Index to Artists

The artist Morita Haruyo studied both Japanese art and kimono design, and she combines these with elements of her own Western-influenced technique. (She travelled to London in 1977, exactly the year I [Brian Chandler] first came to Tokyo.)

Morita is her family name: she follows the tradition of signing - and sealing - paintings with her given name only.

The painter Ozuma Kaname was born in 1939, in Niigata. He studied traditional Japanese art, and his pictures are generally based on traditional themes.

Ozuma is his family name: he signs paintings with the single character of his given name only.

Born in Saitama (just north of Tokyo) in 1968, Kagaya spent his childhood in wonderment of the stars in the sky, and never stopped painting them. He has had a successful career as an illustrator for astronomical books and magazines, and many of his works have been turned into jigsaw puzzles, among other products. Since 1996, he has worked exclusively in the digital medium, using a Macintosh. Perhaps that is why he does not appear to sign his pictures.

He goes by his family name; his given name appears to be Yutaka, but in English you will also find him called Joh Kagaya (Jô is the Chinese reading of his name).

The artist was born in Toyama in 1970, and specialises in showy images, in his own reinterpretation of traditional Japanese themes.

Tanabe is his family name; he signs his paintings with his given name Zigen. Note that the usual Romanisation of this would be "Jigen", but it seems that Zigen may be the artist's own preference.

The artist Katsushika Hokusai is best known for his series of 36 views of Mount Fuji, in the bold and simple style of the Ukiyo-e (or "floating world") style. He changed his name several times, so this is only the best-known of his brush names; as is the tradition, Hokusai is his given name (a fact that has plainly confused at least one art reference book).

The artist was born in Nagano in 1947, and specialises in Buddhist themes, with a distinctive whimsically warm style. (Kuroiwa is his family name - he signs his pictures with a stylised seal of his given name, Toyotaka.)

Very little of certainty is known about Sharaku (this is his given name, though it is very likely no-one's real name; his family name, Tôshûsai, is rarely used at all). His works, caricatures of kabuki artists, appeared over the space of less than a year from mid-1794, and then he totally disappeared. Theories abound!

No details of this artist are readily available. He signs his paintings with a seal for the first character ('Ino') of his given name only: this means 'wild boar', which might seem surprising, but it is a fairly common element in names.

The artist Shimada Kôhô was born in 1952, in Gifu, and specialises in painting birds in the traditional style.

He signs and seals his paintings with his given name, Kôhô only.

Few biographical details are available, but Ogasawara has worked as a background artist for anime production, and specialises in animal portraits. Her acclaimed painting of a pair of white tigers has also featured on a jigsaw puzzle.

Mystery... The three puzzles we have (as of April 2006) all have different copyright declarations: her name written in Japanese, "Row.E.Ogasawara" and "Row. V. Ogasawara" - the pictures in these latter two cases include a signature "Row." which might be a nickname. She writes her given name, Etsuko, with the old form of hiragana 'e', so it might also be rendered as 'Yetsuko', though this hardly explains the 'V'.

The artist was born in 1948, in Niigata. After working for a textile company, he went independent as a textile designer. He has his own individual drawing style, bringing a fresh approach to many traditional art themes.

He goes by his given name, Hakuga, in the traditional way, signing his paintings in a stylised, but non-cursive form.

Born in Nagoya in 1936, the artist became a successful illustrator of books, and commercial articles. In the late 1980s, he embarked on a second career, in oil painting, with which he has had many personal exhibitions.

He paints a wide range of subjects, signing the more traditional pictures with the characters for his given name, Tatsuji, together with a seal, whereas on the illustration-style paintings of trains and sailing ships he signs "T. Kajita" in the western style.

A traditional Japanese painter, Kurata Tatsumi was born in Mie Prefecture in 1944. He signs his given (brush) name Tatsumi with a seal of the same characters.

No biographical details available. She signs her given name Kayomi in Roman letters.

Born around 1753, Utamaro was one of the most successful woodblock artists in his own time, specialising in sensuous portraits of women.

Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1932, Hamada followed graduation from what is now the Kyoto City University of Arts with a career in art. He has had many successful exhibitions, both in Japan and in America, where he spent considerable time in the 1960s.

He signs his pictures traditionally, with his given name, Taisuke, and full-name seal.

No biographical details available. In the traditional manner, the artist signs his paintings with his adopted given name Keisetsu and seal. The family name Taki may or may not be his real name.

Hiroshige (1797 – 1858) was inspired by seeing the landscape images of Hokusai, to whom he became a younger rival. He joined the flourishing Utagawa school, and produced thousands of woodblock prints, using the most advanced techniques of the time. He is most famous for his series "The 53 stations of the Tokaido."

He is usually known as Utagawa Hiroshige, being his brush name within the school, but he was born into a low-ranking samurai family (with the job of fireman), and so is also sometimes known by his real family name, Ando.

Born in Kyoto in 1944, Kimura Keigo spent a halcyon childhood collecting beetles in the hills to the east of the old capital. A love of nature brought the desire to paint - animals, trees, rocks, and the traditional subjects from dragons to waterfalls.

Kimura is his family name, and as is usual with artists he uses his given name professionally, but does not appear to sign his paintings.

Born in 1945 in Nagano, in the mountains of central Japan, Nakajima Chinami is a successful painter and illustrator.

He signs his paintings with his given (brush?) name Chinami, sometimes together with a fanciful seal - perhaps representing his whole name, which could be poetically rendered "Middle-island of the thousand waves."

Watase Hasui (1883-1957) was one of the major artists involved in the revival of woodblock printing in the early twentieth century. He brings a fresh subtlety of expression to this traditional craft.

Apart from a brief period in Shiobara, northern Tochigi, he appears to have lived his whole life in Tokyo, but specialised in landcapes, drawn from his travels across Japan.

Born in 1947 in Mie Prefecture, the artist studied traditional Japanese painting techniques at the Tokyo National University of Fine Art, and specialises in classic styles such as screen paintings, while also producing a wide range of other works in oils and other media. He has also server as illustrator for a number of newspaper serialisations.

Sakagami is his family name: he writes his name as Nansei Sakagami on his website. He signs his paintings Nan (the single character, meaning the camphor tree), with a seal of his given name Nansei.

Shingo Saotome is a self-taught artist, who loves to paint the natural world in acrylics. He has been active both in Japan and in Florida since 1993.

Born in 1954, Ichiro Tsuruta grew up in the lush natural surroundings of Kumamoto (Kyushu). He attended Tama Art University in Tokyo, and after a period of Western-influenced realism, began to develop his own distinctive style - his portraits of women combine elements from Japanese art with inspiration from Art Deco. His place as a leading commercial artist was confirmed by the success of his advertising images for Noevir cosmetics in 1987.

He signs his art "Ichiro T", emphasising his given name, as is traditional, but writing in Roman letters.

Uchida was born in 1960 in Kyushu, and after a degree in fine arts from Aichi University of Education, became hooked on lone travelling. From there he was drawn into sketching, getting his first magazine publication in 1988. Since then he has kept travelling the world, and produced a whole series of book publications. Having spent three years in Perth, from 1991 to 1994, he regards Australia as his second home, but has also visited many parts of Europe and America.

Note that he writes his name in the "Western" order; Uchida is his family name.

The artist Muramatsu Makoto was born in 1947, and has earned numerous awards in the world of commercial illustration. His pictures of anthropomorphised animals are cute, but the cuteness is matched by a wry sense of humour. Muramatsu is his family name - he doesn't seem to sign his pictures, so I have copied the version on the box for the copyright statement.

Born in 1951 in Kyoto, the artist Tanimoto Ichiro studied Japanese art, and has worked as a designer. He has held a number of exhibitions of kimono patterns, and although he paints traditional themes, his style is one of bold and direct characterisation, more reminiscent of textile design than brushwork.

Takehisa Yumeji (1884-1934) is a very well-known, even iconic, figure of early twentieth-century art in Japan. Born in Okayama, western Japan, at 19 he went to Tokyo against the wishes of his family, to study and be an artist. At 23, he met Tamaki, first of a string of loves, a young widow running a postcard shop. They married, and raised two children, despite divorcing in the middle of the process. Tamaki was the model for many of his early portraits, and also his business partner in opening the Minatoya shop in Tokyo that sold paper and textile accessories that he designed. Meanwhile, his next love, perhaps the greatest, was Hikono, 11 years his junior, who succumbed to TB at age 25. Yumeji portrayed his women in languid poses, curiously reminiscent of illustrations of the same era in the West. Another great love and model was Sasaki Kaneyo, whom he nicknamed "O-yô" (lit. 'Little leaf'); even in photographs she has the characteristically angular look of his paintings.

After recovering from the losses in the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923, Yumeji achieved considerable recognition, and travelled the world: to America in 1931, and on to Europe the next year. In 1933 he made a trip to Taiwan, but his health failed, and he died in a sanitorium in September 1934, at the early age of 51.

His real name was Takehisa Mojiro, the -jiro indicating him as second son; his adopted moniker Yumeji is literally "dream-second [son]".

Born in 1922 in Tokyo, Yamashita had a troubled childhood: - after a bullying incident at school involving a knife, he was classified as mentally handicapped, and placed in an institution. His genius for creating harie (pasted paper pictures) was soon realised, though, and eventually he featured in many exhibitions across Japan. He remained an eccentric: from 1940 to 1954 he roamed the country wearing only an undershirt (it is said), earning himself the moniker of "The naked artist wanderer". Although he travelled widely seeking material, including an extended tour of Europe in 1961, it seems he did not work in the field, but would return to his studio and create images entirely from memory. He died in 1971 at the early age of 49.

His story has been dramatised a number of times, in the 1956 film known as "The naked general" and later television series.

Born in Hiroshima in 1972, the artist developed his talent for original art while working as a graphic artist for a game company. He is now an independent creator of fantasy works.

Mizoguchi is his family name; he signs his work "Shu", the short form of his given name (Shuichi). On the box his name is given as "SHU Mizoguchi", somewhat confusingly, given the recent trend to writing the family name first capitalized.

Born in Ibaraki, in 1969, Suwahara embarked on a career as a freelance illustrator in 1996. He has specialised in historical figures, especially from the Three Kingdoms story, and brings a very modern technique to some traditional themes.

Suwahara is his family name.

Born in 1930, in Gifu Prefecture, Yoshida Keiji graduated in 1952 from what is now the Tokyo University of the Arts, and trained as an architect. He was a joint founder of Rengousekkeisha Ichigaya Architects in Tokyo, and in addition has held academic appointments and written widely, particularly on wooden building construction and aspects of townscape. He is active in the movement to preserve the traditional Japanese townscape, which features in his many "travel sketches," together with views from wider travel around the world.

Yoshida is his family name.

Born in Tokyo in 1966, Senko Takahashi had his first joint exhibition in the Seibu department store at the age of only 17. After attending Tama Art University, he worked as a graphic designer in New York, and on returning to Japan in 1990 continued his career with many exhibition successes. He also appeared on TV in the role of an expert describing the techniques of Leonardo da Vinci.

Born in Tokyo in 1940, but raised in Kyoto, Oda joined the Matsushita Electric company (now Panasonic) straight from university. Working in corporate design, he went solo in 1975, travelling widely. From 1989 he turned to working as a professional artist, producing a huge range of best-selling pictures based on his sketches from around the world.

Born in Shizuoka in 1952, Amano began his artistic career early, joining an anime production company while still only 15. He is probably best known for his creation of the characters in the Final Fantasy video game series, but has worked in a wide range of artistic styles. He currently lives in New York

Note that Amano is his family name, so he is not following the Japanese artist's tradition of going by his given name.

Born in 1924, Fujishiro has had a long and productive career as an illustrator - producing many children's books, and creating his own brand of fantasy along the way. From an early involvement with shadow puppetry, he developed his own unique style: he calls these kage-e (literally "shadow pictures"), but his is a backlit world not of black and white (or grey), but of wonderful translucent colours, apparently made mostly from tissue paper.

He is still active at the age of 80, and his work has appeared all over the world, most recently (February 2005) in New York and Washington.

Born in 1960 in Okayama, western Japan, Masago followed graduation from university in physics by working for the manga artist Terasawa Buichi, a pioneer of computer graphics in manga illustration. Masago went solo in 1989, and has made a career as an illustrator specialising in Chinese historical themes. His latest role is that of costume designer for the blockbuster movie "The Promise" (2006) by the Chinese director Chen Kaige.

Masago is his family name, so he is also known as Kimiya Masago.

Born in Hyogo prefecture in 1954, Teppei earned a degree in commercial design from Musashino Art University, to begin a successful career as an illustrator. He has also had many exhibitions of his own work, in which European scenes in particular are prominent.

Sasakura is his family name - he signs his pictures "Teppei S."

Kentaro Nishino was born in 1980, in Kanazawa on the Japan Sea coast, and graduated from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2003. He takes his inspiration from nature, while lending his own air of fantasy.

Nishino is his family name, but he signs his work "Kentaro N".

Born in Kyoto in 1941, Mizuno Katsuhiko earned a degree in literature from Doshisha University in 1964. Since 1969 he has worked as a freelance photographer, in a lifelong quest to capture the essence of Japanese tradition in his native city, and resulting in publication of some one hundred books of his photographs.

The photographer, Takeuchi Toshinobu, born in 1943, is well-known as a nature photographer, and teacher. (Takeuchi is his family name.)

Born 1946 in Osaka, Morita set out as a freelance scenic photographer in 1975. He has had numerous collections of his work published in book form, as well as calendars and other media, and continues a punishing schedule, spending 200 days a year tramping the Japanese archipelago for material. (Morita is his family name.)