Anthropologist / Associate Professor, Akita University of Art

Born in Tokyo in 1974. Conducts research in comparative mythology and art-anthropology concerning images of non-human species. Ishikura has collaborated with artists on projects including the Japan Pavilion exhibition “Cosmo-Eggs” at the 58th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition. Co-authored works include: Journeys into the wild: 12 trips to the source of the archipelago’s myths. (Tankosha), Lexicon: Contemporary Anthropology, More Than Human: Multispecies Anthropology and Environmental Humanities (Ibunsha), and Anthropology of Drawing Animals (Iwanami Shoten). Major exhibitions include “Toward the Spirit of the North: Capturing Faint Resonances” (Rovaniemi Art Museum, 2019-2020), “The Ecosystem of Expression: Remaking Relationships with the Worlds” (Arts Maebashi, 2019-2020), the Japanese Pavilion exhibition at the 58th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition “Cosmo-Eggs | Uchu no Tamago”(2019), and Kenichi Obana + Toshiaki Ishikura’s “Tamagawa Geontography” (Chofu City Cultural Center Tazukuri, 2024). Curatorial collaborations include “New Ecology and Art” (Tokyo University of the Arts, 2022), “Material, or” (21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, 2023), and “Aichi Triennale 2025” (Aichi Prefecture, 2025).