A solo exhibition by paper-cutting artist Hiroki Saito, "Itsuka Aruita Michi" (いつか歩いた道), will be held at Garari Showcase, a café and gallery next to the Hokusai-kan museum in Obuse, Nagano, from October 22 to November 3, 2026.
At first glance, his works can be mistaken for paintings, with an overwhelmingly fine level of detail that cuts out scenes from everyday life. Saito says that the moment he first put a knife to paper in his second year of high school, something like a fog inside him cleared at once, and he sensed instinctively, "I was born to do paper-cutting!" Since then, he has taken ordinary everyday scenes as his models and worked to create pieces that combine realism with emotion. For this exhibition, he presents homage works inspired by the art of Katsushika Hokusai.
The feelings "beyond the scenery" that well up from his works, along with the thoughts and memories of Saito himself and of each visitor, will make the world of these paper-cut pieces appear even more beautiful.
Exhibition Details
- Title: Paper-cutting artist Hiroki Saito Solo Exhibition "Itsuka Aruita Michi" (いつか歩いた道)
- Dates: October 22 (Thu) to November 3 (Tue), 2026
- Venue: Garari Showcase (café and gallery next to Hokusai-kan)
- Address: Garari 2F, 485 Obuse, Obuse-machi, Kamitakai-gun, Nagano
- Admission: Free
- Hours: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
- Closed: Wednesdays
Highlights
The main attraction is a set of homage works that reinterpret Katsushika Hokusai's landscape depictions through the unique perspective of an artist living today and the technique of paper-cutting. The river and bridge draw on Hokusai's 「江戸両国橋夕涼花火之図」 (Edo Ryogoku Bridge, Evening Cool and Fireworks), and the sky draws on 「富嶽三十六景 御厩川岸より両国橋夕陽見」 (from the Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji series, a view of Ryogoku Bridge at sunset from the Onmayagashi riverbank).
Title: 足音を感じて ("Feeling the Footsteps"), created by Hiroki Saito in 2026
In creating the works, Saito focused on a point he shares with Hokusai: Hokusai, too, painted the everyday scenery of the age he lived in. He actually walked around Ryogoku in Tokyo, a place associated with Hokusai, wondering "If Hokusai were alive today, what would he cut out?" The result is a set of works in which present-day scenery and Hokusai's world overlap naturally.
The Blue That Hokusai Loved
The process of cutting out black paper and pasting paper dyed with paint or other colors onto the cut-out areas from behind produces an expression with a certain "Hokusai-like" quality.
In color, too, Saito focused on the "bero-ai" (Prussian blue) that Hokusai was particular about. The same shade of blue is used for the surface of the river, and distant buildings are drawn using "only shades of ink."
Landscapes born from color, empty space, and delicate cutting convey respect for Hokusai while reflecting the sensibility unique to Saito today.
Two artists from different eras, working in different forms of expression, resonate through the way they look at everyday scenery. Visitors are invited to enjoy this encounter with a new landscape.
Many New Works on Display
Title: 幸せのシカク ("Shiawase no Shikaku"), created by Hiroki Saito in 2026
Title: 真っ直ぐな道で迷子になって ("Lost on a Straight Road"), created by Hiroki Saito in 2026
In addition to the paper-cut works, the exhibition also displays and sells goods such as miniature original artworks, postcards, stickers, and keychains.
Hiroki Saito's Comment on "Itsuka Aruita Michi"
We usually walk the roads of our daily lives in many ways: laughing with someone, thinking alone, and sometimes feeling sad, angry, or moved to tears.
What I want to express through paper-cutting is exactly that kind of ordinary everyday scenery. Rather than simply reproducing the view in front of me, I put into my works the emotions I felt at the time, and even my inner self that becomes visible when I look back after some time has passed.
While researching Hokusai's works this time, I came to feel that Hokusai, too, may have been depicting the everyday world he lived in.
Surely, memories and feelings remain in every road, whether walked with someone or walked alone.
I would be happy if visitors who see the works are reminded of the roads they have walked and the feelings they had at the time. I also hope the works can quietly stay close to everyone's daily lives.
Artist Profile
Hiroki Saito, paper-cutting artist
Born on April 1, 1993, in Nagano Prefecture.
He came across paper-cutting in his second year of high school, on the recommendation of a teacher who had been looking after him. After graduating from high school and going through various twists and turns, he began working as an artist in 2014. He creates works centered on "ordinary everyday scenery."
He cuts out black paper and pastes paper that he has dyed himself with paint or other colors onto the cut-out areas from behind, repeating this process many times to create realistic works with depth.
- 2014: Began working as a paper-cutting artist
- 2017: Solo exhibition "星の降る街" (Tokyo)
- 2018: Group exhibition "僕らの世界展" (Tokyo)
- 2019: 長野県工芸美術展 (Nagano), Encouragement Award
- 2019: 濃黒切り絵展 (Osaka), 2nd place in visitor voting
- 2020: Appeared on Fuji TV's "めざましテレビ"
- 2020: Solo exhibition "足跡" (Tokyo)
- 2020: 濃黒切り絵選抜展 (Osaka)
- 2021: Featured in the May issue of アートコレクターズ, "細部への情熱"
- 2021: Exhibition "旅の案内人" (Tokyo)
- 2022: Work published in the March issue of アートコレクターズ
- 2022: 濃黒切り絵展 (Osaka), Encouragement Award
- 2022: Appeared on Fuji TV's "ノンストップ"
- 2022: Appeared on Nippon TV's "ヒルナンデス"
- 2023: Solo exhibition "切り絵作家斉藤洋樹個展" (Tokyo)
- 2023: 濃黒奨励作家展 (Osaka), Audience Award
- 2023: Solo exhibition "足跡の道標" (Hyogo)
- 2025: Solo exhibition "約束の道標" (Tokyo)
- 2025: 輝く切り絵展 (Osaka)
- 2025: Solo exhibition "切り絵作家斉藤洋樹作品展" (Nagano)
- 2025: Solo exhibition "あなたの道標" (Tokyo)
- 2026: 濃黒切り絵コンペティション受賞作家作品展 (Yamanashi)
He has also taken part in many other special exhibitions and group exhibitions.
