Tatehana Noritaka

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Photo: GION

Born in Tokyo in 1985, Tatehana graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts in 2010, majoring in textile art. As a contemporary artist, he explores contemporary values through traditional Japanese culture and craftsmanship, guided by his creative philosophy “Rethink.” His signature work, Heel-less Shoes, was inspired by the elevated wooden clogs historically worn by elite courtesans. The piece has become internationally renowned as an iconic fashion item of the American singer Lady Gaga. In addition, Tatehata directed a Bunraku Japanese puppet show at the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain in 2016, which is an example of how his work transcends artistic genres.
In addition to Heel-less Shoes, he presented the Descending Painting “Unryu-zu”, a large floor artwork for a brewery, at Go for Kogei 2024. The floor art was inspired by the Buddhist painting depicting Amida Buddha’s welcoming descent on a cloud to take a soul to the Pure Land. This work depicts paired elements, such as heaven and earth, and life and death, by combining the two signature motifs of Tatehana: lightning bolts and clouds. It represents a syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism that embraces both spiritualities.
His major exhibitions include Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion (The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo, 2012), Noritaka Tatehana: Aesthetics of Magic (Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum, Tokyo, 2016), Items: Is Fashion Modern? (The Museum of Modern Art, New York City, USA, 2017), traveling exhibition Contemporary Japanese Crafts (Panasonic Shiodome Museum of Art, Tokyo, 2020), and Edo Tokyo Rethink (Kyu-Iwasaki-tei Garden, Tokyo, 2024). His works are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, among others.

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