, sometimes known simply as Hiromitsu, is a Japanese contemporary artist, specializing in kappazuri

Kappazuri

Kappazuri, also known as kappa-zuri, kappazuri-e, and as katagamizuri-e, are Japanese prints printed in a single color from woodblocks and then colored by stenciling. Prints produced entirely by stenciling, without woodblocks, are also called kappazuri...

stencil prints depicting figures from the kabuki

Kabuki

is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

 theatre.

Born in Kanagawa prefecture in 1959, Hiromitsu graduated from Nihon University

Nihon University

Nihon University is the largest university in Japan. Akiyoshi Yamada, the minister of justice, founded Nihon Law School in October 1889....

 in 1981, and currently operates out of the Tokyo area. An obvious successor to the ukiyo-e

Ukiyo-e

' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...

artists of the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....

 in his choice of subject (see yakusha-e

Yakusha-e

Yakusha-e , often referred to as "actor prints" in English, are Japanese woodblock prints or, rarely, paintings, of kabuki actors, particularly those done in the ukiyo-e style popular through the Edo period and into the beginnings of the 20th century...

, lit. "[kabuki] actor prints"), his methods and style show the strong influence of Yoshitoshi Mori

Yoshitoshi Mori

was a Japanese artist who specialized in kappazuri stencil prints. He was for many years a member of the mingei folk craft movement, and was close with Yanagi Sōetsu, founder of the movement, and Serizawa Keisuke, among others, producing stencil-dyed textiles and other textiles arts before turning...

, a stencil print artist whom Hiromitsu's parents served as printers.

Takahashi has taken part in solo and group exhibitions both in Japan and abroad. He was named Most Promising Artist at the Grand Prix Exhibit at the Isetan Art Gallery in Tokyo, in both 1986 and 1989.

See also

• mingei
  Mingei
  ', the Japanese folk art movement, was developed in the late 1920s and 1930s in Japan. Its founding father was Yanagi Sōetsu .-Origins:In 1916, Yanagi made his first trip to Korea out of a curiosity for Korean crafts...