual disability and was bullied in public schools.
Also his family background was not good.
His mother had trouble with his father in law (his biological father had died while he was very young.), and tried suicide with her kids.
Fortunately the suicide was prevented.
Soon he enrolled Yawata gakuen (Yawata institution) in Chiba prefecture which has supported disabled students.
At the school, they had an attempt to teach the art of collage to disabled children.
Kiyoshi resisted to his school life and caused troubles at first, but since he learnt the art of collage from teachers, he changed a bit.
He got a gentle attitude more than before.

However he escaped from his school life when he was 18 years old and started his life of wondering.
He hoped to see various interesting places in Japan.
He traveled to the places with begging foods to local people and working jobs in very short terms.
Most of time he got foods or money by begging.
Sometimes he performed something unusual (as an example, public nudity) to other people's eyes and even have been sent to police stations or mental hospitals.
But he didn't stop his wandering.
Always he tried to stay nights in station buildings and be scolded by local police officers.
Even though that, he continued his hard travels with his own way.

He had various obstacles to travel, but since he got a fame for his collage art once, his travel became going smooth.
Wherever he went, local merchants or rich people offered him a place for nights and asked him to make his art of collage for them.
So Kiyoshi no longer suffered to find places to sleep.
Also people offered him to buy his works, so he could got his own money.
He could enjoy his travel more than before at his later years.
Also he has traveled to Europe with doctors and teachers from Yawata gakuen.

Sadly, he died in 1974 at age of 49.
It was too early to die, but he left huge influence to our society in his short life.
We can see his delicate and gentle works of collage art today.