Title

Exhibiting at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo "Osaka Week" from May 5th (Sat) to 10th (Sun)
Location: EXPO Messe "WASSE" (Toyonaka City "Yarinahare Zone")

About the Museum

This museum is part of the Sumino Isamu Foundation's "Operation and Maintenance of Museums for Exhibiting Artworks" project, and is promoting the charm and splendor of Japan both in Japan and overseas through the works of paper cutting artist Osamu Kubo, who incorporates his own unique techniques into traditional Japanese persimmon tannin washi paper. It is an experiential facility where you can enjoy both a museum where you can "view" paper cuttings and a workshop where you can "make" paper cuttings.
The appeal of KUBO Shu's work lies in the vitality that overflows from it.
Of course, we want people today to view Kubo Osamu's work, but we also want you to feel the energy that goes into continuing to create paper cuttings as paintings (works of art) with the goal of "creating works that people 100 or 200 years from now can enjoy."

Depicting Japan's four seasons on a 10-meter scale "72 Seasons"

One of the major themes he has explored while traveling through Japan's four seasons.
He has been wholeheartedly painting whatever he comes across, whether it be the seasonal ingredients that appeal to him, the scenery that changes with the seasons, or festivals and other events.
Not only the four seasons, but also the 24 solar terms based on the lunar calendar(20th birthday)I became aware of this and published "The 24 solar terms depicted in paper cuttings: seasonal ingredients" (Ehon no Mori). Even today, the beginning of spring, beginning of summer, beginning of autumn, beginning of winter, etc. are often used to mark the turning points of the seasons.
The 5 solar terms are further divided into periods of about XNUMX days each, and the XNUMX seasons depict the changes in weather, plants and animals that I sense through my five senses.(Seventy-two years old).
In particular, while I was drawing, I felt that the sense of seasons was disappearing from the ingredients on display in stores and from our eating habits. I looked at ingredients, which are the very gifts from the earth, with gratitude once again for their strength and beauty. When I thought about it again, I was surprised at how many things I didn't know about ingredients, such as "Is this ingredient only suitable for this season?", and I felt the importance of eating foods in season.
It took five years to conceive and create this piece, which depicts the 72 seasons through paper cutting.
I believe this work will be of use to people now and in the future.
We hope you enjoy watching the show while feeling the change of seasons.

"The 72 Seasons Drawn in Papercutting"

spring equinox
summer solstice
Autumn equinox
winter solstice

Flowers that add color to each season

Weeping cherry tree
Iris
Heavenly Flower (Manjushage)
Camellia and Flowing Water

Paper cutting artist Osamu Kubo

Kirie Artist KUBO Shu

Kubo Osamu's papercuts have a sense of texture, three-dimensionality, and perspective, and express light and shadow through the thickness of the lines. His drawings are layered on top of washi paper and cut out with an art knife, and the remaining black lines are all connected, which is a major feature of his work. Although there are many more restrictions than painting, such as cutting paper, he makes use of these restrictions to create his works.
The paper, which is imbued with the spirit of Japan, is dyed with a mixture of acrylic paints and pigments, then pasted onto the back of each section of the black frame of the cut-out picture to complete each piece.
He continues to create new paper cutting works by incorporating various techniques into traditional paper cutting techniques.

Major books

Paper cutting sketch collection ①②, Paper cutting postcard book ①②
Complete Collection of Paper Cuttings: Kubo Osamu's 70th Birthday (Toho Publishing)
The 24 solar terms depicted in paper cuttings - seasonal ingredients (Ehon no Mori)
NHK Textbook: First Paper Cutting that Anyone Can Do (NHK Publishing)
Half the Life of a Paper Cutout Artist (Tankosha), Paper Jabonism: Paper Cutout Collection I and II
He has published many books, including "Introduction to Papercutting for Everyone" (Tsuchiya Shoten).

Osamu Kubo

Born in Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1951. He discovered paper cutting while studying architecture at university. While creating paper cutting, he met his life mentor, Sakyo Komatsu, and his mentor, Kokuta Suda, from whom he learned a lot. With the support of both men, he studied abroad in Spain for a year from 1984, and it was his first time living abroad and learning from drawing classes, which made him keenly aware of the meaning of life as a painter. After that, he incorporated the materials he learned in Spain into his work, and established his own unique mixed media technique.
In 2009, he was appointed as a cultural ambassador by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and has been engaged in cultural exchange activities throughout the U.S., based in New York. Since then, he has expanded his activities overseas, holding workshops, lectures, and exhibitions in the U.S., Spain, Portugal, the Philippines, Malaysia, Ukraine, Russia, Iran, Cuba, Turkey, Georgia, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and other countries, engaging in cultural exchange activities through paper cutting.
Representative exhibitions held overseas include an exhibition held at the Empire State Building in New York in 2012 as part of the 100th anniversary of the Japan-U.S. Cherry Blossom Gift, and an exhibition held at the State Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow, Russia in 2014. In recognition of his various activities, he was awarded the "Best Art Award" by the Japan-America Society of Philadelphia in November 2016, the first time that he has received such an award overseas.
In 2019, he received the Yamaguchi Prefecture Cultural Merit Award and the Commissioner's Award from the Agency for Cultural Affairs. In 2024, he will receive the Foreign Minister's Award from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
His designs have been used on hometown stamps such as "Sumida River Fireworks and Morning Glories," "Fukagawa Hachiman Festival," and "Tenjin Festival," as well as New Year's cards. He is also active in many other areas, including product packaging design.