I-K-U
- Born in Koriyama City Fukushima Prefecture in 1971. Started drawing at age 1. Made his first paper craft at 5 years old.
- 1991
- Entered the faculty of literature's art course at Tamagawa University. Joined its Wildlife/Nature research club. Made a paper craft swan for the Cosmos Festival, an annual University event.
- 1995
- Completed a paper craft project as a graduation work. It consisted of nine wild birds including a swan, a white crane with a red crest, and a white-tailed sea eagle.
- 1997
- Joined a graphic design company in Aoyama, Tokyo as a DTP designer after working briefly at a printing company.
- 1999
- Won a bronze medal from the FCC American Press Club in the poster/calendar division of the "Advertising to Overseas Awards."
- 2000
- Left Tokyo going back to Fukushima to start a career as a freelance paper craft creator, producing precise and lifelike paper craft birds. Started to publish books on the topic. Carried out other activities such as creating novelty items for companies.
- 2005
- Moved back to Tokyo. Held a private exhibition at Ueno Zoo in October for one month where as many as 42 works were exhibited, including bird artworks both small and large.
- 2006
- Taught art at a private elementary school in addition to continuing to create works.
- 2007
- Stopped teaching and began working full-time in paper craft creation.
- Hobbies:Bird watching and listening to music
Favorite animals:Swan, wolf, golden eagle
Favorite places:Lakes and rivers (to watch waterfowls), my hometown of Fukushima and my second hometown of Machida, Tokyo
Special ability:Genius hotcake baker, making hotcakes just like those shown on a hotcake mix box.