Toshio Odate (born 1930) is a Japanese-born American sculptor, woodworker, craftsman, author, and educator. He specializes in Japanese woodworking and is a noted shoji maker. He is the author of, ''Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit and Use'' (Taunton Press, 1984).

Biography

Toshio Odate was born in 1930 in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. He trained in Japan as a cabinetmaker early in his career for 7 years starting at age 16, this was due to the economic pressure in Japan post-World War II. In 1948, he moved to the United States for one year for college, followed by a year in Denmark for study of Scandinavian design. He was planning to return to Japan to teach, however he changed his mind and Odate then decided to return to the United States, to live in New York City. In 1973, he moved to

Woodbury, Connecticut Woodbury is a New England town, town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, Connecticut, Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The population was 9,72 ...

. He taught sculpture classes at Cooper Union briefly, followed by teaching at State University of New York at Purchase, Brooklyn Museum Art School, and Pratt Institute. At Brookfield Craft Center, Odate taught shoji-making classes. His work is included in the public collection at UCR Arts, Memorial Art Gallery, Chazen Museum of Art, and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Odate is included in the ''Brooklyn Museum Interviews of Artists, 1965–1968'', and the ''Stephen Radich Gallery Records, 1942–1979'', at the Archives of American Art.

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odate, Toshio 1930 births Japanese woodworkers Artists from Tokyo Artists from Connecticut Pratt Institute faculty American woodworkers Brooklyn Museum Art School faculty Cooper Union faculty Living people Japanese emigrants to the United States American artists of Japanese descent