Sekino Junichiro was born in Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture and died in Chofu City in Tokyo. While studying in middle school in Aomori, he was involved in the student printing magazine, and began to work on woodblock printing. He learned about not only woodblock prints, but also copperplate and stoneplate printing from Kon Junzo, who lived in Aomori. At the age of 18 he was selected for the Nihon Hanga Kyokai exhibition. He was determined to make his living as a painter, and in 1939 – at the age of 25 – went to Tokyo to visit the studio of Onchi Koshiro, who was a central figure in the creative printing world. Under Onchi, he formed a printing work research organization called Ichikikai alongside Yamaguchi Gen. In 1951 he opened Kaso Cho Copperplate Etching Research Room in his home in Koenji, and with Komai Tetsuro he instructed artists of the upcoming generation – including Hamada Chimei, Kano Miruo and Kobayashi Donge – in copperplate techniques. In 1958, at the invitation of the Japan Society, he visited areas of the U.S., giving lectures and demonstrating woodblock printing. After returning from the U.S. he went to various countries in Europe. His experience of staying abroad was an opportunity for him to approach the landscapes of Japan afresh, and upon returning he worked on the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido and Okuno-Hosomichi Print Collection series, with the theme of traveling roads. At the same time, he also worked on portraits of models, with depictions of humanity based on careful observation and some elements resembling ukiyo-e: various kinds of portraiture that presented a truly charming vision of the subject.