Profile
| Born in Ehime, Japan in 1967 | |
| From an early age, Akikawa showed an interest in the Danjiri carvings of the Saijo Festival in Ehime prefecture. At the age of 18, he met Danjiri sculptor Shinji Ishimizu, who taught him the fascination of sculpture and took him on a tour of temples, shrines and float sculptures throughout the country. In May 2010, Akikawa visited Oberamagau, woodcarving town in Germany for the recording of NHK’s ‘Wonder x Wonder’ programme, and purchased a hawk carving. Looking at the sculpture, he thought “I can carve it myself” and started carving. Learned under Busshi, sculptor specializing in Buddha statues, masters Koun Seki and Kokei Konno, who taught him how to carve wood sculptures. |
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| 【Public Collections】 | |
| Senko-ji Temple (Hiroshima), Shurokusai Temple (Miyagi), Taishan Tenmyo-ji Temple (Gunma) | |