Joichi Hoshi (1913-1979)

Joichi Hoshi was born in 1913 in Niigata, Japan. After teaching in Taiwan for over a decade, he returned to Japan in 1946 and studied oil painting at Musashino College of Fine Arts, graduating in 1956. Hoshi then taught himself woodblock printmaking, excelling particularly in his later works that featured the use of real gold or silver leaf.

In the early 1970s, Hoshi began focusing on tree motifs in his prints, a theme that became his signature and brought him international acclaim. His detailed and opulent tree prints contributed to the rise of tree imagery in modern Japanese printmaking. Hoshi's art was celebrated in numerous international exhibitions, including in Tokyo and Sao Paulo, until his death in 1979, leaving a lasting impact on contemporary Japanese art.