Matsuzaki Collection, Scenes From The Sea

Japan is an archipelago with 4 large islands…and another 14,120 islands that are defined as remote islands by the Japanese government.

Open water swimming opportunities abound along its 29,751 km of coastline, from tropical islands in Okinawa to the Tsugaru Channel in its north between Aomori Prefecture and Hokkaido.

Nobuhiro Matsuzaki is a Japanese swimmer and artist, son of Yamato Matsuzaki, the director of the Japanese Coast Guard, and sister of Yuko Matsuzaki, an Honor Swimmer in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame.

Steven Munatones recalls, “Yamato Matsuzaki gave great advice on how to approach – and complete – solo crossings of the Tsugaru Channel back in the 1980’s that still hold true today. He explained in detail the Tsugaru Current and the topography of the Aomori and Hokkaido coastline that makes the Tsugaru Channel such a technically challenging body of water to cross.”

The Matsuzaki Collection includes Japanese washi prints that are enjoyed in Japanese homes and are made from ancient documents, all of which date from the 15th to the early 20th century. The paper is handmade, colored with mineral pigments, pigments, and herb dyes, and printed using handmade prints and stencil-dyed lithographs.

David Lee, a fellow swimmer in Tokyo, describes the Matsuzaki Collection, “Nobuhiro’s pieces are made from 19th and early 20th century handmade Japanese prints. By re-purposing materials sourced from warehouses and homes across Japan, he breathes new life into nearly forgotten works of art.

Nobuhiro’s whimsical sense of style melds Japanese traditional art with modern taste with unique colors, patterns, and textures.”

Examples of the many different seascapes from the Matsuzaki Collection are below.