EP30 | From Edo to Reiwa — How Japanese Artist Naoto Watanabe Conquers the Hearts of Collectors Worldwide with the "Colored Pencil"

DE Global Art Agency, The Great Artist interview: "Reiwa Ukiyo-e" on washi paper and the strategic move into ONE ART Taipei 2026

[Taipei] On the DE Global Art Agency podcast The Great Artist (EP30), we are honored to welcome Japanese artist Naoto Watanabe. In this episode, he shares how, taking the everyday "colored pencil" as his brush, he carves upon washi paper the internationally striking "Reiwa Ukiyo-e," translating the classical aesthetics of the Edo period into the modern vocabulary of the Reiwa era.

Naoto Watanabe's work is an aesthetic dialogue across the ages. Drawing nourishment from the classical aesthetics of Edo-period ukiyo-e, he then translates them through a contemporary lens, creating an entirely new ukiyo-e that belongs to the Reiwa era. This creative thread, "from Edo to Reiwa," both inherits the profound depth of Japanese traditional art and endows it with a fresh countenance attuned to contemporary aesthetics, so that the ancient ukiyo-e tradition radiates new life under his hand.

Most astonishing of all, Naoto Watanabe chooses to paint with the "colored pencil" — a medium seemingly ordinary and everyday. In most people's eyes, the colored pencil may be merely a child's drawing tool, yet in his hands it can carve upon washi paper works of art that strike the world. This devotion to his medium embodies an almost obsessive craftsman's spirit — the more ordinary the tool, the more it tests the creator's skill, patience, and concentration. With the humblest of media he creates the most extraordinary art, and this very contrast is itself charged with a moving power.

Naoto Watanabe's works span Dubai, Monaco, and other locales, deeply favored by collectors worldwide. This episode explores in depth the craftsman's spirit behind his insistence on colored-pencil creation, and analyzes the singular cross-cultural appeal of his representative "Water Margin" series and "Rabbit Beauty" series. The "Water Margin" series carries the Eastern heroic epic through the narrative tradition of ukiyo-e; the "Rabbit Beauty" series interprets contemporary aesthetic sensibility through delicate, gentle strokes. Both series display a singular appeal that crosses cultural barriers and moves collectors around the world.

This episode also touches on the strategic move by which Naoto Watanabe, joining hands with DE Global, enters the Taiwanese market and takes part in ONE ART Taipei 2026. This marks a deep connection between Japanese contemporary art and the Taiwanese collector market, and adds an important piece to Naoto Watanabe's international artistic map. For an international artist, cooperation with DE Global Art Agency — which belongs to the Asia-Europe academic alliance and bears an academically legitimate background — is not merely a single exhibition, but a strategic foothold for building an international career that can be cultivated over the long term in Asia.

"The colored pencil seems ordinary, yet it can carry the deepest Eastern spirit." Thus Naoto Watanabe articulates his devotion to and faith in his medium. His work is a vivid embodiment of the academic legitimacy and international career that The Great Artist advocates — cultivating craft with a craftsman's concentration, and positioning oneself in the market with an international vision.

The Great Artist EP30 is now available on Apple Podcasts, SoundOn, and other platforms, with a running time of about 14 minutes. We invite you to listen and feel the craftsman's heart with which Naoto Watanabe conquers the world through the colored pencil.