Biography
Born in 1907 in Fukushima, Japan, Kiyoshi Saito had a humble beginning. After his mother's death, he was to become the guardian of a Buddhist temple, which he left shortly thereafter. He later apprenticed as a sign painter. Saito refined his talent and began his own successful sign painting business, but left it in 1932 to study art in Tokyo. He studied at the Hongo Painting Institute and began his work in oil.
Simultaneously, Saito took a job as a sign painter where he met Shiko Munakata and was introduced to woodblock printing. In 1937, for the first time, he entered both his oil paintings and woodblock prints in the Kokugakai Exhibition. By 19 38, he had presented his now most famous “Winter in Aizu” series. Saito’s work became more widely known after he was awarded first prize in the 1951 inaugural Sao Paolo Biennial for “Steady Gaze.” This recognition also paved the way for the sosaku-hanga movement, which boasts the importance of “self-drawn, self-carved, and self-printed” artwork.
Though entirely self-taught in the art of woodcutting, Kiyoshi Saito has become one of the most successful and well-known creative woodcutting artists of his time. His work can be found in numerous publications as well as in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.