YUKIKOMIZUTANI is pleased to present “A Tale of Blessings”, a solo exhibition by Hiroko Toyama, on view from September 9 through October 3, 2026.

Throughout her practice, Toyama has incorporated ‘kinun’ (golden clouds)̶a motif traditionally found in Japanese folding screens and handscroll paintings. Historically, these golden clouds have served multiple purposes: as decorative elements, devices for transitioning between scenes, expressions of the passage of time, and auspicious symbols. Drawing upon this rich visual tradition, Toyama creates paintings that unfold likenarratives, inviting stories to emerge from a single image.

For her first solo exhibition at YUKIKOMIZUTANI, Toyama centers on swallows, migratory birds that have long been regarded as symbols of good fortune. Presented in a handscroll-like composition, the exhibition celebrates the joy of living in the present moment and pays tribute to the beauty and dignity of all living beings. Through richly layered and vibrant imagery, the artist transforms the vitality of life into poetic visual narratives.

Artist Statement

Each spring, barn swallows travel alone across 2,000 to 5,000 kilometers of open sea to reach Japan from the south. It is an arduous journey, duringwhich many lose their lives. Those that arrive eventually find a mate, raise their young, and return south again in autumn.

For centuries, barn swallows have been cherished in Japan as auspicious birds, associated with prosperity in business and flourishing families. They have long been familiar as summer visitors, and in earlier times were even believed to be sacred birds arriving from ‘Tokoyo no Kuni’̶the eternal land beyond this world.

Whenever I watch barn swallows return each year, I feel that the cycle of their journey mirrors a universal human story.
I want to portray these small yet beautiful birds, living each moment with unwavering determination, as beings that remind us of the joy of simply being alive.

For this exhibition, I have created my most ambitious work to date, ‘Shiki Enzu’ (Barn Swallows of the Four Seasons), a large-scale painting depicting barn swallows alongside the seasonal flowers and plants that I have encountered throughout the year.

-Hiroko Toyama

Biography
1984 Born in Miyazaki, Japan
2010 B.F.A. in Japanese Painting, Department of Fine Arts and Crafts, Kyoto University of Art and Design, Kyoto, Japan

Awards
Gold Prize, Japan Art Center Open Painting Competition / Shoin Art Award / Koyo-do Museum of Art Award (work acquired by the museum) / President’s Award and Senju Award at Kyoto University of Art and Design Graduation Exhibition / Nikkei Kyoto Bureau Award, Rimpa 400th Anniversary Emerging Artists Exhibition

Public Collections
Koyo-do Museum of Art / Kobe Art Center / Sato Sakura Museum / West Japan Railway Company (JR West) / ESPACIO Nagoya Castle Hotel-Commissioned to create two mural paintings (each measuring 3 × 10 m) for the ‘Saiun-no-Ma’ Banquet Hall (2024, Aichi, Japan)