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UK based Japanese artist puts heart to art

By on April 12, 2017

Kazuhito Takadoi may not be a household name in Japan but art aficionados in Europe pay a high price for his brand of art.

Takadoi studied Garden Art and Design at Leeds Metropolitan University in the U.K. in order to expand his knowledge on environmental art and do something creative with it.

“I didn’t want to do flower arranging because I thought it would be too restrictive,” he said in an interview.

He could have easily gotten a career in gardening but his interests, exploration and experience took him to a different path.

Takadoi uses twigs, leaves and grasses to make an elegant wall art.

Kazuhito Takadoi may not be a household name in his native land but art aficionados in Europe pay a high price for his brand of art.

Takadoi studied Garden Art and Design at Leeds Metropolitan University in the U.K. in order to expand his knowledge on environmental art and do something creative with it.

“I didn’t want to do flower arranging because I thought it would be too restrictive,” he said in an interview.

He could have easily gotten for himself, a career in gardening but his interests, exploration and experience took him to a different path. Today, he meticulously sculpts and hand-weaves grasses, delicate fibrous materials and twigs (grown at his garden) for a living. He drills holes on washi paper and injects some serious artistry in it like no one else does. Takadoi’s designs are planned with a strong attention to details and techniques, drawn out on tissue paper before they are transferred to a washi paper.

Growing up, Kazuhito Takadoi liked to play with stems and leaves of a plant, insert them into a washi paper and hang it up on the wall. “Seeing the colors change over time has always fascinated me.”. Takadoi views his art as his own version of ‘visual haiku’.

“The neighborhood in Nagoya city where I grew up was blessed with natural resources.”

“There was a cool playground where we would go pick up grapes, persimmons in the fall,” recalls Takadoi.

The reason behind choosing the U.K. as his home is a book he bought (when he was young) about the different plants species in the world. He read it all summer and changed him overnight. He was mesmerized by all the plants species and gorgeous flowerbeds in England he’s never seen before. Later, he travelled to the U.K. to join a tour of the British gardens.

Although he went to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania to complete an International Training Program, he knew he wanted to pursue his studies in the U.K. to be closer to the British culture, arts, botanical gardens and Andy Goldsworthy, a British sculptor he admires.

What’s unique about Takadoi’s artworks is the change in appearance over time. With his deep understanding of living materials, he is able to accurately predict the harmonious coming together of colours that makes each piece truly distinct and aesthetically beautiful. If you want to see more of his artworks, go to

kazuhitotakadoi.com or the UK artspace that represents him, Jagged Art jaggedart.com

About Ted Tanaka