Profile

A painter and performance artist who led the avant-garde art movement in post-war Japan during the Showa era.
Born in Osaka Prefecture, after graduating from the Faculty of Letters at Kwansei Gakuin University, he joined the avant-garde art group Gutai Art Association (GUTAI) as a founding member in 1954.

His works significantly challenged the conventional concept of "painting," and he is widely known for his experimental techniques, such as the "Hole" series, which involved making holes in a support made of layered newspaper, the "Bottle Throwing Painting," which involved throwing bottles filled with paint to create explosions of color on the canvas, and the "Cannon Painting," which involved firing paint from a cannon barrel.

From the 1970s onward, he focused on "mail art," using postal services as a medium, participating in a network exchange of 8,000 people annually across 60 countries. In 1976, he served as the secretary-general of the avant-garde artist group Artist Union, and also dedicated himself to nurturing and supporting young and disabled artists.

He continued to work energetically until his later years, and his works are held in major museums overseas, receiving high international acclaim. He passed away in 2013 at the age of 85 from acute heart failure at a hospital in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture.