1934-1997
male
First applied to Tokyo University of the Arts with hopes of becoming a painter but was not accepted. Was drawing portraits along the street to make a living but exhibited at the Jiyu Bijutsuka Kyokai Exhibition and was selected.
However, began to make colored copper engravings thereafter and exhibited at the Tokyo International Print Biennale in 1957 and was selected for the first time. Won the Minister of Education’s Award at this exhibition in 1960 and entered the limelight in the field of prints by continuing to exhibit at this exhibition and winning the Governor of Tokyo’s Award, Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art’s Award, and other awards. Then, repeatedly won awards at international print exhibitions in Paris, Sao Paulo, and other countries before finally winning the International Print Grand Prize, which is the highest honor for a printmaker, at the 1966 Venice Biennale Exhibition, receiving praise from printmakers across the world.
Had a wide array of talents outside of printmaking, including sculpting, creating ceramics, writing novels, and directing films, and thrived as one of the representative intellectuals of Japan from the 1980s on.
