Jave Yoshimoto

Jave Gakumei Yoshimoto (吉本学鳴 ジェイブ)
Yoshimoto, 2017[1]
Born	September 17th, 1974 Tokyo, Japan
Known for	painting
Notable work	Harbinger of Late Winter Day’s Dusk (2012), In a New York Minute (2013),
Movement	Contemporary art
Website	http://www.javeyoshimoto.com

Jave Gakumei Yoshimoto is an American visual artist and competitive axe thrower.

Jave Yoshimoto was born in Tokyo, Japan on September 17, 1974.^[2] His parents are Chinese and he immigrated to California when he was nine years old.^[3] He has lived all over the United States and received his Bachelors of Art in Studio Art from the University of California Santa Barbara in 2004. He received a Masters of Art in Art Therapy in 2007 and he has also received a Post-baccalaureate Certificate in Painting and Drawing in 2008 at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He then received a Masters of Fine Arts in Painting at Syracuse University in 2012.^[4]

Yoshimoto worked as an art therapist in Chicago, Illinois in 2008. He has been an Artist in Residence in a number of different states since 2010. These include Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Wyoming. Yoshimoto was a Graduate Instructor in drawing and painting at Syracuse University from 2010 to 2012. He worked as a teaching artist for Arts Corps in Seattle Public Schools before moving on to work as the Director of Studio Art, and Assistant Professor of Art at Northwestern Oklahoma State University from 2013-2015. In 2015, Yoshimoto accepted the position as an Assistant Professor of Art and the Foundations Coordinator at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He has been teaching painting, drawing and professional practices as an Associate Professor of art since 2023. In 2015, he was nominated and received the Joan Mitchell Foundation's Painters and Sculptors grant, and is currently an artist fellow at Tulsa Artist Fellowship in 2017.^[4] Since 2012, Yoshimoto has exhibited in 176 national and international exhibitions and 43 solo exhibitions as of 2025.

Yoshimoto works primarily as a painter, but also uses a variety of other two dimensional mediums as well as makerspace tools such as laser engraving and cutting. Although born in Japan, both of his parents are of Chinese descent-his father from Hong Kong and his mother from Taipei- before he moved to San Francisco, California when Yoshimoto was 9 years of age with his mother. His artwork is heavily influenced by all of the places he has resided, as well as the people and stories he has encountered during his travel in the United States.^[5]

Refugees^[6]

• Yoshimoto created this body of work to highlight the refugee crisis in Greece from 2015 to present. In the summer of 2016, Yoshimoto travelled to the Skala Sykamineas village on Lesvos Islands in Greece to volunteer with Lighthouse Relief, led arts based workshops at PIKPA camp and interviewed Refugees to learn and document their narratives.^[2][6]

Disaster^[6]

• Yoshimoto created this series based on the aftermath of disasters; both manmade and natural. He paints his subject matters using large color field areas to bring awareness to the human suffering that lingers to this day.^[7] Images of his artistic process and artwork can be seen in a 2012 New American Painting article^[8] and on Art Works for Change.^[9] He started this series in response to the Japan earthquake in 2011 which triggered tsunamis and fires and caused thousands of people to lose their lives or livelihoods.^[6] Yoshimoto has used this series to memorialize victims and to help raise money for Tsunami survivors.^[10]

Godzilla Invading^[6]

• Yoshimoto created this series to speak on his feeling of isolation and displacement he often experiences living in the various locations around the U.S. He drew heavy influence from watching Godzilla movies as a child when he lived in Japan, seeing Godzilla as the loneliest creature in the world. The aesthetics in this body of work was influenced by Japanese woodblock prints along with Chinese brush painting to pay homage to his cultural heritage.^[3]

Horses of Honor Omaha^[11]

• Yoshimoto was commissioned to work on the public painting on a horse sculpture as part of a nationwide campaign to honor police officers who had fallen or severely injured in the line of duty in Omaha.^[12]

Yoshimoto currently resides in Omaha, Nebraska.

Yoshimoto started competing in axe throwing in 2019, when he attended his first tournament at the World Axe Throwing League (WATL) US Open at Ironside Axe Club. He has competed in the World Axe Throwing Championships in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, placing 25th as his highest world's ranking. His first podium placement came in 2020, when he would finish 2nd place in Real Ax Inaugural tournament in Springfield, IL.

In 2021, he placed 3rd in the big axe discipline at WATL Major tournament, "Howdy Y'all" in Fort Worth, Texas, and placed 3rd again at the Southwest regional championships held at Splitting Timber Axe Range in Tucson, Arizona.

In 2022, Yoshimoto won the big axe championship at the Ironside All Stars tournament in Des Moines, Iowa. He would place 3rd in big axe, and 2nd place in duals throwing with Niki Johnson at "80/35" tournament in Hurling Hatchets in Cedar rapids in Iowa.

In 2023, Yoshimoto would compete in Cornhusker State Games (CSG) in Nebraska and Sunflower State Games (SSG) in Kansas, an olympic style in-state championships in the category of axe throwing. He would finish 3rd place in the hatchet category at CSG, and 2nd place in hatchet, but winning the big axe category at SSG. Yoshimoto would finish 2nd place at Ironside all star tournament in Des Moines, Iowa later that year, and placed 3rd with Brodi Pursley in duals category at "Throwing heat 3" tournament at Tomahawk Chop Company in Batesville, Arkansas. Yoshimoto would win the title at "Top City Classic" tournament at Odin's lair in Topeka, Kansas.

In 2024, Yoshimoto had his best career year in axe throwing. In August he competed in an exhibition tournament, "Blade Masters" ESPN the OCHO: Axe & Knife Throwing The Blade Masters Exhibition featured on ESPN the Ocho program, at Rock Hill, South Carolina, where he was a member of the red team and helped the team to victory. He also placed 2nd in Big Axe at the "80/35/90: The Great Plains Showdown" tournament at JJ's Axes and Ales in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, another 2nd place victory in the discipline of duals while throwing with Brian Hotz at "Throwing Heat 4" tournament at Tomahawk Chop Company in Batesville, Arkansas. He placed 2nd alongside Amy Hillsdale at Ironside Open tournament in duals category, and placed 3rd in hatchet and big axe categories at a tournament held at Urban Axe Yard in Sierra Vista, Arizona. Yoshimoto repeated as a champion at "Top City Classic" at Odin's Lair in Topeka, Kansas.

In 2025, he came in 3rd place in big axe at the "Rocky Mountain Open" tournament at American Axes in Edgewater, Colorado.

Yoshimoto has also competed in the International Axe Throwing Federation tournaments. During 2022, he won championships in the categories of hatchet and big axe at Southern Axe in Oakland, Tennessee. In 2024 at the Midwest major tournament at Perplebunny's Axe House in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, he was a champion in under 65 category in hatchet. He would return to midwest regionals tournament at Perplebunny's Axe house to win the title in big axe, earning him a spot in the corresponding big axe tournament at the International Axe Throwing Championships (IATC) in 2025. He also placed 3rd in doubles discipline throwing with Jeb Bisset. In 2025, Yoshimoto would repeat as a champion at the Midwest major tournament in under 60 category in hatchet, while placing 3rd in Big Axe. He would later earn a spot to compete in hatchet category of "Round 2" for IATC in Toronto. He would finish tied for 16th place in big axe, and winless in hatchet for his first IATC tournament.

Yoshimoto was also commissioned by WATL to build the world championship trophies. He would go on to build multiple axe trophies in the categories of hatchet, big axe and duals in the years 2022, 2023, and 2024 world championships.

• Syracuse University, 2011;
• Chancellor's Award, Friends of the United Nations, New York, 2012;
• Early Avitt Award- Prairie Schooner, University of Nebraska Press Letter of Artistic Achievement, Community Supported Arts, Seattle, 2013;
• Featured Artist, New Emerging Artists, New York, 2013; Featured Artist, Japanesque Exhibit, Overland Gallery, Kinston, NC, 2014;
• First Place, Alabama National, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 2014;
• Second Place, ARTSPACE Gallery, Stroudsburg, PA, 2015;
• Printmaking Award, Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant, 2015;
• On Paper International Printmaking award, 2016
• Best 2D artist, Omaha Entertainment and Arts Award, 2017
• Meek Award, Florida Review Magazine, 2018
• Main Prize Winner, Paper West Exhibition, University of Utah, 2019
• Outstanding Visual Artist, Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards, 2020
• Craftsman of the year, World Axe Throwing League, 2021
• Boldest in show award, BOLD exhibition, Omaha, 2023
• Best Engraving Award, Craftsman of the year, World Axe Throwing League, 2024