is a Fukuoka-based multimedia artist and was a key member in the avant-garde art group Kyūshū-ha, active between 1957 and 1968. In her Kyūshu-ha period, Tabe investigated the issues related to environmentalism and the aspects of female identity, including sexuality, procreation, and social advancement. She have worked in a variety of mediums, ranging from painting to installation to performance. After the group's dissolution, Tabe continued to work independently and advocate for the visibility of female artists in Kyūshū.
Biography
Early Years
Mitsuko Tabe was born in Taitung in the Japan-occupied Taiwan in 1933. Her father, Kogoro Ishibashi, applied for a police officer position in Taiwan after the bankruptcy of the family’s sawmill, and subsequently moved the entire family there. Tabe lived in the countryside of Taiwan before the start of kindergarten and went to Taitung National School for elementary school. In her early years, the family traveled frequently between Taiwan and Japan, before settling back to Fukuoka after WWII in 1946. Tabe remembered staying for some time in Amagi, a smaller town near Fukuoka during her early years, and spending a lot of time learning sewing and dressmaking from her mother Rie.
In 1951, graduating from the Fukuoka Prefectural Ukiwa High School, Tabe began painting on her own. At around the same time she also started working in the sales section of a coal company in Fukuoka. After about two years, through her brother who was working in the personnel department of the famous Iwataya Department Store, Tabe was hired first as a temporary worker and soon was offered a full-time position as a sales clerk in 1953.
In the same year when she started working at Iwataya, Tabe joined the company’s French and painting circles, two of the company's hobby circles. These hobby circles, referred to as Saibi-kai, were established by the company for publicity purposes. Having eight or nine participants, the painting circle met a few times a week with a teacher and a nude model so that the circle members can practice drawing and painting regularly. Tabe drew the streets of downtown Fukuoka, where Iwataya was located, and worked on many paintings of landscape and daily objects. Tabe’s talent was soon recognized as her work was selected for the 13th Fukuoka Prefectural Exhibition (Fukuoka kenten) in 1953. While the painting circle was a great way to meet artistic companions, Tabe gradually distanced herself from Saibi-kai because she was dissatisfied with the instructor Aoki Hisashi, a Niki [Second Century] Society member, who would modify students’ paintings.
During her time at Iwataya, Tabe saw art frequently as the department store regularly hosted art exhibitions: as she later recalls, they included Western Female Artists Exhibition (西部女性展) and Art of Today's World Exhibition (世界今日の美術展), both held in the 1950s. In the building of Iwataya, there was a small gallery where Tabe first encountered futureKyūshū-ha members including Sakurai Takami, Ishibashi Yasuyuki, Ochi Osamu, and others. In 1957, there was a two-month-long strike organized by the employees against the Iwataya management. Although Tabe did not fully support the strikers, she herself did not go to the work. Tabe recalls that she wad dubious of the union and found little difference between the placards of the rightwing and those of the labor movement. During that period, Tabe often visited the studio of Terada Ken’ichirō, an artist then associated with the Nika (Second Section Society) and later joined Kyūshū-ha. In January 1958, Tabe officially left Iwataya and got married in March with Kenji Tabe.
Works during Kyūshū-ha (1957-1968) In March 1957, Mitsuko Tabe joined the Kyūshū-ha soon after its founding and remained a core member through its dissolution in 1968. Tabe served as treasurer and participated in all of the Kyushu-ha exhibitions in Tokyo and Fukuoka. As one of the few female members, Tabe brought a feminist viewpoint to the group.