Nakao Toshikaka (????), 1911-1994, was born in Ehime Prefecture. He was a mostly self-taught printmaker, although he did some work with Azechi Umetarô. Yoshitaka became well respected in Japanese print-making circles after he won awards at Kokugakai (National Picture Association: ???)) exhibitions in 1949 and 1956.
Yoshitaka is known for using cement-blocks to print his images, a technique characterized by pouring wet cement into hand-made wooden frames and then scoring into the mixture as it dried. This medium dominated his oeuvre until 1955. Later, he used woodblocks in a more conventional manner, although often with oil-based pigments, and he did not abandon his cement prints. Yoshitaka's use of cement-paste in printmaking is akin to the technique found in the better known works of Haku Maki.
