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Katsura Funakoshi

ふなこし かつら

Funakoshi Katsura

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1951-05-25 （Morioka, Iwate, Japan）
Died
2024-03-29 age 72
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Religion
Catholicism

Career

Occupations
sculptor, artist, educator
Active Years
1977-2024
Affiliations
Tokyo Zokei University (Visiting Professor, former)
Influenced By
Yasutake Funakoshi, Traditional Japanese sculpture and Buddhist carving techniques
Influenced

Education

Tokyo Zokei University
Sculpture Department / Department of Sculpture
Degree: 学士
Period: 入学 - 1975
Year of Graduation: 1975
Country: Japan
Graduated from undergraduate program (Sculpture)
Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Fine Arts
Graduate School of Fine Arts (Sculpture) / Sculpture
Degree: 修士
Period: 1975 - 1977
Year of Graduation: 1977
Country: Japan
Completed graduate studies

Awards

Takashimaya Cultural Fund New Artist Encouragement Award
1991
Organization: Takashimaya Cultural Foundation
Result: 受賞
Nakahara Teijiro Prize (Excellence Award)
1995
Category: 優秀賞
Organization: Nakahara Teijiro Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Hirakushi Denchu Prize
1997
Organization: Hirakushi Denchu Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Nakahara Teijiro Prize
2003
Organization: Nakahara Teijiro Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Art Encouragement Prize (Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology)
2009
Organization: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Art Award
2009
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers
Result: 受賞
Medal with Purple Ribbon
2011
Organization: Cabinet Office (Spring Decorations)
Result: 受章
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays (posthumous)
2024
Organization: Cabinet Office (Honours)
Result: 追贈

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Sphinx Floating in the Forest

2006 sculpture

A large wooden sculpture presented as a hermaphroditic figure, expressing a tranquil, silent human presence.

silencehumanityandrogyny

Portrait of My Wife

1980 wood carving (bust)

Considered the start of Funakoshi's wooden bust series. Carved in camphor wood and notable for marble eyes.

portraituregazestillness

Tilted Cloud

1988 sculpture

A 1988 sculpture held by the National Museum of Art, Osaka.

spacehuman figure

Touching the Silver Door

1990 sculpture

A 1990 work, also in the collection of the National Museum of Art, Osaka.

touchdoorhumanity

Bibliography

  • The Course of Water: Katsura Funakoshi Works (1995)
  • Katsura Funakoshi: Complete Prints 1987-2002 (2003)
  • The Science of Life, The Philosophy of Death: Dialogue with Takeshi Yoro (2004)
  • Jan Fabre × Katsura Funakoshi (2010)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
tranquil and restrained expressionmodern reinterpretation of traditional wood-carving techniquesdetailed depiction of eyes using marble
Recurring Motifs
busts (human figures)marble eyessilence and stillnesssphinx-like motifs

Health

  • lung cancer
    不明 - 2024年3月29日
    Details on treatment and duration are not publicly specified. Died of lung cancer on 29 March 2024.

Legacy

Katsura Funakoshi was a leading Japanese sculptor known for tranquil wooden portraits (often camphor wood) with marble eyes. He exhibited internationally, is held in major museum collections, and received multiple national honors and awards.

Museums

  • National Museum of Art, Osaka
  • Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art (exhibition)

Archives

  • Tokyo Zokei University holdings / related materials

In Popular Culture

  • Works used on book covers (e.g. "Eien no Ko", "Itamu Hito", "Kaikyo no Hikari")

Trivia

  • His father was sculptor Yasutake Funakoshi; the family were practicing Catholics.
  • He often worked in camphor wood (kusunoki).
  • Notable technique: using marble for the eyes.
  • In high school he was passionate about rugby and helped found a rugby club at university.
  • Official site (reference): http://www.show-p.com/funakoshi/