I deal with the post-war relationship between Japan and the U.S., focusing on the controversial debate concerning the responsibility of Hirohito, now called Emperor Showa, and the current Japanese Constitution, which doesn’t accept any militarization or war. The media hardly covers the topic of the Emperor’s leadership and responsibility during the war, which is generally considered to be taboo, despite the fact that he had full power over the Japanese military according to the imperial constitution of Japan. My approach to addressing this issue is in the form of a video piece based on a portrait of Hirohito in military uniform. I give movement to his eyes and body, symbolizing my belief that the issue is still alive and should be debated in the context of contemporary Japanese society.
Tetsugo Hyakutake (born 1975) is a Japanese artist and a fine art photographer. In 2003 Hyakutake moved to Philadelphia and graduated from the University of the Arts. In 2009. Hyakutake obtained a Master's Degree of Fine Arts from the University of Pennsylvania where he was awarded a Toby Devan Lewis Fellowship. His work has been exhibited in Tokyo, Philadelphia, New York, Madrid. Hyakutake’s work has been acquired for a number of notable corporate and public collections, including those of the Library of Congress, the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
