川北良造(人間国宝) Kawakita Ryouzou(Ningen-kokuhou) Kawakita Ryozo (Living National Treasure)
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Japan’s representative woodcraft artist, a bearer of Important Intangible Cultural Heritage (designated in 1994). Born on September 1st, 1934, in Yamanaka Town, Ishikawa Prefecture, Kawakita Ryozo got his training in woodturning skills under his father Kawakita Koichi and Himi Kodo, a woodcraft artist. In 1962, selected for Exhibition of Japan Traditional Art Crafts forthe first time, both in 1966 and 1968, awarded President of Japan Art Crafts Association Prize, and successively appointed as an audit commissioner since then, having won a lot of prizes by now.Making effective use of a characteristic of materials such as zelkova, mulberry, maple tree and chestnut, he has given out fresh and excellentworks with brimming modern taste created by his sound skills in wood turning technique that is used to create wooden objects on a rokuro (woodturner) while a cutting knife is used to cut and shape it, together with hisoriginal artifice into which traditional marquetry technique and sujibiki technique are incorporated. His main works are Keyakidukuri-Katamoriki, Jindai-Keyaki-Moriki, Kurogakidukuri-Gousu, Tamatsubaki-Moriki, all of which are excellent works where beauty of the material is maximized.