MEDITERRANEAN CONFERENCE CENTER
July 3–5, 2026 

---

Choen Yoshida

吉田長園

Yoshida Choen is a Japanese calligrapher and a member of the Japan-Europe Palace Art Association.
Her works have been exhibited not only throughout Japan but also in various countries around the world.

吉田長園は日本の水墨画家。
日本のみならず、世界各国で作品を出品。

---

 Memories of Zhouzhuang 

 周荘の想い出 

Artist’s Statement

This work was inspired by a sketching trip to the outskirts of Shanghai, China, in May 2007, which I joined at the invitation of fellow ink painters.
The beautiful waterside landscapes of Songjiang and Zhouzhuang had long been places I dreamed of painting, and the memorable time spent there with my companions remains close to my heart.

I studied watercolor and oil painting in my student years.
Later, after moving to Niiza in Saitama Prefecture, I was introduced to the world of ink painting. My mentor, Seiryo Iwagami, encouraged me to “draw until the stack of your sketchbooks grows taller than you are.
” Inspired by those words, I have continued sketching and painting throughout my life.

I began practicing ink painting at the age of 37 and have continued for 46 years, now at the age of 83.
Through my involvement with the Japan-China Ink Painting Exchange Association, I have traveled extensively throughout China as well as to Vietnam, Mongolia, Taiwan, Switzerland, and Hong Kong.
After each journey, I have created works that preserve the memories and impressions of those places.
Within Japan, I have also devoted myself to depicting traditional festivals and regional landscapes, capturing the spirit and beauty of each location through my art.

本作は、2007年5月に水墨画仲間の誘いで訪れた中国・上海郊外へのスケッチ旅行の思い出をもとに描いた作品です。
松江や周荘の美しい水郷風景は、以前から描いてみたいと願っていた憧れの地であり、仲間たちと過ごした楽しい時間も心に残っています。
私は学生時代に水彩画や油彩画を学び、その後、埼玉県新座市に移り住んだことをきっかけに水墨画と出会いました。
恩師・岩上青稜先生から「積み重ねたスケッチブックが自分の背丈を超えるほど描きなさい」と教えられ、その言葉を励みに描き続けてきました。
37歳から水墨画を始め、現在83歳になるまで46年間筆を取り続けています。
日中水墨交流協会での活動を通じて、中国各地をはじめ、ベトナム、モンゴル、台湾、スイス、香港などを訪れ、その旅の思い出を作品として残してきました。
また国内では、各地の伝統的な祭りや風景を題材に制作を続けています。

---

Japan-Europe Palace Art Association Commentary

Choen Yoshida’s ink paintings are shaped by a lifetime of observing landscapes, people, and places encountered throughout her travels.
More than simple depictions of scenery, her works carry a depth of feeling born from lived experience, reflecting the memories, impressions, and passage of time that have accumulated through decades of artistic dedication.

Through subtle gradations of ink, Yoshida captures the atmosphere of a place with remarkable sensitivity—the stillness of waterways, the shimmer of reflected light, and the quiet rhythms of daily life.
Her paintings evoke not only the beauty of the landscapes themselves, but also the human encounters and personal memories woven into each journey.
While grounded in the traditions of sumi-e, her work possesses a distinctive poetic quality that lends warmth and resonance to every scene.

Underlying Choen Yoshida’s artistic practice is a profound respect for place and an enduring spirit of exploration.
Having continued to sketch, travel, and paint over many decades, she brings to her work a richness of observation that extends beyond visual representation.
Within the expressive language of ink, traces of human presence, cultural memory, and the character of the land emerge naturally, allowing her paintings to convey both the emotions of travel and the reflections of a life devoted to art.

吉田長園の水墨画は、旅先で出会った風景や人々との記憶を、長年にわたり培われた筆致によって丹念に描き出している。その表現には単なる景観の再現を超えた情感が宿り、画家自身が歩み、見つめ、心に刻んできた時間の蓄積が感じられる。 墨の濃淡によって構成された画面は、水郷の静かな空気や水面に映る光の揺らぎを巧みに捉え、見る者をその土地の情景へと誘う。とりわけ吉田長園の作品には、風景そのものの美しさだけでなく、その場所で過ごした人々との交流や旅の記憶までもが自然に織り込まれている。柔らかな光彩を帯びた表現は、水墨画の伝統を踏まえながらも独自の詩情を生み出している。 長年にわたり各地を訪ね、描き続けてきた吉田長園の創作には、風土への深い敬意と尽きることのない探究心が流れている。墨の静けさの中に人の温もりや土地の息遣いが映し出され、その画面からは旅の感動と人生の豊かな記憶が穏やかに広がってゆくのである。