Woodcut print artist Naoki Takenouchi was busy carving Buddha images on a wooden board in a Park Hotel Tokyo room in November. Known for his works on traditional Japanese "washi" paper, he was working to turn the entire guest room into a work of art.
Dynamic patterns on the walls portraying the god of wind "Fujin" and the god of thunder "Raijin" were painted with bare hands dipped in "sumi" ink. The Buddha images he was engraving on the board were waiting to be printed on washi and placed among the patterns on the walls.
"I hope guests staying in this room will immerse themselves in Japan, something like the world of sumi and washi. That's the main purpose, basically," said Takenouchi, 67, who was born in Kagoshima Prefecture.