From the time he began writing under the pen name Takashi Tsujii, Seiji Tsutsumi reflected: “The two activities—management and writing poetry—are not inherently contradictory. The fact that they appear contradictory is itself a reflection of the age.” Rejecting fixed conventions, he advocated a “reconciliation between the businessperson and the artist,” regarding these two pursuits as a natural part of a single life.
The achievements of Seiji Tsutsumi and Takashi Tsujii under their respective names were remarkable. As a business leader, Tsutsumi helped develop Seibu Department Stores, Seiyu Stores (now Seiyu), PARCO, FamilyMart, Seibu Credit (now Credit Saison), MUJI, and Yoshinoya. At the same time, as the poet and novelist Takashi Tsujii, he received numerous literary awards, including the Muro Saisei Poet Prize, the Takami Jun Prize, the Fujimura Memorial Rekitei Prize, the Hirabayashi Taiko Literary Prize, the Tanizaki Jun’ichiro Prize, the Shinran Prize, and the Noma Literary Prize.
Transcending the boundaries between business and literature, the Sezon Museum of Modern Art, which opened in Karuizawa in 1981, may be regarded as a collaborative creation of Seiji Tsutsumi and Takashi Tsujii. Its founding declaration, “A Base for the Spirit of the Age,” is widely recognized as an expression of their shared vision and sensibility. This exhibition explores the world he created through works from the Museum’s collection that he cherished, artworks he kept close at hand, his many publications, manuscripts, and words, commemorating the life and legacy of Seiji Tsutsumi / Takashi Tsujii, who passed away on November 25 of the previous year.