Mermaid nao | Spirit Artist
An artist who gives visible form to the radiance of life, in color and words. Born and based in Kaminoyama, Yamagata.
About the artist
Since I was little, I never quite fit in with what was “normal” or “common sense,” and I carried a loneliness, as if I alone were standing somewhere different. At the same time, I was strongly drawn to The Little Mermaid, the sea, and beautiful colors, and I always felt the things I could not put into words within color.
I went through an eating disorder and depression, and there was a time when I kept blaming myself. But after a time that felt like passing through the bottom of a deep sea, I came to feel that “in every person, there is a light that never goes out, and a beauty that is truly theirs.” Giving birth to my daughter taught me, with my whole body, how precious life is, and that feeling has grown even deeper.
Now, through Personal Order Art, I receive my clients’ feelings and the background of their lives, and give visible form, in color and words, to the radiance and possibility of their lives. Clients have told me that the piece “makes me feel calm every time I look at it,” “reminded me of my own worth,” and “has become a support in my life.”
For more about my journey so far, please see STORY for details.
Technique
Using acrylics, watercolors, colored pencils (Coupy), pens, and more, I layer, scrape, and blur colors to create transparency, painting the radiance of each person’s life as an abstract work.
Highlights
- Selected for exhibition, HACKK TAG GALLERY Imperial Hotel Osaka Art Contest (August 2026)
- Exhibition and speech at “THE WING TOKYO 2025” (2025)
- Meigetsuso, a historic inn — gallery exhibition for guests only (June–August 2025)
- Interviewed and featured by the web media “Professional’s Choice” (2025)
- Collaboration with and columns for the Wingston Japan Foundation (2025–)
- Exhibition at a Fukuoka art gallery
- Selected, NY open call exhibition “Art Incubation 2025 Fall/Winter” (October 2025)
- Participated in "Art Revolution" Season 1 (produced by TV writer Genichi Adachi)
Current permanent displays
- Meigetsuso (Kaminoyama, Yamagata)
- KANEDA Acupuncture & Massage (Kaminoyama, Yamagata)
- A guesthouse on Ishigaki Island (Okinawa)
About me
A mother of one. My hobby is making sata andagi (Okinawan doughnuts). Together with my dog, a Chihuahua named Shiro, I treasure time with my family and the small joys of everyday life. Yamagata has the world’s most delicious soft-serve ice cream and nut sweets. If you are curious, I will quietly tell you where.
My beliefs: “It is in places filled with love that people find the strength to live,” and “Life is a journey of searching for the treasure called joy.”
Commissions and inquiries
For exhibitions, interviews, speaking engagements, or collaborations, please reach out via the contact form.