Biography
Hidehiko Gotou is a Japanese printmaker and master baren maker born in Kokura, Fukuoka prefecture in 1953, who occupies a singular position in the world of contemporary mokuhanga as both a skilled artist and one of the last remaining masters of traditional baren construction. From his studio KIKUHIDE in Oiso, Kanagawa prefecture, he creates woodblock prints and crafts the essential hand-held printing tools that are central to the mokuhanga process.
Gotou's path to his dual mastery was shaped by an unconventional career trajectory. He initially served in the Japan Self-Defense Forces as a communications officer before finding his vocation in printmaking and craft. After college, where he studied wood sculpture, he apprenticed under Kikio Gosho, a printmaker, and Matashiro Uchikawa, an ukiyo-e printer, learning both the art of woodblock printing and the craft of baren making. In 1979, he established his baren studio KIKUHIDE, dedicating himself to the preservation and advancement of this endangered craft.
The traditional hon-baren that Gotou creates is a complex instrument composed of a twisted bamboo coil core, multiple layers of fine washi paper glued and lacquered together for the backing, and an outer sheath of bamboo bark. Using traditional methods, it can take Gotou up to six months to complete a single baren. His instruments are regarded as among the finest made today, with individual tools ranging in price from eight hundred to ten thousand dollars. The baren is far more than a simple tool -- it is the medium through which the printer's skill, pressure, and intention are transmitted to the paper, and variations in construction profoundly affect the quality of the resulting print.
As a printmaker in his own right, Gotou has exhibited widely across Japan and Central Europe, winning important prizes for his distinctive prints. In 1989, he was named Most Promising New Artist in a major print exhibition held in Tokyo, also receiving its Grand Prize. He has demonstrated baren making and printing at International Mokuhanga Conferences, including IMC 2017 Hawaii, where he conducted workshops on baren construction and printing the deepest black. His relationship with American printmaker Andrew Stone through the Florence Baren Project has helped bring his craft to wider international attention.
Key Facts
- Active Period
- 1953
- Nationality
- 🇯🇵Japan
- Movement
- Contemporary Mokuhanga
Frequently Asked Questions
Hidehiko Gotou is a Japanese printmaker and master baren maker born in Kokura, Fukuoka prefecture in 1953, who occupies a singular position in the world of contemporary mokuhanga as both a skilled artist and one of the last remaining masters of traditional baren construction. From his studio KIKUHIDE in Oiso, Kanagawa prefecture, he creates woodblock prints and crafts the essential hand-held printing tools that are central to the mokuhanga process.
Hidehiko Gotou was active born in 1953. They were associated with the Contemporary Mokuhanga movement.
Hidehiko Gotou's work was shaped by the Contemporary Mokuhanga tradition in Japanese woodblock printmaking. Contemporary Mokuhanga: Contemporary mokuhanga (literally "wood-block print") encompasses artists working from approximately 1970 to the present who continue or reinvent traditional Japanese woodblock printing techniques.
Hidehiko Gotou is a contemporary printmaker working in the mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock) tradition. Recognition through awards and exhibitions supports growing collector interest. Prices for contemporary mokuhanga prints range from $150 for smaller works to $2,000 for major compositions. Most prints sell in the $240–$800 range. The global mokuhanga community has been growing, with increasing exhibition opportunities and collector interest. Contemporary mokuhanga represents an affordable entry point for collectors.