I am an artist living and practicing in London. My work explores the oppression of women through the lenses of appearance-based discrimination and sexual violence. Drawing from my perspective as a Japanese woman raised in a patriarchal society, I create sculptures, installations, and paintings using materials such as metal, language, silicone, sound, and photography.

 

Born in Yamanashi and raised in Tokyo, I grew up surrounded by social expectations that dictated ‘how women should look and behave’. In a society like Japan, where harmony and conformity are highly valued, the subtle violence that occurs within communities often remains invisible, hidden beneath layers of silence. Phrases like ‘This is the right way for a Japanese woman to look’ are violently perpetuated through the media and extend to expectations around body size, hair length, and facial features. Sexual violence is widespread in workplaces, public spaces, and even among friends, yet most incidents remain unspoken, known only to the victims themselves.

 

Through my artistic practice, I confront these invisible forms of violence. By drawing attention to the normative frameworks we are made to believe as “normal,” I aim to expose their cruelty and destabilize the assumptions that govern our perception of the world. This process begins with personal history, experience, and memory. It seeks to connect these intimate origins with public contexts in which social issues take shape—navigating the tensions between the individual and society, and between the past and the present.