Juzo Takaoka

Personal history and profile

Juzo Takaoka was born in Tokyo in 1921. After finishing elementary school, he was sent by his father to apprentice at a printing company. During his second apprenticeship, he encountered Western typefaces for the first time when he was placed in charge of distributing types to their type cases after printing.

In 1940, he met his future mentor, Yoshimitsu Inouye (also known as Kazui Inoue). Inouye, a lover of Western letterpress printing, worked in London between 1934 and 1939 as representative of major Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen. While overseas, he developed expertise in Western typography and acquired a small printing press and types, enough to become an amateur printer. In January 1937, Inouye contributed an article on the poor standard of Western typography in Japan to that nation’s leading printing magazine Insatsu Zasshi. His article had a strong impact on Japan’s progressive printers and compositors of the time, inspiring them to form the Study Group on Western Typography to learn directly from Inouye. Takaoka joined this group and was its youngest member. On February 17, 1940, the Study Group held its first meeting.

Enthralled by Inouye’s lectures, Takaoka desperately wanted to become Inouye’s pupil and persistently visited his home seeking his permission. Though he was repeatedly rejected, Takaoka was finally accepted as Inouye’s disciple in 1940 thanks to the mediation of Inouye’s wife, Kimiko. He was the only member of the Study Group to be accepted.

With high aspirations, Takaoka started going to the Kazui Press, Inouye’s private press based at his home in Harajuku, Tokyo. Even after Takaoka had gone several times, though, Inouye spoke not a word about typography. Instead, he told Takaoka about English towns and people in London. One day Takaoka gently asked Inouye to give him practical instruction on typography. Inouye scolded Takaoka, saying, “The instruction has already begun! Do you not see that? I am telling you about the people who will use the prints you make in Western typesetting. Without understanding their lifestyle and culture, you will not be able to meet their needs.” These words of Inouye shaped Takaoka’s attitude toward letterpress works and typographic education. Under Inouye’s tutelage, Takaoka mastered the principles and philosophy of Western typography.

The many Western typefaces that Inouye collected during his posting in London were stored at the Kazui Press, but all of them were destroyed during World War II. Inouye decided to reconstruct his printing shop after the war ended, and he entrusted much of the project to Takaoka. At this request from Inouye, Takaoka left his work at Hosokawa Printing Co., Ltd. in Ginza, Tokyo, and set to creating a new printing shop for Inouye. In 1948, with funding from Inouye, the Kazui Press was reopened in Kanda-Kajichō, Tokyo. Busy with his primary job at the shipping company, Inouye entrusted an increasing amount of work to Takaoka, and the Kazui Press began to accept more commercial printing work.

In 1956, when Inouye died, Takaoka took over the printing shop and made it into a limited company called the Kazui Press Limited.

Letterpress studies

While working as a commercial printer, Takaoka created several collections of letterpress studies:

Takaoka’s letterpress studies in the 1970s were highly regarded overseas for the high level of skill and understanding of Western typography that they demonstrated. These works are included in My Study of Letterpress Typography.

Authored books (in Japanese)

Coauthored and edited books (in Japanese)

Teaching

Takaoka also taught at an art university and technical college, instructing typography through courses on letterpress printing.