Fumio Asakura (朝倉 文夫, Asakura Fumio, March 1, 1883 – April 18, 1964) was a Western-style Japanese sculptor, known as the father of modern Japanese sculpture and referred to as the "Rodin of Japan".

[1] He was a prolific artist, and his work spanned the Meiji, Taishō, and Shōwa periods of Japanese history.

[2] Asakura was born in 1883 and raised in the village of Asaji (now part of the city of Bungo-ōno) in Oita Prefecture in western Kyushu, Japan.

[2] He set up a studio in Tokyo's Yanaka neighborhood, and began his sculpting career, entering the annual Bunten competitions of the Japan Art Academy (日本芸術院, Nihon Geijutsu-in).

He drew attention almost immediately, winning prizes for eight consecutive Bunten exhibitions, beginning in 1908 with second-place for his sculpture Yami (闇, or "Darkness")[3] and in 1910 for Hakamori (墓守, or "The Gravekeeper").