Artists A to Z: Japanese and International Names

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Index · Art and artists

From Kawase Hasui, born in Tokyo in 1883 and the landscape voice of the shin-hanga print revival, to Kōhei Nawa, born in Osaka Prefecture in 1975, the 81 artists below are the names collectors meet most often in Japan: on gallery walls in Ginza, in print cabinets, in museum halls from Hakone to Fukushima, and more and more often on Japanese clothing. Each name carries its dates, a one-line identification and, where the house has more, a link to a full entry, a guide or the shelf where the pieces sit. For the same field arranged by period, see Japanese artists by era.

At a glance

Key to the index
Entry	A full artist entry: fact sheet, chronology, method, Japan links, how to read a piece
Guide	A long Journal article on the artist and collecting
Shelf	The collection where the artist's pieces are on view
Names	81 artists: 45 Japanese, 36 international, sorted by family name
Dates	Birth and death years checked against at least two independent references; names that could not be checked are held back

Five schools in one paragraph each

Nihonga and yōga. Both terms were coined in the Meiji era (1868–1912): nihonga for painting in mineral pigments and ink on silk or paper, yōga for oil painting in European conventions. Higashiyama Kaii, Kataoka Tamako and Hirayama Ikuo stand on the first side; Koiso Ryōhei and Kinutani Kōji on the second.

Shin-hanga and sōsaku-hanga. Two print movements of the early twentieth century split over one question. Shin-hanga kept the old division of labour between designer, carver, printer and publisher, and gave Kawase Hasui and Yoshida Hiroshi their landscapes; sōsaku-hanga asked the artist to draw, carve and print alone, the path of Munakata Shikō and Saitō Kiyoshi. The ukiyo-e reader traces the older tradition both grew from.

Gutai. Founded in Ashiya in 1954 under the painter Yoshihara Jirō, the group ran until shortly after his death in 1972. Shiraga Kazuo painted with his feet, Tanaka Atsuko was central to it from 1955 to 1965 and Motonaga Sadamasa belonged to its first generation.

Hi-Red Center. Founded in May 1963 by Akasegawa Genpei, Nakanishi Natsuyuki and Takamatsu Jirō, the collective staged anti-establishment happenings in the streets of Tokyo, and it is the hinge between Gutai and the conceptual art of the 1970s.

Superflat. Named and led by Murakami Takashi, the movement draws on manga and anime and refuses a fixed definition, which is why it absorbs toys, fashion and Louis Vuitton trunks alongside canvases; our primer on Japanese contemporary art sets it in context.

The index, A to Z

A

Azechi, Umetarō (1902–1999). Printmaker and mountain climber, known for prints of mountains and the people who live among them; born in Ehime Prefecture.

B

Banksy (active since the 1990s). Pseudonymous street artist based in England, working in stencil with satirical epigrams.
Brasilier, André. French painter and lithographer, born in Saumur.
Buffet, Bernard (1928–1999). French painter, printmaker and illustrator of sharply outlined figurative work, born in Paris.

C

Carzou, Jean (1907–2000). French-Armenian painter and illustrator whose work accompanied novels by Hemingway and Camus.
Cassigneul, Jean-Pierre (born 1935). French painter, pastellist and lithographer, born in Paris.
Cathelin, Bernard (1919–2004). French painter of the School of Paris and pupil of Maurice Brianchon, born in Paris.
Chagall, Marc (1887–1985). Russian and French modernist of the School of Paris, working in paint, stained glass, prints and stage design.
Christo (Javacheff) (1935–2020). Bulgarian-born artist who, with Jeanne-Claude, wrapped landmarks such as the Reichstag and the Pont Neuf in fabric.

D

Dalí, Salvador (1904–1989). Spanish Surrealist of the soft watches, born in Figueres. Entry
Delacroix, Michel (born 1933). French painter in the naïve style, born in Paris.
Dufy, Raoul (1877–1953). French painter linked to Fauvism, also a designer of textiles, born in Le Havre.

E

Erté (Romain de Tirtoff) (1892–1990). Russian-born French designer of fashion, costume, jewellery and Art Deco graphics.

F

Foujita, Tsuguharu (Léonard) (1886–1968). Japanese-French painter of Montparnasse who joined Japanese line to European oil, born in Tokyo.
Francis, Sam (1923–1994). American painter and printmaker of abstract expressionism, born in San Mateo, California.

G

Gokita, Tomoo (born 1969). Graphic artist and painter, born in Tokyo.

H

Hamaguchi, Yōzō (1909–2000). Copper printmaker who led the mid-century revival of mezzotint, born in Wakayama Prefecture.
Haring, Keith (1958–1990). American artist of the subway chalk drawings and the Pop Shops of New York and Tokyo. Entry
Hasegawa, Kiyoshi (1891–1980). Engraver from Yokohama who spent most of his life in France, working in drypoint and manière noire.
Higashiyama, Kaii (1908–1999). Nihonga painter and writer, Order of Culture 1969, born in Yokohama.
Hirayama, Ikuo (1930–2009). Nihonga painter of Silk Road landscapes, born in Setoda, Hiroshima Prefecture.
Hirst, Damien (born 1965). English artist of the Young British Artists generation, born in Bristol.
Hockney, David (1937–2026). British painter, stage designer and photographer of the pop art generation, born in Bradford.
Hoshi, Jōichi (1913–1979). Woodblock printmaker of starry skies and trees, born in Niigata Prefecture.

I

Imai, Toshimitsu (1928–2002). Painter of abstraction, born in Kyoto.

J

Jansem, Jean (1920–2013). French-Armenian painter, born in Bursa, with works in museums in France, Japan and the United States.

K

Kataoka, Tamako (1905–2008). Nihonga painter of bold colour, born in Sapporo.
Kawase, Hasui (1883–1957). Landscape designer of the shin-hanga print movement, born in Tokyo. Publishers
KAWS (Brian Donnelly) (born 1974). American artist and designer of repeated characters, from canvas to vinyl figure. Guide · Shelf
Kayama, Matazō (1927–2004). Nihonga painter, born in Kyoto.
Kazuki, Yasuo (1911–1974). Painter of the Siberian Series, drawn from his years as a prisoner of war after 1945.
Kinutani, Kōji (1943–2025). Yōga painter, Order of Culture, born in Nara.
Koiso, Ryōhei (1903–1988). Yōga painter trained at the Tokyo school of fine arts, graduating in 1927; born in Kobe.
Koons, Jeff (born 1955). American artist of mirror-finish stainless steel balloon animals. Shelf
Kostabi, Mark (born 1960). American painter, sculptor and composer, born in Los Angeles.
Kumagai, Morikazu (1880–1977). Painter of flat colour and simple forms, born in Gifu Prefecture.
Kusama, Yayoi (1929–2026). Artist of dots, nets and pumpkins in sculpture, installation and painting, born in Matsumoto. Guide · Shelf
Kuwayama, Tadaaki (1932–2023). Painter of minimalism, born in Nagoya.

L

Laurencin, Marie (1883–1956). French painter and printmaker of the Parisian avant-garde, born in Paris.
Lichtenstein, Roy (1923–1997). American Pop artist of the comic-strip dot, Kyoto Prize 1995. Entry

M

Matisse, Henri (1869–1954). French painter, draughtsman and sculptor known for colour, born in Le Cateau-Cambrésis.
McKnight, Thomas (born 1941). American painter of interiors and views, born in Kansas.
Miró, Joan (1893–1983). Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist of Surrealism, born in Barcelona.
Motonaga, Sadamasa (1922–2011). First-generation Gutai artist and book illustrator, born in Mie Prefecture.
Mucha, Alphonse (1860–1939). Czech painter and poster designer of Art Nouveau Paris.
Munakata, Shikō (1903–1975). Woodblock printmaker of the sōsaku-hanga and mingei movements, first prize at the São Paulo Bienal; born in Aomori.
Murakami, Takashi (born 1962). Founder of Superflat and of Kaikai Kiki, working between fine art and commercial media; born in Tokyo. Guide · Shelf

N

Nagai, Hiroshi (born 1947). Graphic designer and illustrator of the city pop album covers of the 1980s. Guide
Nakagawa, Kazumasa (1893–1991). Painter and printmaker, born in Tokyo.
Nakanishi, Natsuyuki (1935–2016). Avant-garde artist and co-founder of Hi-Red Center in 1963, born in Tokyo.
Nara, Yoshitomo (born 1959). Painter and sculptor of defiant children and quiet dogs, born in Hirosaki. Guide · Shelf
Nawa, Kōhei (born 1975). Sculptor and designer, trained in Kyoto and at the Royal College of Art; born in Osaka Prefecture.

O

Oguiss, Takanori (1901–1986). Figurative painter of Paris street views who lived most of his life in France; born in Aichi Prefecture.
Okamoto, Tarō (1911–1996). Artist, theorist and writer, born in Kanagawa and raised in Tokyo.
Onosato, Toshinobu (1912–1986). Printmaker and painter of geometric circles, born in Iida.
Opie, Julian (born 1958). British artist of the New British Sculpture, born in London.

P

Picasso, Pablo (1881–1973). Spanish painter, sculptor and ceramicist, co-founder of Cubism. Entry

R

Renoir, Pierre-Auguste (1841–1919). French Impressionist, born in Limoges.
Rizzi, James (1950–2011). American pop artist from Brooklyn.
Rokkaku, Ayako (born 1982). Painter who works with her hands directly on canvas and cardboard, born in Chiba Prefecture.
Rouault, Georges (1871–1958). French painter and printmaker linked to Fauvism and Expressionism.

S

Saitō, Kiyoshi (1907–1997). Sōsaku-hanga printmaker, born in Aizubange, Fukushima Prefecture.
Senju, Hiroshi (born 1958). Nihonga painter known for large waterfall paintings.
Shinoda, Tōkō (1913–2021). Artist of abstract ink paintings and prints, born in Dalian.
Shiraga, Kazuo (1924–2008). Abstract painter of the first Gutai generation, born in Amagasaki.
Sugai, Kumi (1919–1996). Painter and printmaker who moved to Paris in 1952, born in Kobe.
Sugimoto, Hiroshi (born 1948). Photographer and architect, born in Tokyo.

T

Takamatsu, Jirō (1936–1998). Artist of photography, sculpture and performance, co-founder of Hi-Red Center, born in Tokyo.
Tanaami, Keiichi (1936–2024). Pop artist, graphic designer and video artist active from the 1960s. Guide
Tanaka, Atsuko (1932–2005). Avant-garde artist and central Gutai figure from 1955 to 1965, born in Osaka.
Tōgō, Seiji (1897–1978). Painter of the female form, born in Kagoshima Prefecture.

U

Utrillo, Maurice (1883–1955). French painter of Montmartre street scenes, School of Paris.

V

Vlaminck, Maurice de (1876–1958). French painter, one of the principal Fauves, born in Paris.

W

Warhol, Andy (1928–1987). American Pop artist of the screenprint, born in Pittsburgh. Entry
Wood, Ronnie (born 1947). English guitarist of the Rolling Stones since 1975, also a painter.
Wyeth, Andrew (1917–2009). American realist painter of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

Y

Yamagata, Hiro (born 1948). Painter and installation artist based in Los Angeles, born in Shiga Prefecture.
Yamashita, Kiyoshi (1922–1971). Artist of torn-paper collage famous for his wanderings across Japan.
Yokoo, Tadanori (born 1936). Graphic designer, printmaker and painter of psychedelia and pastiche. Guide
Yoshida, Hiroshi (1876–1950). Painter and woodblock printmaker of shin-hanga landscapes, born in Kurume.
Yoshihara, Jirō (1905–1972). Painter who founded the Gutai Art Association in Ashiya in 1954, born in Osaka.

Where the record differs

Dates are not always settled. For Hirayama Ikuo, one gallery biography gives a death year of 2010 where museum and encyclopaedic records give 2009; for Azechi Umetarō, a gallery note gives Aichi as his birthplace where other records place it in Ehime. Where two references disagree, the index follows the majority and the dataset behind it keeps both readings.

Answered plainly

Why are Japanese and international artists in one list?

Because collectors in Japan meet them side by side: the same Ginza walls hang Higashiyama Kaii beside Marc Chagall, and the same Tokyo racks carry Lichtenstein on Japanese denim. One alphabet is quicker to search.

Why do names appear family name first?

An index sorts by family name in every language. Japanese artists are shown family name first, as on their boxes and seals, followed by the given name.

Can the house find a work by an artist without a shelf?

Often, yes. Send the artist, the title or a photograph through a private request, and the Curation and Concierge Team will look for it in Japan.

Where next

Bridge: how art, subculture and tradition form one story of Japan as a soft power, in The New Japonisme, our manifesto on Japan's soft power
Up: the Japanese Artists Bible, the master guide to eras, movements and names, and Japanese arts and cultural heritage
Across: the Creators Glossary of directors, designers and artists, and collecting Murakami, Kusama and Nara prints
Down: contemporary, modern and upcoming Japanese artists on the shelf

Looking for a particular piece? Tell us the work, the edition or the garment, and the Curation and Concierge Team will look for it in Japan on your behalf.

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References

Written by The Japonista Curation and Concierge Team, Tokyo, Japan. Last reviewed 14 November 2026.

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