"Shogun" — A Fine Art Collaboration with Takuma Tanaka
"Shogun" — A Fine Art Collaboration with Takuma Tanaka
"Shogun" is not a portrait of the past. It is a confrontation with it.
A general clad in full armor — kabuto helmet, lacquered plates, the weight of command — rendered through the fractured, electric lens of contemporary abstraction. Tokyo-based artist Takuma Tanaka takes one of history's most commanding figures and forces it into the present tense. The result is something that doesn't belong to any single era. It belongs to anyone who has ever had to hold the line.
This is a work about authority earned through discipline. About presence. About what it looks like when a person has decided — completely — who they are. Inspired by the visual language of Ukiyo-e, Japan's iconic woodblock print tradition, and pushed through a contemporary abstract filter, the warrior here emerges not copied, but reinterpreted. Not preserved, but alive.
Shogun is printed on Awa Washi — a handmade Japanese paper with roots stretching back to 806 AD, designated a Traditional Craft of Japan in 1976. Produced in Tokushima Prefecture using centuries-old techniques including nagashi-zuki (flow-making) and tame-zuki (pool-making), Awa Washi carries a texture and warmth that no mass-produced paper can replicate. Thin yet tear-resistant, soft yet permanent — the paper itself is an artifact. When you hold this print, you are holding a material that artisans have protected for over a millennium.
Hang it where you need to be reminded what total commitment looks like.
◆Details
A3 size.
Printed on authentic Awa Washi (traditional Japanese paper)
Inspired by the Ukiyo-e style of Japanese fine art
Museum-quality print (frame not included)
Designed and printed in Kyoto, Japan
◆What is Awa Washi?
Awa Washi is Japanese paper produced in Yoshino City, Tokushima Prefecture; Naka Town, Naka District; and Ikeda Town, Miyoshi City. It is made using traditional Japanese paper-making techniques such as “flow-making” and “pool-making.”Awa Washi is characterized by the unique texture and natural feel of hand-made paper, along with its durable quality—thin yet strong and resistant to tearing, even when wet.
◆History of Awa Washi
The exact origins of Awa Washi are unclear, but it is thought to have begun around 806–810 AD. Records indicate that the Awa Inbe clan cultivated hemp and kozo (paper mulberry) and produced paper, suggesting that washi production had already begun by the Nara period.In modern times, Awa washi gradually declined alongside Westernization. However, one paper-making company persevered in preserving the tradition, and in 1976, Awa washi was designated a Traditional Craft.
◆Design
This artwork was designed in my Kyoto studio. Some of the images were designed using digital design tools, while others were designed using artificial intelligence (AI) with my own instructions and references to traditional artworks.
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Let customers speak for us
Stayed at a bad job way too long.
Told myself it was loyalty.
Turns out there's a word for what I was actually doing — and loyalty isn't it.
Chugi is the chapter. The short version is: real loyalty includes the question ""does this still deserve what I'm giving it?""
I had completely stopped asking that.
Didn't make me feel great about the past three years, not gonna lie.
But it reframed how I think about commitment going forward, which
I think is the point.
Good book. Challenging in the right ways.
All members of the SHOGUN production staff should read this.
The stories of Japanese samurai are fascinating.
The best choice not only to understand the spirit of Bushido, but also to embody it.
