Kazuhiko Yakushiji (HARAKARA) / Artist
HARAKARA- an ancient Japanese word that means friends and brothers- is the artist name of Kazuhiko Yakushiji.
Kaz goes out in the fields, swimming with dolphins and whales, encountering wild animals in Alaska or traveling to sacred water places, in Japan. Such direct contacts with the nature have always been the fundamental source of inspiration for his art works.
HARAKARA is the name dedicated to his inspirational sources that he cherishes as his close friends.
2011
Launched an art project, Memories of Blue. Photo sessions featuring a new fin in Ogasawara Island took place with the participation of a top professional free diver, Mr. Ryuzo Shinomiya.
2010
Further improved the artificial fin for Fuji to make it even closer to real dolphin’s fin.
The Yomiuri Shimbun featured the pictures of Kaz swimming in the fin in Ogasawara Islands
(Aug. 16, 2010).→DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE
2006
● Featured by the Yomiuri Shimbun, a major national newspaper (Mar. 17, 2006), upon
the completion of the artificial fins which Kaz had been working on for the past three years.
● Started the creation of jewelries inspired by a native-American jewelry artist who
is young indigenous elder of the Hopi water clan. As Kaz describes as “wearable artworks”, the new
jewelries are featuring “Spirits of the water” with a touch of Japanese inspiration.
2005
Inspired by a travel to Alaska, a series of artworks was created under the theme of “Spirits in the forest”.
2003
Engaged in a joint project with Bridgestone Corporation during which he was engaged in developing the world's first artificial fin. The fin was specially tailored for Fuji, a popular dolphin at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium suffering from a rare infection that had destroyed most of her caudal fin.
→SFGate 2006.09.12 Thanks to the fin, Fiji has recovered enough to be able to jump.
1996
● Developed an original technique for his acrylic sculptures, “Mist technique”, which effectively shows
objects enclosed in acrylic material misty.
● Mastered basic glass engraving techniques in Wildberg, Germany.
● Studied the ecology and behavioral characteristics of marine mammals at the Dolphin Research
Center in Florida, USA.
● Started to create transparent sculptures of marine mammals using glass and acrylic materials
1968
Born in Osaka, Japan.