Official

　When I reported on May 30 about the "Night Party of the Gallery", a public relations officer from Nichido Gallery who saw the article explained the two stone statues on display at the entrance. Was.　It's as follows.

　Two or three years after the opening of the Nichido Gallery, there was an antique shop called "Mankoan" in Taninaka, which is not far away (from home at that time). His master, Inosuke Yoshimura, was an old man with over 70, and in a not so large shop, there was no footstep in Korea's ceramics, chests, doors, Komagota folk crafts, etc. . He traveled to Korea two or three times a year to buy a large amount of antiques around Keijo (Seoul), but his money was rough, his business seemed not good, and his pockets were not very good. They were strange in the neighborhood, and all the people called Yoshimura, a Japanese man, "Korean Jisan."
　I was asked if I could arrange what I had purchased from my grandfather in Korea to my shop. I thought it was a little evil as an attempt at the gallery in Ginza, but I received it comfortably. "Korean antique spot sale" was surprisingly well received and sold well. This was the edge, and around 1938, I had exhibited and sold statues of various large and small stones purchased by the grandfather of Korea in front of the store.
　According to the grandfather's explanation, it was decided that it was a mausoleum of nobles, and in Japan it was like a lantern dedicated by each daimyo, such as Toshogu Shrine. I didn't know the exact location, but at first glance it was unexpressed, plain, and simple. I was more fascinated than the old man who purchased it, and I bought more than 20 large and small items. (Omitted) While doing so, most of them were sold, and finally two bodies with a height of 2.4 meters were unsold. Because it was too large, I couldn't get a buyer, but in fact I bought it once for sale by a person in the Pacific War. But one year or two years later, the shop did not appear in the shop, and the owner finally asked me to ask me if he would replace it with the picture of the price, and I was glad to respond to the request. And since then, it has become completely of my gallery.
　When I opened the gallery, I thought that if one day I would put some sculpture on both sides of the entrance of the store, the statues of bronze Adam and Eve would be appropriate. However, before I came across the work that perfected the image, the time passed, and the two statues were there in no time. At first it was like the entrance number, now as a guardian deity.　　　　　　　　

Manuscript of "Navel Life" by Hitoshi Hasegawa