Masayuki Nagare

[2] As a teenager, he received training in the martial arts of a samurai, particularly swordsmanship,[3] and lived in several temples in Kyoto, where he observed the patterns of rocks, plants, and water created by traditional landscape artists.

After the War, he traveled all over Honshu Island until the mid-1950s, witnessing the desolation of the ruined countryside, developing a thorough understanding of the Japanese landscape, and becoming interested in local crafts such as pottery.

His fascination with graveyard tombstones that had survived wartime bombing led to his longtime choice of stone as his preferred medium.

His principal stone-carving techniques include warehada ("cracked skin" or "broken texture"), in which the surface is left rough, with visible chisel marks, and shinogi awase ("ridges joined together"), which describes the meeting of two highly polished surfaces.

[9][10] Nagare's works include Cloud Fortress, which survived the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center (New York City) but was destroyed in the rescue and recovery efforts,[11][12] Sakimori (Frontier Guardian) installed in the Honolulu Museum of Art, Hamaritsurin Garden in Seto Ohashi Commemorative Park (Kagawa Prefecture, Japan), Receiving (受 Ju) stored at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City,[13] and Transcendence (informally called The Banker's Heart by locals) installed in A.P.