Born in 1954 in Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture, Kazuyuki Futagawa studied at and graduated from Kanazawa College of Art. He then completed his master's degree at the Department of Japanese Painting at Tokyo University of the Arts. Yakushima Island is known for its humid and mossy forest of magnificent trees. Majestic, untouched natural beauty, which is beyond the control of human beings, has existed there since pre- historic times. For the first time as an artist, Futagawa stepped into the deep forest of Yakushima. He carefully observes mossy tree roots and leaves on branch tips and re- produces them with skillful brush strokes. His paintings reflect the way he looks at great nature in endless awe, along with his deep spirituality. His works extend far beyond realism and are transformed into even more beautiful, splendid imaginary scenes. Recently Futagawa presented a series of realistic portraits painted in a gradation of Chinese ink, which further surprised and impressed the viewers.