20 Notable alumni of Kyoto City University of Arts
Updated: June 08, 2026 EliteDegrees
Kyoto City University of Arts is 3865st in the world, 1st in North America, and 251st in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 20 notable alumni from Kyoto City University of Arts sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Kyoto City University of Arts won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Kunihiko Moriguchi
1941-. (aged 85)
textile artist
Kunihiko Moriguchi is a Japanese textile artist who specializes in the yūzen dyeing technique. He is a Living National Treasure of Japan.
2. Taimei Morino
1934-. (aged 92)
ceramicist
potter
Hiroaki Morino, known by his pseudonym as Taimei Morino (森野 泰明, Morino Taimei), is a Japanese ceramist.
3. Yumi Karasumaru
1958-. (aged 68)
artist
Yumi Karasumaru is a Japanese artist. She lives and works in Bologna, Italy, and Kawanishi, Japan.
4. Matsumoto Ichiyō
1893-1952 (aged 59)
Councillor
painter
professor
Matsumoto Ichiyō was a Japanese painter active during the Taishō and Shōwa eras. He was born in Kyoto into a family of yūzen fabric dyers. He graduated from the Kyoto Municipal Special School of Painting in 1915, and then continued his studies with Yamamoto Shunkyo (1871–1933).
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5. Nishiyama Suisho
1879-1958 (aged 79)
painter
head teacher
professor
Nishiyama Suishō was a Japanese painter.
6. Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada
1944-. (aged 82)
painter
scholar
textile artist
artist
Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada is a Japanese textile artist, curator, art historian, scholar, professor, and author. She has received international recognition for her scholarship and expertise in the field of textile art. In 2010, she was named a "Distinguished Craft Educator - Master of Medium" by the James Renwick Alliance of the Smithsonian Institution, who stated: "she is single-handedly responsible for...
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7. Fukuda Heihachirō
1892-1974 (aged 82)
painter
Heihachirō Fukuda was a Japanese Nihonga painter and designer.
8. Tsuchida Bakusen
1887-1936 (aged 49)
painter
Nihonga painter
Tsuchida Bakusen was the art-name of a Japanese painter in the Nihonga style, active during the Taishō and early Shōwa eras. His birth name was Tsuchida Kinji (土田金二).
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9. Yoshimasa Ishibashi
1968-. (aged 58)
film producer
film director
performance artist
film editor
cinematographer
Yoshimasa Ishibashi is a Japanese video, experimental film and performance artist based in Kyoto, Japan and the leader of the Kyupi Kyupi artist collective, founded in 1996. He has directed work for both art museums, including Kyupi Kyupi performances at the Palais de Tokyo and Tate Modern in 2003, and commercial television and film, his most famous creation being the...
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10. Murakami Kagaku
1888-1939 (aged 51)
painter
Kagaku Murakami was a Japanese painter and illustrator, noted for his numerous Buddhist subjects and advancement in the techniques of nihonga (Japanese-style) painting in the early 20th century.
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11. Hideki Seo
1974-2024 (aged 50)
fashion designer
Hideki Seo was a Japanese-born French fashion designer and artist.
12. Yumiko Shirai
1967-. (aged 59)
mangaka
Yumiko Shirai is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known for her manga Wombs, winner of the 2017 Nihon SF Taisho Award.
13. Etsuro Sotoo
1953-. (aged 73)
university teacher
sculptor
docent
Etsurō Sotoo is a Japanese sculptor strongly influenced by Antoni Gaudí. His interest in Gaudí led him to convert to the Catholic Church. His most noted work are sculptures located in the Sagrada Família in Barcelona. He is nicknamed the "Japanese Gaudí" in his native Japan.
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14. Takeuchi Seihō
1864-1942 (aged 78)
painter
Takeuchi Seihō was a Japanese painter of the Nihonga genre, active from the Meiji through the early Shōwa period. One of the founders of nihonga, his works spanned half a century and he was regarded as master of the prewar Kyoto circle of painters. His real name was Takeuchi Tsunekichi.
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15. Yasumasa Morimura
1951-. (aged 75)
painter
sculptor
video artist
photographer
Yasumasa Morimura is a contemporary Japanese performance and appropriation artist whose work encompasses photography, film, and live performance. He is known for his reinterpretation of recognizable artworks and figures from art history, history, and mass media through his adoption of personas that transcend national, ethnic, gendered, and racial boundaries. Across his photographic and performative series, Morimura's works explore a number...
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16. Tadaoto Kainoshō
1894-1978 (aged 84)
painter
actor
costume designer
Tadaoto Kainosho was a Japanese actor and costume designer. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design for his work in the jidaigeki film Ugetsu (1953).
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17. Yang San-lang
1907-1995 (aged 88)
artist
Yang San-lang was a Taiwanese painter. His works, heavily influenced by the French Impressionists, shows a gently romantic and realistic personal style.
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18. Yayoi Kusama
1929-. (aged 97)
sculptor
installation artist
performance artist
visual artist
painter
Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese contemporary artist who works primarily in sculpture and installation. She is also active in painting, performance, video art, fashion, poetry, fiction, and other arts. Her work is based in conceptual art and shows some attributes of feminism, minimalism, surrealism, art brut, pop art, and abstract expressionism, and is infused with autobiographical, psychological, and sexual content....
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19. Yutaka Sado
1961-. (aged 65)
conductor
Yutaka Sado is a Japanese conductor.
20. Fuku Akino
1908-2001 (aged 93)
painter
Fuku Akino was a Japanese painter. She was born in Futamata, Iwata-gun, Shizuoka Prefecture (currently, Nimata Town, Tenryu Ward, Hamamatsu City). She became known by her paintings of Indian themes, landscapes and peoples.
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