Yukie Osumi (born 1945; Japanese: 大角幸枝, romanized: Ōsumi Yukie)^[1] is a Japanese metalsmith. In 2015, she became the first woman in her field to be named a Living National Treasure of Japan.

Yukie Osumi was born in Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture, in 1945.^[2][3][4] She studied art history at Tokyo University of the Arts, graduating in 1969.^[3][4]

When Osumi began metalworking, very few Japanese women were involved in the field.^[3] However, she gained the support of mentors such as the well-known metalsmiths Shiro Sekiya and Moriyuki Katsura, the latter of whom granted her her first apprenticeship.^[3] After many years of pursuing her craft while working various side jobs to make ends meet, she was finally able to establish herself as a full-time artist and art professor at age 41.^[3]

Osumi is known for her hand-shaped metal vessels, which she hammers into shape from a flat plate before applying intricate decorations.^[2][3][4] She is a master of the nunome zōgan metal inlay technique.^[2][3] Each of her pieces takes between three and six months to complete.^[3] Her designs are often drawn from natural motifs, influenced in part by her childhood in the countryside of Shizuoka.^[3][4][5]

Her pieces have been exhibited both in Japan and abroad, including in the United States and Italy.^[1]

In addition to her work as a craftsperson, Osumi has taught at Tokyo Kasei University, where she is now a professor emeritus.^[3]

For her work, Osumi won the Japan Kōgei Association's President's Award in 1987.^[3][4] In 2014, she was awarded a residency in Japanese metalwork design at the Smithsonian's Freer-Sackler Gallery, the first artist to do so.^[2][6]

In 2015, she was named a Living National Treasure of Japan, as part of a program that supports and honors craftspeople who work using traditional techniques.^{[2][3][5][7][8]} She was the first female metalsmith to receive this designation.^[2][3][5][8] Two years later, she was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette.^[3]

• "Osumi Yukie's Working Processes" from the National Museum of Asian Art on YouTube