About Eiko

A woman standing next to an easel displaying a painting of a forest with leafless trees reflected in a blue-green body of water. The place is called Blue Pond.

Born and raised in Hokkaido, Japan, I grew up surrounded by mountains, forests, and changing seasons that shaped my love of the natural world. From an early fascination with anime and storytelling, I later discovered painting as an adult, finding it to be the medium through which I could best express my connection to nature.

My work reflects the belief that nature is both powerful and fragile—a force that sustains life yet requires our respect to thrive. I portray landscapes and seascapes as nurturing and vibrant, using warm, vivid colors to capture their energy and vitality. Each painting is an expression of gratitude, inspired by memories of hiking, skiing, and exploring the vast scenery of Hokkaido, and by the serenity I continue to find in natural spaces today.

I see my art as both personal and universal. On one hand, it reflects my story—my childhood immersed in the outdoors and my creative journey into painting. On the other, it speaks to a shared responsibility: the need to appreciate and protect the environment that sustains us. Through my work, I hope to uplift viewers, spark reflection, and highlight the beauty and balance that nature offers.

Every brushstroke carries the message that by honoring and preserving our surroundings, we can create a more magical and sustainable world.

My Journey

When I was a kid, I lived near a big mountain called, Mt. Yotei. It has an enormous size with an elevation of 1900 meters, and has an almost symmetric shape like that of Mt. Fuji. As I walked to and from the school, this mountain took a chunk of my view and I absolutely loved it. Because I was living in the middle of nowhere, there wasn’t much to do other than playing outside with friends or reading comic books, and I did lots of both! In the summer, I biked everywhere, and in the winter, I skied at Rusutsu or Niseko mountains.

A scenic view of a snow-capped Mt. Yotei with green forested slopes in Hokkaido, under a blue sky with scattered clouds.

When it comes to art, I didn’t take any formal classes and I didn’t have my own brushes, but I was immersed into anime and had read so many comic books. Of those, 2 of my favorite ones were Doraemon and Candy Candy. Although their anime style and story lines were completely different, they shaped my preference for stories in the later part of my life (Sci-fi and Fantasy).

It didn’t take me long before I started drawing random characters. I was so into creating anime stories and as a result, my mother thought I was studying hard because I was always sitting on the desk. I kept creating stories until I graduated from high school.

Colorful illustration of a young girl with curly blonde hair, wearing a red dress with a polka-dot bow, sitting on a tree branch surrounded by singing birds and a raccoon. An adult woman with dark hair appears in the sky, and three other young girls with glasses and blue outfits are nearby, smiling and interacting in a garden with pink flowers and green trees.

During high school, I was just a silly kid. I hated my school uniform because I felt so rigid and being confined to rules, but I tried to make the most of it.

After I graduated from high school, just like so many others, being an adult got in the way. My priorities shifted, finding a way to pay the bills, without having any clue of what I wanted to do. I was completely away from the anime and comic books, and I aimlessly wandered around for a while, but eventually I took a leap to settle in the US.

Group of young students in black uniforms posing for a photo in front of traditional Asian temple architecture, with some making peace signs.

In the US, I was barely keeping up with society just like many people do. After graduating from college, I worked for various companies. All of them were completely different from the art space. I was not drawing anything, but even then, I was gravitated to artwork. Whenever I traveled overseas, I went to at least one art museum and would stay there for the entire day. My passion for art did not disappear after all. Of all of the museums that I had the opportunity to visit, I particularly enjoyed the BIG 3 museums, which are the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Musee du Louvre in Paris, and The British Museum in London.

A woman smiling in front of the Louvre Museum's exterior and fountain in Paris, France

So here I am, after I painted my cat at that first painting event, I began painting anything that I wanted to see on my walls. I didn’t have any formal training or any structure, but I just used my intuition and a lot of YouTube videos to build my skills.

I had no intention to pursue my career as a painter but my best friend encouraged me to do so when she saw my golden pavilion. I didn’t believe that I had the skills needed and did not take her advice seriously. Even then, I kept painting and took on new challenges. After all, I loved what I was doing.

Painting of a traditional Golden Pavilion in a landscape setting, with a river, rocks, green trees, and mountainous background. It is located in Kyoto.

Eventually though, I decided to take a leap. I didn’t know what the future would bring, but I thought it was worth trying. So I created my own website and opened it up to the public before the end of 2022.

Since then, I have exhibited in various locations in our community. In 2023 and 2024, I participated in a few art & craft fairs.

Also, I learned that many local libraries host artists for exhibitions so I took a full advantage of that. I’ve exhibited at Lexington, Weston, Wellesley, Brookline, etc. the list goes on and on. Lately, I had a few group exhibitions at some museums and galleries. The most recent one was in Berlin, Germany.

An outdoor art gallery booth featuring landscape paintings and portraits of leopards, with a woman standing in front of the display, at an outdoor event on a grassy area under a white canopy.

About a year and half ago, I switched my medium from acrylic to oil, mainly due to my curiosity and a desire try out something new. After some adjustments, I really enjoyed the oil paint and have been using it ever since.

My focus on subjects has evolved since last year as well. Instead of painting something based upon an impulse, I decided to focus on some scenic places in my hometown because it is where I came from and it shaped me to become who I am today.

There is a saying that goes “Sometimes you have to leave home to find your home”. I didn’t have a lot of appreciation for nature when I was living in Hokkaido, but now I do. I was fortunate to grow up with some majestic scenes, and I feel that I have found my way home even though I am a thousands miles away.

A woman sitting in a chair next to a painting of two cranes standing on ice with a snowy forest in the background.

Conservation Of Nature

Bamboo Forest - Kyoto, Japan

A dense bamboo forest with tall green bamboo stalks and leafy canopy.

Mt. Yotei - Hokkaido, Japan

A snow-capped mountain under a partly cloudy blue sky, with green fields and a narrow road in the foreground.

Zen Garden - Kyoto, Japan

A tranquil pond surrounded by lush vegetation, with white water lilies floating on the surface and purple irises along the shore, and green trees in the background.

I was very fortunate to have been surrounded by nature during my childhood. I use to chase butterflies during the spring and summer time, harvest produce in the fall, and make snowmen in the long winters. At night, stars were bright and crickets would chirp loudly. Nature provided me comfort and peace. It is my hope to help in preserving it for future generations.