Profile
Tsukasa Kataoka
Photographic Artist / Director of Studio Azur
Member of the Mandala Art Society, NPS, and OMPS
Disciple of the photographic master Katsuhisa Ogawa
Drawn by a deep desire to create something that would endure beyond my lifetime,
I entered the world of photography not as documentation, but as a form of spiritual and artistic expression.
At the core of my practice lies a reverence for nature and Japanese sensibility,
manifested through images that seek to capture serenity, silence, and timelessness.
I print each work on the highest-grade handmade Tango Washi—
a paper also used in the restoration of cultural treasures—
infusing every piece with breath, softness, and a profound sense of light.
Rather than capturing what is seen,
I aim to evoke what is felt—
inviting viewers into a quiet space where the photograph becomes a mirror of the soul.
【Selected Sacred Offerings & Exhibitions】
• Offered mandala works to Kongobu-ji Temple (Head Temple of Koyasan Shingon Buddhism)
and Saizen-ji Temple, receiving official commendation from the head priest.
• Exhibited Red and White Plum Blossoms Mandala (Byōbu screen)
at the Banryūtei Garden of Kongobu-ji Temple.
• Donated a photographic folding screen to the historic Keiun-kan (Nagahama),
now on permanent display in the audience chamber.
• Dedicated Blue Lotus Mandala (Byōbu screen) to Saizen-ji Temple.
• Held numerous solo exhibitions across Japan.
Biography
- ・1977 Born in Nara Prefecture
- ・1999 Established Kataoka Photo Office, a private office.
- ・2003 Solo exhibition “Ashio Copper Mine, a town that could not be entered in Heisei” (Fuji Photo Gallery)
- ・2004 Solo exhibition “Time Promenade -European Travelogue-” (Minamimori Art Gallery, Kakidrop)
- ・2005 Solo exhibition “Enchanted Art” (Motomachi Art Gallery)
- ・2006 Solo exhibition “Be Free” (Motomachi Art Gallery)
- ・2006 Joined the Japan Photographers Society (JPS) (voluntary withdrawal in 2020)
- ・Since 2008, he has been a full-time lecturer at Olympus Plaza Osaka Opening Commemorative Special College (former OMSYSTEM seminar)
- ・Lecturer at Nikon College since 2009 (until 2020)
- ・2009 Solo exhibition “White Spring” (Olympus Gallery)
- ・2012 Established Studio Azur
- ・2015 Solo exhibition “WAVE” (EDION Hiroshima Main Store)
- ・2016 Solo exhibition “WAVE” (EDION Tsutaya Home Appliances Hiroshima Event Space)
- ・2018 Solo exhibition “Wind of Mind” (Olympus Gallery)
- ・2019 Lecturer at Fuji Film Academy X (until 2021)
- ・2019 Participated in the joint exhibition “Heisei Rinpa Exhibition” (Nagahama Keiunkan)
- ・2020 Exhibited works in the Kanryu Garden of Koyasan Kongobuji Temple (Mandala Art Production Association)
- ・2021 Large-scale work (two pieces and one double folding screen, 1,800 mm × 3,600 mm) “Red and White Plum Blossom Bird Diagram” was donated to Keiunkan (Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture) and exhibited permanently in the throne room of the main building.
- ・2023 Solo exhibition “Shashin Denshin” (OM SYSTEM Gallery)
- ・2023 Solo exhibition “Shashin Denshin” (Rihga Royal Gallery)
- ・2024 Solo exhibition “Shashin Denshin” (EDION Tsutaya Home Appliances Hiroshima Event Space)
- ・2024 Large-scale work (two-and-a-half folding screens, 1,800 mm × 1,800 mm) “Blue Lotus Flower Flock of Birds and Insects” was dedicated to Saisenji Temple (Awaji City, Hyogo Prefecture) and received a certificate of commendation from His Holiness Hasebe, President of the Koyasan Shingon Buddhist sect.
- ・From 2024, expand the field of activities to China (participate as an artist in a Japan-China cultural exchange project at Yangzhou Daming Temple)
Masterpiece
- “Shashin Denshin” (2023 OM SYSTEM Gallery)
- “Wind of mind ~ Kokoro no Kaze” (Original print photo collection Complete Works of Japan Contemporary Photographers, 2017, Galaxy Publishing)
- “White Spring” (March 2009 Olympus Gallery, April 2009 Motomachi Art Gallery)
- “Be Free” (2006)
- “Time Promenade ~ European Travelogue ~” (2004)
- “The town that could not enter Heisei Ashio Copper Mine” (2003)
- “Enchanted Art” (2003)
