Benji ASADA – 1899-1984 Japanese Painter and Printmaker

In 1914 he enrolled in the Kyoto City School of Fine Arts and Crafts (Kyôto Shiritsu Bijutsu Kôgei Gakkô), graduating in 1924. In 1927 he changed his name from Benji Nakanishi to Benji Asada, and in 1928 he participated in the publication of the magazine Han (“Prints”). In 1929 he was a founding member of the Kyoto Sôsaku-Hanga Kyôkai, and he also started studying Nihonga (Japanese style) painting with Nishimura Goun. Until WWII he was active in all leading Hanga groups, but after the war he abandoned woodblock making and devoted all his energy to Nihonga.