Woodcarver
Komei Tanaka
Komei Tanaka has studied wood carving under Seiji Maekawa since 1997. He established Tomoru Studio in 2008 with his partner Sanae Tanaka, a Japanese lacquer artist. His works are characterized by conceptual doll sculptures that exude his pure world view, and his concepts have been featured in many exhibitions and award ceremonies around the world.
Japanese lacquer artist
Sanae Tanaka
Sanae Tanaka has studied the art of Japanese lacquer under Yukifumi Yokoyama since 1997. She established Tomoru Studio in 2008 with her partner Komei Tanaka, a wood carver. Her works are characterized by the simple beauty of curves and the texture of lacquer created through her own unique sensibilities, and her concepts have been featured in many exhibitions and award ceremonies around the world.
Woodcarver
Daichi Maekawa
Daichi Maekawa served as an assistant to contemporary artist Hanayo in Berlin, Germany from 2001, and has studied wood carving under Masaji Maekawa since 2005. His works are characterized by three-dimensional composition from his flexible and adaptive approach, and have been exhibited at Inami Art Museum and Fukumitsu Art Museum.
Potter
Wato Maekawa
Wato Maekawa graduated from Aichi University of the Arts in 2002 and began working in a studio in Tokyo. She moved her studio to Nanto City in 2010, where she specializes in the creation of slurry castings using plaster molds. Her works have been exhibited in venues such as the annual Japan Crafts Exhibition and she has received many awards.
Buddhist statue artist
Yoshisada Ishihara
Yoshisada Ishihara lived abroad in Australia for three years and returned to Japan to begin studying wood carving under Kiyosada Sunada in 1995. He established his own studio in 2006 for wood carving and specialization in Buddhist statues. His concepts have been featured in many exhibitions and he has won several prefectural awards across Japan.
Gardener
Arata Negishi
Arata Negishi studied under Yoichi Fujikura at Fujikura Landscape Gardening Design Office in Tokyo after graduating from the Landscape Gardening Department of Toyama International College of Crafts & Arts. He founded his own design office in 2018, and specializes in landscape gardening that follows the balance of the natural world by creating private spaces for wild plant gardens to bloom.