is a Japanese contemporary artist whose works blend Ainu folk art with industrial design, and is best known for his active promotion of indigenous Japanese art, culture, and history.
Artistic career Fujito's East Asian visual art mediums predominantly encompass mixed media, folk arts, and industrial design. The popularization of Ainu art brought about by the 1941 Ainu Crafts and Culture exhibition in Tokyo's Japan Folk Crafts Museum spurred a new generation of Ainu Japanese artists like Fujito whose works continue to garner widespread acclaim in response to the ever-expanding global celebrations of indigenous identities."The Beauty of Ainu Handiwork." Tokyo Art Beat, 2020. https://www.tokyoartbeat.com/event/2020/B259.en."Lake Akan Is Planning New Strategy to Attract More Tourists." Travel and Tour World, August 24, 2017. https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/lake-akan-is-planning-new-strategy-to-attract-more-tourists/.
In addition to his studies of Ainu culture, Fujito incorporates patterns and designs from his forebears within 21st Century consumer products such as eyeglasses, iPhone cases, and watches in an eclectic fusion of local historic Ainu craftsmanship and modern practicality."Special Display: Contemporary Ainu Art by Kohei Fujito." Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, 2020. https://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/SeasonCulture/event/2020/202001/16_Daiwa_ContemporaryAinuArt.html
In 2017, the International Festival of Indigenous People in Italy commissioned Fujito to create a monument for the occasion, to which he conceived Ikupasuy."Special Display: Contemporary Ainu Art by Kohei Fujito." Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, 2020. https://dajf.org.uk/event/special-display-contemporary-ainu-art-by-kohei-fujito.Noma, Kiyoshi (2017, July 27). Hokkaido looks to indigenous heritage for tourism appeal. Nikkei Asia. Retrieved January 29, 2021, from https://asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Japan-Trends/Hokkaido-looks-to-indigenous-heritage-for-tourism-appeal
Personal life Born and based near Lake Akan, Kushiro, Hokkaido, Fujito is a member of the indigenous Ainu population where he manages the local shop "Kuma no Ie (House of the Bear)" in the town of Akan.Aakankoainukotan (n.d.). Feel an Ainu village living with inherited unique culture. Peach Live: Area Discovery Magazine. Retrieved January 22, 2021, from https://peachlive.net/experience/akankoainukotan-2/?lang=en He received artistic training from his father, Takeki Fujito (born 1934), an internationally renowned woodcarver who specializes in lifelike depictions of local residents and animals."Finished: The World Full of Life Created by Ainu Master Carver, Fujito Takeki." Sapporo Art Park, 2017. https://artpark.or.jp/en/exhibition-event/fujito-takeki/.
Exhibitions and projects Exhibitions 2012: Ainu Art: Storytellers of the Wind - Matsuura Takeshiro Memorial Museum - Matsusaka, Japan"More Ainu Events in December!." Ainu Pride Productions, December 11, 2012. https://ainupride.blogspot.com/2012/. 2020: Special Display: Contemporary Ainu Art by Kohei Fujito - Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation - London, United Kingdom 2020: Ainu Art: Oki Kano and Kohei FujitoAinu Art: Oki Kano and Kohei Fujito. (2020). In EXTRACTION: Art on the Edge of the Abyss (pp. 98-99). Retrieved January 27, 2021, from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ae226e1ee175988a09f3d7e/t/5f8a02a563b478477e2bd287/1602880185140/Megazine_EXCERPT.pdf 2021 - 2022: Exposure: Native Art and Political Ecology - IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Art - Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States"Exposure: Native Art and Political Ecology." IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, 2020. https://www.extractionart.org/mocna. Projects
Utilization of Timber from Hokkaido LEXUS NEW TAKUMI PROJECTLEXUS NEW TAKUMI PROJECT 2018: FUJITO/ita: 北海道: 藤戸 康平. (2018). Retrieved January 31, 2021, from https://lexus.jp/brand/new-takumi/2018/fujito-kohei/Kohei Fujito. (2018, March 24). The Hokkaido Shimbun Press Newspaper. Retrieved January 31, 2021, from https://lexus.jp/brand/new-takumi/common/pdf/2018/list/takumi/fujito-kohei.pdf
Museum collections National Museum of Japanese History and Folklore National Museum of Ethnology
References