柴原雪

Shibahara Yuki (1917-2010), known in childhood as Chen Xue-zi, was a renowned Japanese painter born in Tainan, Taiwan. After graduating from Tainan Girls’ School of Home Economics in 1932, she moved to Japan. Her passion for art led her to study at and graduate from Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo. In 1940, she married Shibahara Tsuneo, and in 1950 she began studying under the sculptor Mizufune Rokushu. Working in watercolor, acrylics, and oils, she painted mainly landscapes, still lifes, and figures. Her distinctive style used bold, thick black lines and vivid colors to define forms with a strong sense of volume. In the 1960s, she founded the Japan–China Art Friendship Association (now the Asia Art Friendship Association), an important organization that has long promoted artistic exchange between Taiwan and Japan in the postwar era. Her contributions earned her numerous accolades, including a commendation from Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, the Prime Minister’s Award at the Asia Modern Art Exhibition in Japan, and the Order of the Sacred Treasure (Fourth Class) from the Emperor of Japan. From the 1950s through the 1970s, she collaborated with NMH on several editions of the “Sino-Japanese Art Exchange Exhibition.” In 1984, NMH held the “Exhibition of Paintings by Shibahara Yuki.”