Fukuoka Kojiro / 福岡小次郎 born 1948
Works on Shikishi
Fukuoka Kojiro is a Japanese artist and washi paper master associated with Obara Paper Art in Obara, Aichi Prefecture. This local tradition occupies a distinctive position between Japanese papermaking, decorative craft and independent pictorial composition.
Fukuoka was born in Obara in 1948. In 1971 he began studying under Kasugai Masayoshi, one of the leading masters of Obara artistic washi. Kasugai had studied with Fujii Tatsukichi, the artist and decorative arts master who played a central role in transforming the local washi tradition into a modern artistic form. Through this lineage, Fukuoka belongs to the Obara school of paper art that developed from Fujii’s circle.
The distinctive feature of Obara Paper Art is that the image is not applied to the surface of a finished sheet. Instead, dyed kozo fibres are incorporated into the washi during the papermaking process, forming landscapes, floral motifs, seasonal compositions and abstract patterns. In this technique, paper is not only a support but the primary artistic medium.
In 1977, Fukuoka Kojiro travelled to Dallas, United States, with his teacher Kasugai Masayoshi to demonstrate the traditional crafts of Aichi Prefecture. His works were accepted for Japanese exhibitions including Nitten, the New Japan Crafts Exhibition, the Modern Crafts Exhibition and Kofukai. He also took part in regional art exhibitions and received several awards.
Fukuoka worked from his own Kojiro Studio in Obara. His practice includes washi artworks, plant and seasonal compositions, and works connected with ikkanbari and Japanese craft traditions. His art preserves a close relationship with natural observation and the seasonal sensibility of Japanese culture, while expressing them through the material language of modern paper art in the second half of the twentieth century.
Fukuoka was born in Obara in 1948. In 1971 he began studying under Kasugai Masayoshi, one of the leading masters of Obara artistic washi. Kasugai had studied with Fujii Tatsukichi, the artist and decorative arts master who played a central role in transforming the local washi tradition into a modern artistic form. Through this lineage, Fukuoka belongs to the Obara school of paper art that developed from Fujii’s circle.
The distinctive feature of Obara Paper Art is that the image is not applied to the surface of a finished sheet. Instead, dyed kozo fibres are incorporated into the washi during the papermaking process, forming landscapes, floral motifs, seasonal compositions and abstract patterns. In this technique, paper is not only a support but the primary artistic medium.
In 1977, Fukuoka Kojiro travelled to Dallas, United States, with his teacher Kasugai Masayoshi to demonstrate the traditional crafts of Aichi Prefecture. His works were accepted for Japanese exhibitions including Nitten, the New Japan Crafts Exhibition, the Modern Crafts Exhibition and Kofukai. He also took part in regional art exhibitions and received several awards.
Fukuoka worked from his own Kojiro Studio in Obara. His practice includes washi artworks, plant and seasonal compositions, and works connected with ikkanbari and Japanese craft traditions. His art preserves a close relationship with natural observation and the seasonal sensibility of Japanese culture, while expressing them through the material language of modern paper art in the second half of the twentieth century.