As a form of traditional Japanese art, the ukiyo-e style distinguishes itself from other formats of drawing in the East and West. The way the Ukiyo-e Project incorporates contemporary musicians into the treasured national style may upset some conservatives, however seen positively, the project is enabling a new audience to appreciate a form of art from the past. After Kiss and Iron Maiden, the Ukiyo-e Project has developed two David Bowie ukiyo-e creations to celebrate the singer’s cultural connection with Japan.

The first creation references a photo of Bowie taken by Brian Duffy from the same photo shoot as the Aladdin Sane album cover, illustrating him as the legendary Japanese sorcerer Kidomaru from the kamakura period, wrangling a snake. The second one takes inspiration from a photo taken by Terry O’Neill in 1974 to promote the Diamond Dogs album. The dog in the photo has become a nine-tailed fox and Bowie is portrayed as Takezawa Toji II, a popular magician during the Edo Period, spinning a top.

Each ukiyo-e creation involves three highly skilled artisans, including an illustrator to create the concept, a wood carver and a printer. Each piece will be limited to 200 hand prints only and can be purchased from the Ukiyo-E Project online store starting from 23 June. An exhibition will be held at Bookmarc in Tokyo from 23 June to 1 July.