Kyohei Fujita Japan, 1921-2004

Kyohei Fujita (b. 1921, Tokyo, Japan; d. 2004) was a Japanese glass artist known primarily for his ornate “Liuli boxes,” which the artist began creating in 1973. After studying engraving at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, Fujita forayed into glasswork. In 1996, the Kyohei Fujita Museum of Glass was established in Matsushima, Japan to commemorate Fujita’s legacy as a pioneer of glassmaking. In 1997, the artist was recognized as a Living National Treasure, a distinction awarded in Japan for “Preservers of Important Tangible Cultural Properties.” Fujita’s work has been exhibited in several group exhibitions at prominent international institutions including the Museum Kunst Palast, Dusseldorf, the Shanghai Fine Arts Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.