![[Living National Treasure Woodcarver] Who is Akira Murayama? A Complete Guide to Contemporary Wood Sculpture Philosophy and Techniques](https://en.kogei-japonica.com/media/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/akira-murayama_top-2048x1146-1-1536x860.webp "[Living National Treasure Woodcarver] Who is Akira Murayama? A Complete Guide to Contemporary Wood Sculpture Philosophy and Techniques")
Akira Murayama (born March 25, 1944) is highly acclaimed as a contemporary wood craftsman who has significantly expanded the horizons of three-dimensional sculpture by reinterpreting zelkova (keyaki) wood as a “sculptural medium.” His distinctive approach involves fusing traditional techniques such as kurimono (hollowing) and fuki-urushi (wiped lacquer) with sculptural methods including carving, polishing, and calculating hollow spaces, creating forms that generate tension from within the wood.
His presence is felt in exhibitions both domestically and internationally, where he is recognized as an artist who presents the possibilities of “Wood Sculpture” on the global wood craft scene. In 1989, his “Zelkova Wiped-Lacquer Plate” was acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and in 2003, he was designated as the holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property in “Wood Craft” (Living National Treasure).
This article provides a comprehensive guide to understanding Murayama’s work in depth, from his sculptural philosophy and technical structure to the interpretation of major works and his global recognition.
Table of Contents
Who is Akira Murayama? A Comprehensive Overview of the Sculptural Artist Leading Contemporary Wood Craft
Akira Murayama (born March 25, 1944) is an artist who has earned high praise among contemporary wood craftsmen based in Kyoto for his sculptural approach and depth of material research.
In addition to fundamental wood craft techniques such as kurimono (hollowing) and fuki-urushi using chisels and planes, he has built a unique sculptural vocabulary by combining three-dimensional compositions that leverage the qualities of zelkova wood and processing techniques that integrate multiple tools through multi-stage processes. This chapter provides a three-dimensional introduction to Murayama’s overall profile by organizing his biographical background, evolution of style, and points of recognition.
Biography and Sphere of Activity: A Major Wood Craft Artist Based in Kyoto
Akira Murayama has been based in Kyoto, where the tradition and modernity of wood craft coexist. Kyoto’s craft culture encompasses diverse lineages from vessel aesthetics to material research and processing techniques, which have strongly influenced Murayama’s pursuit of “hollowed sculptural forms using wood as material.”
Beginning with his apprenticeship under Tatsuki Kuroda in 1966, he thoroughly mastered fundamental techniques such as kurimono and fuki-urushi, and subsequently expanded his sphere of activity beyond the realm of practical vessels into three-dimensional sculptural expression. His works are collected in many important institutions both domestically and internationally, including acquisitions by national museums and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
He was designated as the holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property in “Wood Craft” (Living National Treasure) in 2003, and serves as a councilor of the Japan Kogei Association and vice-chairman of the Kyoto Association of Kogei Art, engaging in technical transmission to the next generation and presenting new methods of craft expression. These wide-ranging activities strongly link with the “open creativity” of Kyoto’s craft environment, positioning Murayama as a major figure in contemporary wood craft.
Evolution of Style from Early Works to Present: Deepening of Kurimono and Fuki-urushi
Murayama’s artistic style has specialized in “kurimono (hollowing)” using chisels and planes since his apprenticeship under Tatsuki Kuroda. His early period began with vessel-form works that leveraged the wood quality of zelkova, showing an attitude of carefully reading the directionality of wood grain and the plasticity of wood.
From the middle period onward, he shifted toward treating wood as a “three-dimensional material,” moving beyond the framework of merely practical vessels. His style established itself by incorporating the properties of materials as sculptural language, such as layering wooden boards of different thicknesses, predicting wood movement during the drying stage to compose forms, and calculating internal hollows to create tension.
Currently, his work is characterized by abstract forms that balance curves and mass, and pieces that intentionally embrace the aging of wood over time, featuring a unique aesthetic world where the luster of wiped-lacquer finish coexists with the texture of the wood substrate. This evolution represents an attitude that transcends the framework of traditional craft.
Domestic and International Exhibition and Award History Demonstrating Recognition and Influence
Murayama has attracted attention not only in domestic craft galleries but also in contemporary art spaces. In 1987, he was invited to exhibit in “Wood Craft from Meiji to the Present” at the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, and in 1989, his “Zelkova Wiped-Lacquer Plate” was acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In addition to solo and curated exhibitions centered in Kyoto and Tokyo, galleries domestically and internationally increasingly handle his work, presenting pieces in a wide range of formats from vessels to three-dimensional sculpture.
His awards include the Asahi Shimbun Prize at the Japan Traditional Kogei Exhibition (1970) and the Japan Traditional Kogei Kinki Award (1992), as well as public honors covering craft and culture in general, such as the Kyoto Prefecture Cultural Award of Merit (2004), Medal with Purple Ribbon (2005), Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette (2014), and Kyoto City Arts and Culture Association Award (2018).
His highly acclaimed contribution to expanding the possibilities of wood craft in “three-dimensional sculpture using wood as material” is particularly notable, and his distinctive sculptural expression achieved through zelkova as the primary material with wiped-lacquer finish has influenced young artists domestically and internationally, being recognized as one of the currents in contemporary wood craft. His designation as holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property in “Wood Craft” (Living National Treasure) in 2003, along with his positions as councilor of the Japan Kogei Association and vice-chairman of the Kyoto Association of Kogei Art, indicate that Murayama is recognized internationally not merely as a craftsman but as a material researcher and sculptural artist.
Sculptural Philosophy and Aesthetics – Wood Craft That Creates Space Beyond “Form”
To understand Akira Murayama’s artistic world, it is essential to look beyond the wood craft technique of simply “hollowing out wood with chisels and planes” to the perspective of how the completed sculpture relates to space. While manipulating zelkova blocks through hollowing techniques, he uses the curves, luster, and internal hollows that appear on the surface to create a sense of “gravitational presence” and “stillness.” In other words, rather than the completed work itself, he seeks to establish it as a single sculpture including the tension relationship with the entire space where it is placed.
According to Art Powers Japan’s commentary, “The works appear very simple, but upon closer inspection, unexpected devices emerge, and gradually one realizes they are not simple structures. What seemed like flat, linear surfaces turn out to be overlapping curves and swells of functional warping, or soft swells are hidden.” This chapter organizes Murayama’s sculptural approach and aesthetics discovered in wood craft from three axes: form, surface texture (luster from wiped lacquer), and spatiality.
Characteristics of Form: Sculptural Approach Through Curved Surfaces, Shadows, and Wood Grain
Murayama’s forms incorporate multi-layered operations of “carving and hollowing out” wood using chisels and planes through the kurimono technique. Particularly characteristic is the structure of curved surfaces that appear on the work’s surface, which are created through the process of carving while discerning the wood quality of zelkova. The rhythm created by curved surfaces becomes a texture reminiscent of tree rings, and the surface irregularities cause complex changes in shadow and light.
His handling of curved surfaces is also skillful, extracting the plasticity of wood to its limits while creating forms that support mass while maintaining a balance of softness and tension. In videos published on YouTube, it is stated that “there is no blueprint, and after making rough marks with a pencil, he relies on intuition to carve,” and Murayama appears to pursue “forms that have weight while possessing a sense of floating” as one of his ideal forms. Many works exist where the contours appear to dissolve due to the luster from wiped lacquer.
This approach to form blurs the boundary between wood craft and sculpture, leading to expressions that make visible the movement latent inside the material of wood.
Pursuit of Surface Texture: Deepening of Texture Through Carving and Wiped Lacquer
In Murayama’s works, surface texture becomes an important element that symbolizes his sculptural philosophy. The curved surfaces created at the stage of carving wood with chisels and planes, the texture where tree rings emerge, and the wood grain that appears in response to carving intertwine in complex ways, creating multi-layered textures. Rather than excessively finishing the surface, he elicits tactile appeal by combining the roughness zelkova possesses, the movement of wood grain, and the weight as material.
Furthermore, the luster and texture change dramatically through the wiped-lacquer process, and a characteristic feature is the coexistence of matte wood expression and lustrous surfaces within a single work. “Wiped lacquer” is a technique that produces beautiful luster while preserving wood grain by repeatedly applying raw lacquer to the wood substrate and wiping it off with cloth, and this repetition creates depth inside the wood.
Through the accumulation of such processes, the work exists beyond mere surface decoration as “texture engraved with the accumulation of time.” Viewers can perceive through the multi-layered structure of the surface the individuality of the wood and the memory of the material contained within the work.
Relationship with Space: Sculptural Perspective Expanding from Vessels to Objects
Murayama’s works strongly express a sculptural conception that emphasizes relationship with space. Whether vessel or object, the important theme is how the “inside” and “outside” spaces of the work relate to each other, and what kind of tension or stillness is given to the space where it is placed.
In Murayama’s own words, he states, “I want to express what three-dimensional form is within craft works,” which aims for pure sculptural expression beyond the mere production of practical vessels. Forms with calculated internal hollows affect how gravity is applied and the overall center of gravity of the work, creating stability and presence as three-dimensional objects.
Additionally, he positions works as elements that construct not only vision but space itself, being conscious of the angle at which works receive light and the direction in which they cast shadows according to the exhibition space. In recent years, three-dimensional works that transcend the concept of vessels have increased, with a growing tendency to regard the environment and entire space as part of the work.
This represents an attitude of reconceiving wood craft as a “place of sculpture,” and can be said to be one of the reasons Murayama’s works are evaluated domestically and internationally as sculptural craft.
Technical Analysis and Production Process
When examining Akira Murayama’s works from a technical perspective, the attitude of “reading the wood quality of zelkova and drawing out its individuality while respecting it” is consistently visible throughout all stages from material selection to hollowing, drying, and wiped lacquer. He actively incorporates the wood-specific “behavior” such as zelkova’s hardness, wood grain movement, and changes during drying as part of the work.
The production process begins with the selection of zelkova material, followed by making rough marks with a pencil, then using the kurimono technique to hollow out wood by hand with chisels and planes while constructing the balance of overall mass and tension. In the final stage, the expression is determined by “wiped lacquer,” repeatedly applying raw lacquer and wiping it off with cloth.
This chapter examines in detail from three aspects – approach to material selection, techniques and methods of hollowing, and wiped-lacquer finishing – how Murayama’s works come into being.
Material Selection and Treatment of Wood Substrate: Dialogue with the Characteristics of Zelkova
Murayama’s production begins with the material selection of “which zelkova to use.” Zelkova is a material with high hardness and complex wood grain movement, and what kind of expression appears when carving such wood with strong individuality is determined by discerning the nature of the wood. He examines the wood quality of zelkova for each work and sometimes makes fine adjustments to the direction and force of carving according to its movement.
During the drying stage, it is important to proceed with the process while discerning the timing when wood contracts. In particular, when parts of different thicknesses try to dry simultaneously, warping and cracks easily occur, leading to unintended breakage. However, he sometimes deliberately incorporates this “natural change due to drying” into the work, accepting small changes shown by the material as sculptural appeal.
In other words, by approaching with an attitude of “dialoguing with the material” rather than “controlling the material,” the life force of the zelkova material comes to reside in the work.
Forming Techniques: Hollowing, Carving Out, and Production Methods That Read Internal Space
Murayama’s forming techniques are highly unique for realizing three-dimensional sculpture beyond vessel forms. Many works are constructed from a single zelkova block through the “kurimono (hollowing)” technique of hollowing out the interior with chisels and planes. When wood is in a wet state, a force works to slightly sink due to gravity, and conversely as drying progresses, tension runs outward due to contraction. By reading this “force from the inside,” he realizes forms where curved surfaces naturally rise.
Additionally, by combining various tools and physicality such as digging with chisels, carving with planes, and pushing open with fingers, forms are born where strong mass and light curves coexist. According to records from Cultural Heritage Online, “works that leverage the beauty of zelkova wood grain through the kurimono technique of hand-carving and scraping wood” are produced. These operations are traditional wood craft techniques while requiring sculptural physicality, and are one of the reasons why his works are called “wood sculpture.”
Wiped-Lacquer Process: Final Expression Created by Layer Accumulation, Transparency, and Depth
Wiped lacquer is an extremely important process that determines the final luster, texture, and tension of the work. Murayama explores the optimal depth for the work while repeatedly applying raw lacquer and wiping it off with cloth many times. By layering wiped lacquer, the transparency of lacquer accumulates in layers, the wood substrate appears with depth, and transitions from a matte, soft impression to a lustrous expression.
Additionally, in the wiped-lacquer process, subtle differences in surface luster emerge depending on the area applied and the method of wiping. He actively accepts such “subtle differences due to wiping methods” and deliberately does not seek uniform luster. With each application of wiped lacquer, a natural deepening of luster that cannot be produced by handwork is added, ultimately finishing into a three-dimensional form with unique presence.
Murayama’s attitude of regarding wiped lacquer not as “finishing” but as “dialogue” leads to the profound expression of his works.
Sculptural Philosophy in Representative Works
Examining Akira Murayama’s representative works is the best means of grasping the outline of the philosophy he entrusts to the material of wood. His body of work includes series that make “movement” and “tension” visible through abstract forms, and series that transform into sculptural mass while borrowing the structure of vessels, all constructed after deeply reading the materiality inherent to zelkova such as hardness, complexity of wood grain, and changes during drying.
In particular, the representative work “Zelkova Wiped-Lacquer Plate” (1989, collected by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London) is known as a work based on rinkakata (lobed) design with ridgelines devised by Murayama, where ridgelines extending toward the upper rim that connects the two worlds of inside and outside create expansiveness. Additionally, the fluctuation of light appearing on the surface and the visual depth created by wiped-lacquer layers generate a presence that makes one forget it is wood craft.
This chapter delves into Murayama’s sculptural philosophy itself, using representative series as a guide.
Expression of “Movement” Through Abstract Forms
Murayama’s representative series includes “moving forms” that simultaneously convey the hardness of zelkova and the gracefulness of wood grain. These are distinctive silhouettes born by carving out from zelkova blocks with chisels and planes, inducing slight curve changes according to the nature of the wood, then layering wiped lacquer afterward. Wood grain streaks run across the surface, which receive light to create temporal fluctuation.
Such sculpture can be said to be an approach that leaves the “traces” of wood sculpturally, rather than directly representing movement. How gravity works in which direction, how wood grain moves, and how it changed through drying are engraved in the sculpture, and the work establishes itself as “memory of the time wood has existed.” Rather than ignoring the autonomous movement of wood, by fixing it into form, he creates works that are abstract forms yet possess vital energy.
In YouTube videos, it is stated that “there is no blueprint, and after making rough marks with a pencil, he relies on intuition to carve,” and this “divine technique” of carving creates his representative series.
Body of Works Standing at the Boundary Between Vessel Structure and Sculptural Quality
Another important lineage is the series that borrows the structure of vessels while crossing the boundary into sculptural works. While forms that evoke “vessel formats” such as rinkakata (lobed forms) and plate forms remain, rather than arranging them symmetrically, by deliberately creating tension and tilting, the presence as mass is strengthened.
The internal hollow is a structure derived from vessels, but how this hollow is carved out and in which direction the wood’s force is released changes the tension and swelling of the outer form. Because Murayama proceeds with sculpture while reading this “internal wood grain,” the works possess a sculptural logic in a different dimension from vessel functionality.
The carving marks and wood grain expression on the surface do not disrupt the refinement as vessels, but rather serve to emphasize the inevitability of existence itself. The representative work “Zelkova Wiped-Lacquer Lobed Bowl” is also known as a work that maintains the basic format as a vessel while possessing overwhelming three-dimensionality and sculptural tension.
This series that moves toward sculptural meaning while borrowing vessel format can be said to be a boundary work group that symbolizes Murayama’s philosophy.
Visual Effects Transcending Material: Texture and Mass Expression That Don’t Seem Like Wood Craft
Murayama’s works have characteristics that create textures that don’t appear to be wood craft while being wood craft. Carving marks appear like natural rock surfaces, or smooth curved surfaces evoke the texture of stone or metal, generating visual effects that transcend the conventional image of materials.
This results from a combination of the method of deliberately leaving “subtle undulations produced by handwork” that emerge through multiple processes of carving, pressing, and polishing with chisels and planes, and curved surface design calculated for light reflection. Furthermore, the luster from wiped lacquer creates tension on the surface, and the mass contours slightly rise, creating a unique impression where the heaviness and lightness uncharacteristic of wood craft coexist.
Art Powers Japan’s commentary states, “The works appear very simple, but upon closer inspection, unexpected devices emerge, and gradually one realizes they are not simple structures.” Viewers at first glance feel a multiplicity that the words “wood sculpture” are insufficient to describe, and encounter the very possibility of sculpture that transcends materials.
The reason Murayama’s works are internationally acclaimed also lies in this “transcendence of material.”
Conclusion
Akira Murayama’s artistic world is pervaded by the attitude of thoroughly reading the natural movement, changes during drying, and texture that the material of wood possesses, and making visible as sculpture the force latent inside it. His representative works that transform into abstract mass while referencing vessel structure have greatly expanded the boundary between contemporary wood craft and sculpture, earning high recognition in museums and galleries domestically and internationally, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Additionally, even in comparison with contemporary artists, his approach of expanding sculptural language while preserving the vitality of materials stands out for its uniqueness, becoming an important element that strengthens connections with international “collectable design.” Murayama’s activities redefine the possibilities wood craft possesses and are positioned as a new reference point for contemporary wood craft that traverses the domains of craft, art, and design.
