Fukuko Okubo, Japan's most celebrated leather artisan, died Saturday evening at a hospital in Tokyo. She was 81.
Okubo was hospitalized Saturday morning after complaining of feeling ill at her home in Shinjuku, the hospital said. The cause of death was not announced.
Her death came just one day after she received the Order of Culture from the Emperor at the Imperial Palace along with Nobel laureate Hideki Shirakawa and four others.
Okubo, who hailed from Shizuoka Prefecture, graduated from the Women's College of Fine Arts. She majored in western painting but turned to leather art after she saw the leather works of the late Saburosuke Okada.
Okubo traveled to Europe to learn leather art. Her work, which is known for elegance and a unique, illusory style of design, has earned numerous prizes and awards.