Tsuruya Kokei

Tsuruya Kokei, born Gen Mitsui in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture in 1946, is a contemporary Japanese woodblock print artist celebrated for his kabuki actor portraits. Despite coming from an artistic family — his father was a painter and his grandfather was the Western-style painter and printmaker Nakazawa Hiromitsu — Kokei did not attempt creating art until the age of 32, when he was profoundly inspired by a kabuki performance.

From 1978 to 2000, Kokei served as the resident artist at the Kabuki-za Theater in Tokyo, producing approximately 12 limited-edition designs annually. Following the sosaku-hanga principle of self-creation, Kokei designed, carved, and printed every work himself on fine ganpi paper, applying traditional techniques such as gofun (white pigment) and mica for deluxe impressions. Each edition was limited to 72 prints, required 40 days to complete, and the blocks were destroyed afterward.

After twenty-two years of actor prints, Kokei expanded beyond the stage in 2000, developing self-portraits and other subjects. In 2017 he returned to the woodblock print with his ongoing series paying tribute to the ukiyo-e masters who inspired his career. His work is held by the British Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and Yale University Art Gallery.