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Kazuo Ishii was born in Japan, in 1957. At the age of nine he began to practice calligraphy under the direction of his uncle, himself a professional calligrapher.

After graduating from Waseda University in Tokyo, he started studying calligraphy and seal making with Master Li Yang Sheng and ink painting with Master Yan Si Lung. Together with the deep study of these traditional arts, Ishii has studied martial arts, zen and meditation, which also became an integral part of his lifestyle.

Since 1989 his works have been exhibited worldwide (The Ueno no Mori Museum, Tokyo, 1990; The National Museum of History, Beijing, 1990, 1993; The Vilnius Academy of Fine Art, Lithuania, 2006; The Henan Museum, China, 2007;Lahti Art Museum, Finland, 2010 and other places).

In 1997 Ishii came to live in Kiryat Tivon, Israel. Here his works have been exhibited in various museums and galleries, as well as being purchased by the Israel Museum of Art.

Besides working as an artist, Ishii also teaches his artistic tradition in Israel. In 2006, after seven years of teaching at the University of Haifa, he opened "Shiboku Studio", which gives people throughout the country the opportunity to study calligraphy and ink painting with him. In addition, Ishii has been invited by various academic institutions to lecture and demonstrate his work (including: Bezalel Academy of Art & Design, Tel-Aviv University, Hebrew University).

Solo Exhibitions:
1998 The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art, Haifa; 2000 University Botanical Garden, Jerusalem; 2001 Art Gallery , Oranim College, Kiryat Tivon; 2001 Gallery of East Asian Art, The University of Haifa; 2002 Beit Tami, Tel Aviv; 2003 Kukan Gallery, Yodfat; 2004 Wattsu Event Space, Saitama, Japan; 2004 Museum of Far Eastern Art, Ramat Gan; 2005 The Wilfrid Israel Museum, Kibutz Hazorea; 2007 The Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art, Haifa; 2007 Embassy of Japan in Israel, Tel Aviv; 2008 LA Gallery, Vilnius, Lithuania; 2009 Nordic House, Reykjavik, Iceland;2012 The Artists House (Jerusalem);2012 The Green House in Tel Aviv University (Tel Aviv);2014 Tal Gallery (Kfar Vradim).