坂本好一 Koichi Sakamoto (1932-Present)

Snow, Silence, and Shells: Koichi Sakamoto’s Etched Japan

Koichi Sakamoto (坂本好一, b. 1932) is a Japanese printmaker known for his finely detailed etchings and mezzotints that capture the quiet beauty of rural Japan. Born in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, he began his artistic training in nihonga (Japanese-style painting) around 1953 before shifting to printmaking by 1955. He debuted with nihonga at the New Creative Artists Association exhibition in 1957 and began exhibiting with the Japan Print Association (日本版画協会) in 1960. From 1966 onwards, he participated regularly in exhibitions with both the Japan Print Association and the Shunyōkai (春陽会), holding his first solo exhibition in 1967.

Sakamoto’s prints reflect a deep sensitivity to nature and the passage of time. His subjects include traditional farmhouses, uninhabited villages, doves, trout, shells, and seasonal landscapes. From the later decades of the 20th century, he became especially known for his winter scenes - snow-covered thatched roofs and bare trees rendered in soft detail, conveying a meditative stillness; the Ōtani Memorial Art Museum noting their lonely & reflective quality. Having long resonated with collectors in Japan, Sakamoto’s works are now finding increasing demand in the West.

A longstanding member of both the Japan Print Association and Shunyōkai, Sakamoto has exhibited widely in Japan and internationally, including in India, Italy, France, and the United States. His work is held in public collections such as the Ōtani Memorial Art Museum (Nishinomiya), the Spencer Museum of Art, the Portland Art Museum, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. He continues to live and work in Tochigi Prefecture, where his quietly powerful landscapes remain a distinctive voice in postwar Japanese printmaking.