About This Project

Old Woman

During the time my friend was renting a room next to Kogan Tobari’s art studio in Yanaka-Shichimennzakashita, my friend and I started to paint an old woman who would model for us. I so liked her facial expression, as if she were in deep meditation, that I continued to paint for three straight days. Ryumon Yasuda visited my friend during that time and saw my painting. It was Yasuda’s first encounter with me, but he was impressed with the painting and I realized that Yasuda was whispering to my friend, asking about me. Years later Ryumon Yasuda became a renowned artist in oil painting and sculpting at the Western-Style Painting Division of the Japan Art Institute, and he was one of the artists I respected.