BIOGRAPHY – EN | Etsuko Ichihara Official

Etsuko Ichihara

Artist
Etsuko Ichihara is Japanese award-winning artist. Born 1988 in Aichi. Graduated in Studies of Media, Body and Image from the School of Culture, Media and Society, Waseda University. She enrolled in the Graduate School of Intermedia Art at Tokyo University of the Arts while working professionally and completed the master’s program in 2025 as the top graduate. She has been creating artworks that interpret Japanese culture, customs and beliefs from a unique point of view, and present new, technology-based approaches. Thanks to their strong impact, these works have been introduced across a wide range of media all over the world, such as newspapers and TV programs, radio programs, and magazines.

Ichihara’s works were included in the Excellence Award at the 20th Japan Media Arts Festival, Entertainment Division in 2017, and in 2016, chosen for the INNOvation program from The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. She won Honorary Mention (Interactive Art＋) in PRIX Ars Electronica 2018 and received a STARTS Prize Nomination in the same year recently.
She was awarded the Salon de Printemps Prize, the top graduate award of the Graduate School of Intermedia Art at Tokyo University of the Arts, and was selected for Forbes JAPAN “NEXT 100.”

She has recently presented her works in exhibitions such as “Roppongi Crossing 2022” at the Mori Art Museum, “MOT Annual 2023” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, “Art Macao: Macao International Art Biennale 2023” at the Macao Museum of Art, “New Eden: Science Fiction Mythologies Transformed” at ArtScience Museum (Singapore), “Mediating Asia” at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, “Cyber Arts Exhibition 2018 – Ars Electronica Festival” at OK Center for Contemporary Art (Linz), the Japan Media Arts Festival at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, the 11th Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, and “KYOTO STEAM – International Arts and Science Festival” at Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, among others.
Her major solo exhibitions include “Digital Shamanism – Japanese Funeral and Festivity” at NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC] (Tokyo) and “Dystopia Land” at Civic Creative Base Tokyo [CCBT].

【FOLLOW ME】

【CONTACT】

Mail: mojarin@gmail.com
Twitter: @etsuko_ichihara

Short documentary movie about her works（English subscript）

Sekuhara Interface (moaning radish)

Digital Shaman Projcet

Summary

Received the Excellence Award (Entertainment Division) at the 20th Japan Media Arts Festival for the project “A Robot with Which You Can Spend the 49 Days After Death.”
Awarded an Honorary Mention at Prix Ars Electronica, one of the world’s most prestigious media art awards.
Participated as an expert creator in the Japan Pavilion Basic Concept Project for Expo 2025 Osaka–Kansai, commissioned by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (youngest member of the team).
Earned an MFA as a working professional student at Tokyo University of the Arts (Japan’s leading national art university), graduating top of class while continuing full-time professional practice.
Selected for Inno-vation (Special Program for Innovative Talents) by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (acceptance rate approx. 1 in 120) and recognized as an “Inno-β” certified unconventional innovator.
Invited to present works at museums, festivals, and international biennales around the world, including in Austria, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Macau, Australia, Greece, and Luxembourg.
Featured in numerous international and Japanese media outlets including BBC World Service, NHK WORLD, RTV Slovenia, and Forbes JAPAN.
Selected as one of “TOKYO ICONS” by the American fashion brand TOMMY HILFIGER.

CV

1988 Born in Aichi Pref, Japan
2011 B.A. in Waseda University : Studies of Media, Body and Image from the School of Culture, Media and Society / Machiko Kusahara Lab
2011-2016 Interaction Designer at Yahoo JAPAN
2016~ Freelance Artist
2025  M.F.A. (Intermedia Art), Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts — Top Graduate

AWARDS/SELECTIONS

2025：Forbes JAPAN’s “NEXT 100”
2025：Salon de Printemps Prize (Top Graduate), Tokyo University of the Arts
2022：Official Selection, Video Art category, 18th Athens Digital Arts Festival
2021：Weekly magazine SPA! “100 People Who Will Change Japan in 2021”
2018：[Honorary Mention] Ars Electronica Interactive Art Award《Digital Shaman Project》
2018：[Nomination] Ars Electronica STARTS PRIZE Award《Digital Shaman Project》
2017： [Excellence Award] at the 20th Japan Media Arts Festival《Digital Shaman Project》
2016：the INNOvation program from The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications《Digital Shaman Project》
2016：Basic Policy for Promoting Measures related to Preparations for and Management of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2020 of Goverment
2015：Supported Project to Support and Nurture of Media Arts Creators by Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan
2014：[Jury recommended works] at the 18th Japan Media Arts Festival
2014：[Silver Award] at the 18th CAMPUS GENIUS AWARD
2012：[second prize] at BLOOMBERG PAVILION PROJECT – Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS / FESTIVALS

2026 “New Rituals [for the End of the World]”, HEK (Haus der Elektronischen Künste), Basel, Switzerland
2025 “CAF Award 2025 Selected Works Exhibition”, Hillside Forum, Tokyo, Japan
2025 “Ars Electronica Festival 2025: Panic”, POSTCITY, Linz, Austria
2025 “Washoku Exhibition”, Contemporary Art Museum Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan
2025 “Dystopia Land”, Civic Creative Base Tokyo (CCBT), Tokyo, Japan
2025 “The 73rd Tokyo University of the Arts Graduation Works Exhibition”, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo, Japan
2024 “SCI-FI: Mythologies Transformed”, Science Gallery Melbourne ,Australia
2024 “SusHi Tech Tokyo 2024 Showcase Program”, The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation,Tokyo
2023 “MOT Annual 2023: Synergies — Between Creation and Generation”, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
2023 “ATAMI ART GRANT 2023”, ACAO FOREST, Atami, Japan
2023 “New Eden: Science Fiction Mythologies Transformed”, Art Science Museum, Singapore
2023 “steirischer herbst 2023: Desert of Realities”, esc medien kunst labor, Graz, Austria
2023 “Art Macao: Macao International Art Biennale 2023”, Macau art museum, Macau
2022 “Roppongi Crossing 2022: Coming & Going”, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
2022 “IN TRANSFER ‒ A NEW CONDITION” Ars Electronica Export Exhibition / Esch2022 ‒ European Capital of Culture, Luxembourg
2022 “Mediating Asia”, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan
2022 “DOGO ONSENART 2022”, Dogo Onsen, Matsuyama, JAPAN
2021 “SIGGRAPH Asia 2021”, Tokyo International Forum, Tokyo
2021 「Digital Art Festival Taipei 2021」The Red House, Taipei
2021 “Steirischer Herbst 2021″, esc medien kunst labor, Graz
2021 “Media Ambition Tokyo 2021” Roppongi Hills TOKYO CITY VIEW, Tokyo
2020 “translation exhibition” at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, Tokyo, JAPAN
2020 “International Arts × Science Festival 2020 – KYOTO STEAM” at Kyoto City Kyocera museum, Kyoto, JAPAN 2020 “Media Ambition Tokyo 2020”,Tokyo, JAPAN
2020 “(Re)Design Death” atCube Design Museum, Nethelands
2020 “Open Possibilities” at NTT InterCommunication Center[ICC], Tokyo , JAPAN
2019 “Open Possibilities at Japan Creative Center, Singapore
2019 “Matsudo International Science art festival” at Tojotei, Matsudo, JAPAN
2019 “Manifestaions” at Dutch Design Week, Netherlands
2019 “Speculum Artium” at Delavski dom Trbovlje, Slovenia
2019 “Ars Electronica Festival” at POSTCITY, Linz, Austria
2019 ”The Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions 2019” at Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, Tokyo 2018 ”Future Humanity – Our Shared Planetl” at Hyundai Motor Studio, Beijing
2018 ”Cyber Hug – Taoyuan Art x Technology Festival” at Taoyuan Arts center, Taiwan
2018 ”Cyber Arts Exhibition 2018” at Ars Electronica Festival, Linz, Austria
2018 ”Ascending Art Anual vol.2 – Matsuri, Matsuru” at Spiral Aoyama, Tokyo, JAPAN
2018 ”MECÂNICA – Japan Media Arts Festival in Aichi” at Nadia Park,Nagoya, JAPAN
2017 ”the 20th Japan Media Arts Festival” at Operacity Art Gallery, Tokyo , JAPAN
2016 ”Digital Shamanism: Japanese Funeral and Festivity” at NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC] ,Tokyo,JAPAN 2016 “Presentation of Supported Project to Support and Nurture of Media Arts Creators by Agency for Cultural Affairs”, at 3331 Arts Chiyoda,Tokyo, JAPAN
2015 “Failure” at Tomonotsu museum, Hiroshima, JAPAN
2015 “Etsuko Ichihara’s Fresh Hihokan” 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo, JAPAN
2014 “Shibuya Culture Festival 2014” at PARCO, Tokyo, JAPAN
2014 YEBISU ART PLACE, Yebis Garden Place, JAPAN
2013 “Shibuya Culture Festival 2013” at PARCO, Tokyo, JAPAN
2012 “Electric Work Festival” at 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo, JAPAN
2012 “Campus Genius Meeting”, MIRROR, Tokyo, JAPAN
2012 ”BLOOMBERG PAVILION PROJECT” at Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, JAPAN

Public Projects / Advisory Roles

Creator, Japan Pavilion Basic Concept Project, Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan
Expert Committee Member, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, “Communicating Tokyo’s Appeal through History and Culture”
Artist Fellow, Civic Creative Base Tokyo [CCBT], FY2024
Creative Supervisor, “Future Yagura,” Main Symbol at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation, SusHi Tech Tokyo 2024 Showcase Program, Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Selected Project, Cabinet Secretariat Survey Project for Promoting Momentum toward the Olympic and Paralympic Games through Culture, in collaboration with ISID Innovation Lab
Collaboration Partner / Japanology Researcher, “Japan’s Matsuri RE-DESIGN Project,” ISID Innovation Lab (now DENTSU SOKEN INC.)
Ambassador, Yuzuru no Sato, Nanyo City, Yamagata Prefecture