Antonio Lucas-Torres López-Casero
Mayor of Campo de Criptana
“These artists have made Campo de Criptana their second home, visiting us every summer since the 1970s and making our landscapes the protagonists of their works.”Read the full text →
Special Collection
Campo de Criptana Special Collection
Paintings × On-Site Research Photographs — Windmills, Streets, Doors & Windows, Countryside
Takuma Tokunaga returned to Campo de Criptana, Spain, for more than forty years. This special collection places each painting made there side by side with a photograph taken during on-site research, introducing the "Impresión" (impact), "Técnica" (skill), and "Historia" (story) behind each work.
Field photographs and stories (Historia) will be added progressively following the on-site research trip planned for September–November 2026.
See the History & Voices of Those Involved ↓History
The relationship between Takuma Tokunaga and Campo de Criptana, reconstructed as a timeline from the existing contributed essays and field notes.
- 1973 Takuma Tokunaga discovers the windmills from a train window and visits Campo de Criptana for the first time. He lodges at the inn Bar de los Molinos, where he meets innkeeper Carmen and the father-and-son pair, Vicente.
- 1970年代 He meets the local painter Francisco Valbuena, forging a friendship at the Cuevas de la Pastora Marcela and at Las Musas.
- 複数回にわたり His wife Yukiko begins accompanying him; according to one of the contributed essays, she has joined him on the trip as many as thirteen times.
- 2度にわたり According to Takuma and Yukiko's own field notes, an exhibition connected to the Crown Prince has been held in Campo de Criptana on two occasions; the second marked the 150th anniversary of Japan–Spain friendship.
- 2017 An exhibition marking the 45th anniversary of Takuma's visits is held at the Museo "El Pósito." Mayor Antonio Lucas-Torres, Andrés Escribano with Miguel Ángel Mellado, and Miguel Valbuena each contribute a written text.
- 2018 A further exhibition is held at the same Museo "El Pósito."
- 2026年9〜11月（予定） A research trip to Campo de Criptana is planned. On-site interviews and comparison photography between the paintings and their real-life settings will be carried out and added to this collection progressively.
Voices from Key Figures
Drawn from the essays contributed for the 2017 exhibition at the Museo "El Pósito," and from Takuma Tokunaga's own field notes, introducing the people who looked after him in Campo. Q&A-style interviews will be added separately after the on-site research trip planned for September–November 2026.
Andrés Escribano
Former Director of the Municipal House of Culture
“Takuma, a Japanese painting professor, unexpectedly transformed the house of Carmen, Vicente, and Alfonsa into his Manchegan pagoda, and he has returned there every summer for 45 years.”
The central figure who gave full support to the artists' exhibition in Campo.
Read the full text →Miguel Ángel Mellado
Former Deputy Director of El Mundo newspaper
Former editor of El Mundo, one of Spain’s three major newspapers. He once featured the artists in a newspaper article.
Read the full text →Miguel Valbuena
Son of the late Francisco Valbuena
“Takuma, when he first came to Criptana, settled in the Bar de los Molinos, a small hotel-pension run at that time by Vicente and Carmen. Right away he made himself loved, so much so that in the end he was and is one more of that great family.”
As if carrying on his father's path, he still paints today. Highly cultured, and someone the family can always rely on.
Read the full text →CarmenDeceased
The Innkeeper
A direct interview with this person will be added after the on-site research trip.
Francisco ValbuenaDeceased
Local Painter
He supported Takuma, in every way, from the day they met until his last.
A direct interview with this person will be added after the on-site research trip.
Vicente
The Innkeeper's Eldest Son
He has looked after the family ever since they first met, when he was fourteen, and does so still.
A direct interview with this person will be added after the on-site research trip.
Carmen (a relative of the family)
Relative of Carmen the Innkeeper
She appears often in Yukiko's paintings, and of everyone the family came to know there, she was the one they grew closest to.
A direct interview with this person will be added after the on-site research trip.
Mr. Takahashi
On-Site Guide and Collaborator
A dependable friend who volunteers as a guide whenever a Japanese group visits the windmill hill in Campo.
A direct interview with this person will be added after the on-site research trip.