About Kneji Takenaka

Founded in 1891, Takenaka is the fifth generation woodblock artist. He is the CEO of Takezasado Co., Ltd.

Vice Chairman of the Kyoto Woodblock Printing Crafts Association, Director of the Kyoto Woodblock Print Publishing Cooperative, Director of the Ukiyo-e Woodblock Printing Carving Technique Preservation Association selected by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Technical Advisor at Musashino Art University, and Visiting Associate Researcher at Ritsumeikan University. His works, which make full use of his artisan's woodblock printing techniques, are held in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Honolulu Museum of Art, and the National Library of France. He is enthusiastic about passing on woodblock printing techniques and trying new things, such as collaborating with artists both in Japan and abroad and holding workshops.

In 2013, his collaboration with Yoshiki Uchida won the BRONZE PENCIL Award at ONE SHOW DESIGN (USA), one of the world's three major advertising awards, and the IN BOOK Award at the D&AD AWARD (UK). In 2016, the Kansai TV program "The Document: Kyoto Printer - Ukiyo-e Traveled to Paris," which followed Takenaka's year-long project to reprint old woodblock prints, won the Jury Prize in the TV Documentary category at the international ABU Awards.

He is the author of "The First Woodblock Prints at Takezasado, Kyoto" (Mitsumura Suiko Shoin, 2011) and supervisor of "Takenaka Woodblock Takezasado: A Year in Kyoto Living with Paper" (Takarajimasha, 2014).

■Brief biography
1891: Takenaka Woodblock Printing was founded in Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
1970: Born in Kyoto
1990: Studied under Takenaka Seihachi IV
1999: Founded Takezasado, which designs woodblock print products
2002: Exhibited work at the World Water Forum
2005: Became president and CEO of Takezasado LLC
2006: Held woodblock print workshops and lectures at Boston University and Edinboro University
Woodblock print work "RIVER Shijo" is in the collection of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Contributed an article entitled "Rainbow-printing Techniques in Woodblock Printing" to the International Ukiyo-e Society newsletter "Ukiyo-e Art No. 152"
2007: Presented a giant woodblock print performance at the opening event of the "Tale of Genji Millennium Project" in Kyoto Prefecture
At the "Kyoto no Akaten Paris" exhibition hosted by Doshisha Business School Demonstration of Ukiyo-e printing
2010: Takenaka Kenji x Yoshihara Takahiro, woodblock print and candy craft exhibition "Antiques - First Division" held
Solo exhibition of woodblock prints "Takenaka Masterpiece Theater" held
2011: Solo exhibition of woodblock prints "SORA" held
2012: Demonstration of Kyoto print production with Harada Yuko at the International Woodblock Printing Conference
Solo exhibition of woodblock prints "Bi-dan" held
2013: Collaboration with Uchida Yoshiki won the BRONZE PENCIL award at the ONE SHOW DESIGN (USA), one of the three major advertising awards in the world, and the IN BOOK award at the D&AD AWARD (UK)
2015: Solo exhibition "Water-based Woodblock Prints Exhibition" held
2016: Kansai TV's program "The Document: Kyoto Printer - Ukiyo-e that traveled to Paris," which followed Takenaka's old woodblock print reproduction project, won the ABU Award in the TV Documentary category Winner of the Jury Prize