Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art

Yoko Imoto is a world-renowned author and illustrator of picture books cherished by kids and adults alike. Her stories, often regarded as Japanese fairy tales, focus primarily on the adventures of small animals and magical creatures. Imoto creates her images by applying watercolor to pictures made via the Japanese art of tearing and gluing paper known as hari-e. This technique results in the jagged lines and delicate nuance expressed in Imoto’s works. Her original images are imbued with soft, pastel hues that fill her stories with a loving sense of warmth. This exhibition highlights some 300 precious original illustrations that convey deep emotion and scenes only found in the imagination.