A Japanese artist finds solace and global fans with intricate leaf-cutting
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A frog holding a taro-leaf umbrella. An Ukiyo-e style Mount Fuji. Giant waves. Japanese artist Lito carves these delicate designs on fallen leaves.
A frog holding a taro-leaf umbrella. A parade of frolicking animals. An Ukiyo-e style Mount Fuji. Giant waves. A Japanese artist who goes by the name Lito carves these delicate designs on fallen leaves, giving life back to them.
The world of Lito’s delicate art, which he began in 2020 and posts on social media almost daily, has won fans from around the world. The leaf art has also given him solace after earlier struggles with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and a purpose in life — the joy of making people happy with his art.
He enjoys working at night. From a pile of leaves treated with a wrinkle-free chemical, he picks one and places it on a cutting board.
First, he outlines the design on the leaf with a pen in his right hand. Then he takes a design knife in his left hand and starts cutting the leaf carefully. Slowly, the leaf begins to take the shape of a frog carrying an umbrella — a simple design he demonstrated in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
More complex, highly intensive work on a single leaf can take more than eight hours to complete.
His leaf-cutting works include titles such as “Scrolls of Frolicking Animals,” “Leaf Aquarium,” and “Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji: The Great Wave off Kanagawa.” Each piece includes his own twists, and often uses animals.
