Drawing Room, 1973

This version edition 9 of 30.

Katsujiro Terashi was born in 1927 in Ōita City, Ōita Prefecture. Initially educated at Ōita Economics Specialized School (later part of Ōita University’s Faculty of Economics), he served as a trainee in the Imperial Japanese Navy’s pilot training program during the war. After the war, he turned his interest to the visual arts, first working in oil painting before teaching himself woodblock and print techniques.

In the early 1960s Terashi took a distinct direction: he focused on traditional Japanese architecture—especially roof-tiles and rural houses—as his consistent subject. In 1961 he was among the founding participants of the Japan Print Society, and his woodblock prints began appearing in major Japanese exhibitions such as the Nitten and regional art shows. His work earned attention not only in Japan but internationally, and he gradually built a career of awards and global showings.

Terashi’s prints are held in public collections (for example the Ōita Prefectural Art Museum) and reflect a clean, decorative style infused with a sense of place and tradition. He also collected wartime and civilian-life artefacts, donating a large archive to Usa City. His art bridged regional Japanese subject matter with international print-art discourse, and he is often lauded for his consistent thematic focus and technical mastery.

Chronology of Selected Exhibitions & Awards — Katsujiro Terashi (寺司 勝次郎)

1966: Woodblock print “Summer Roof” accepted into the Nitten (Japan Fine Arts Exhibition).

1968: Woodblock print “Castle-Town House” (城下町の家) awarded the top prize at the 4th Ōita Prefecture Art Exhibition.

1972: Woodblock print “Composition #7” acquired by the Cincinnati Art Museum, USA.

1976: First major international award — Spain (Barcelona) for woodblock print.

1979: Gold prize awarded at the Onfleur International Art Exhibition (France) for woodblock print.

1987: Received the Mayor’s Award in Lisbon at the Portugal International Exhibition for woodblock print.

1990: Mayor’s Award, Middlesbrough (UK) at the UK International Exhibition; Gold Prize at the Cagnes‑sur‑Mer International Art Grand Prix, France.

1997: 50-year career and 70th birthday retrospective exhibition at Tokiwa Department Store Gallery (Oita); also published “100 Prints, 100 Essays” collecting 40 years’ works and writings.

2020 (April): Posthumous “Collection Exhibition of the Roof Print-maker Terashi Katsujiro” held at Usa Municipal Library Gallery, Usa City.