Moss Artist
Moss Art Association, Inc. Representative Director Takashi Yamagata

Based in Kita Ibaraki city, Ibaragi prefecture, Takeshi Yamagata has been sending the charm of moss art to all over the world.

His turning point came in his high school unexpectedly. It was the very moment he overwhelmed and impressed by the spectacle of Japanese garden covered with moss as long as the eye can see in Saihoji temple in Kyoto. His impression has not faded even now after 35 years as once in his life’s unforgettable experience. Therefore, he bought sukiya style of house: Japanese traditional architecture style and made moss garden in order to create moss art. Since then, his creative talent bloomed as a moss artist.

He invited Jamie Comeau of space and a woodwork artist from Canada at the end of 2019, and completed an art atelier by using full use of scrap wood which made visitors feel like being in real woods, and this unique space attracted much attention from visitors as interactive art. Visitors got surprised and amazed by this new style of art, thus his many works have been highly evaluated all over the world.

What is more, he challenged how to control and treat moss. Moss has image of having difficulties to preserve, and if in the case of raw moss, it cannot be exported overseas on the problem of quarantine etc. To overcome these obstacles, he has spent for years in order to change the minus for a moss art into plus, and finally he developed, "Moss not withering", "Mossture" [Moss x Moisture=MOSSTURE] "Mossture" is the new style of moss art. By using special processing method to material while reproducing a feeling of grace of moss, color, and tactile feeling also remain a taste of natural good moss and needs neither water nor temperature management made moss become "Mossture" successfully. It attracted attention as moss is suitable for the admiration with keeping its appearance seems to be real raw moss, and this "Mossture" extended a future big hope and possibility in the moss art industry.

His feeling of the world of the moss art cleared uniquely and received high evaluation from all over the world, such as attracting attention and being collected by the art education books of the State of Mongolia Department of Education and Science in 2022. Through coverages from each media, he has been sending the beauty of the moss art to the world as a leading person of a moss art.

In recent years, he has been tackling various moss art works actively. For example, the Moss wall tapestry which uses “Mossture”, utilizing various places, such as a large-sized institution, commercial establishment, a hotel, and a pavilion, taking advantage of the space design which is his field of expertise.