Hiroshima (Japan): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appreciated leading Japanese painter Hiroko Takayama for imbibing the spirit of India in her paintings and contributing to the promotion of cultural cooperation between India and Japan.
"PM @narendramodi had a warm conversation with leading Japanese painter Hiroko Takayama. PM appreciated Ms. Takayama for imbibing the spirit of India in her paintings and contributing to promotion of cultural cooperation between two countries," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted on Saturday.
Takayama has worked extensively on enhancing the cultural bonds between India and Japan.
PM Modi on Saturday tweeted: "Met Ms. Hiroko Takayama, a respected artist who has a close association with India. She has worked extensively on enhancing the cultural bonds between India and Japan. She also presented her artwork to me."
Hiroko Takayama on her interaction with PM Modi, said: "PM Modi told me that the painting is very beautiful and he is very happy to accept it. It was 42 years ago that I first visited India. I was very impressed by the spirit of the people who are living on Indian soil. Since then I am infusing the energy and prayer of the Indian people and culture that I received from them."
Hiroko Takayama is a Hiroshima city-based artist whose paintings have built a path to deeper cultural bonds between India and Japan. Takayama's thematic exploration of life's radiance, with resilient Indian women as her motif, was inspired by her first visit to India in 1981.
She has conducted numerous painting workshops for Indian artists using Japanese ink in various Indian cities. She even taught briefly at the Visva Bharati University, Shantiniketan.
She has held several solo exhibitions in Japan and India. Most recently, her select works formed a part of the exhibition at the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum from November 2022 to January 2023, alongside works of Indian painter Shri Upendra Maharathi loaned from the National Gallery of Modern Arts (NGMA), New Delhi, that was held to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Japan. —ANI