When you think of Microsoft Excel, what comes to mind? Rows and columns. Numbers and charts. Maybe a budget sheet or two. But for Tatsuo Horiuchi — a soft-spoken, retired man from Nagano, Japan — Excel became something entirely unexpected: a canvas for breathtaking Japanese art.
Yes, Excel.
It all began when Horiuchi retired and decided it was time to finally chase a long-held dream — to create art. But there was just one catch. Art supplies were expensive. Paints, brushes, canvases — all too costly. So he turned to something most of us ignore on our desktops… Microsoft Excel.
“I never used Excel at work,” he told mymodernmet.com, “but I saw people making graphs and thought, maybe I could draw with that.”
Most would’ve chuckled at the idea. But Horiuchi wasn’t most people.
With a calm determination, he began using Excel’s AutoShapes — simple vector tools meant for charts and business visuals — to sketch cherry blossoms, rolling hills, and peaceful Japanese landscapes. He even tried Word and Paint, but Excel, he found, was surprisingly flexible and full of possibilities.
What started as a curious experiment in 2000 slowly turned into something magical. Over the next 15 years, Horiuchi quietly honed his craft, transforming blank Excel sheets into traditional-style paintings that echoed the spirit of Ukiyo-e — Japan’s famous woodblock print style.
At first glance, you’d never guess these artworks were made with a spreadsheet program. The details are so intricate, the scenery so delicate, it feels more like Photoshop or some high-end design tool was behind it all. But no — every stroke, every petal, every mountain ridge came from nothing more than Excel’s built-in shapes.
And the art world noticed.
In 2006, Horiuchi entered the Excel Autoshape Art Contest — and won first prize. The recognition poured in. He was later honored with the Ageless Emblem by Japan’s Cabinet Minister and even took up lecturing to inspire others to see Excel through an artistic lens.
Today, his Excel paintings capture more than landscapes. They capture imagination. They tell the story of a man who didn’t let tools define his creativity — he redefined the tools instead.
From a simple spreadsheet to scenes that breathe with life and tradition, Tatsuo Horiuchi proves something beautiful: creativity has no age, and inspiration has no rules. All you need is vision — and sometimes, just a little curiosity about what’s already sitting on your desktop.
