Shōno Tokuzō (b. 1942)

Shōno Tokuzō is the son of Shōno Shōunsai (1904 - 1974), the first bamboo artist to be designated a Living National Treasure. After graduating in sculpture from Musashino Art University, Tokyo, in 1964, Tokuzō apprenticed with his father for ten years. Like his father, he harvests his own bamboo where he lives in Oita Prefecture and he prepares it by using heat to draw out the natural oils. The painstaking process results in bamboo that is pleasing in colour. His works are in the collections of institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia.