Waichi Tsutaka

Waichi Tsutaka (津高和一, Tsutaka Waichi, November 1, 1911, in Osaka – January 17, 1995, in Nishinomiya) was a Japanese visual artist, mainly known as painter and poet.

Tsutaka has been recognized as one of the leading postwar Japanese abstract painters for his calligraphic paintings, which explored the formal, textual, and material variety of lines. He also created ink paintings, watercolors, drawings, lithographs, ceramic plates, stone carvings, collages, and illustrations for publications, as well as poems, essays and articles on art, and exhibitions reviews.

Tsutaka was an influential figure in the cultural life of the Hanshin region, who vitally engaged in artist groups and platforms for cross-genre exchange, in art education, and in art projects and outdoor exhibitions that aimed at breaking down the separation between art and (everyday) life, making art accessible for a broader public, and fostering dialogue through art.