Ｒｅｎｏｗｎｅｄ Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ Ｐａｉｎｔｅｒ ａｎｄ Ｈｏｎｏｒａｒｙ Ｃｉｔｉｚｅｎ ｏｆ Ｚｈｅｎｊｉａｎｇ Ｍｓ． Ｓｈｉｎｓｅｎ Ｈａｓｈｉｍｏｔｏ

Cherry flowers were blooming in profusion in April south of the Yangtze River. A car was approaching the entrance to the ancient water township of Zhouzhuang. A traffic police signaled the car to stop， came up to it and told the passengers inside that only pedestrians were allowed to enter the town. A man got off the car. He told the police that the visitor was an aged Japanese lady who had difficulty in walking and asked if she could be allowed to go in by car. When he mentioned the name of the visitor unintentionally， the police was surprised and let the car in immediately. Visiting Zhouzhuang was her impromptu decision. She only wanted to see the cherry trees she had planted and had not informed anyone in the town. Unexpectedly， she was accorded courteous reception wherever she went. She was renowned Japanese painter Ms. Shinsen Hashimoto who was known even to ordinary inhabitants of Zhouzhuang. Her painting A Day in Zhouzhuang took Taiping Bridge in the town as the background. It was displayed in the famous tourist spot—Shen’s House as a treasure of art in the collection of the museum. The story of Shinsen Hashimoto and Zhouzhuang is mentioned in the introduction of the ancient township and spread to all parts of the country and the world through tour guides.

Shinsen Hashimoto is an elegant lady， but in the art， calligraphy and painting circles she is referred to as xiansheng (mister). This not only shows the respect people have for her， but also the high prestige she enjoys in the art circles for her noble character and high artistic attainment. She made a name for herself in the City of Tsu and then in the whole of Japan. She has become known in the world and forged indissoluble ties with China， leaving her footprints not only in Zhouzhuang， but also from water towns of south of the Yangtze River to the northern boundaries， from the loess plateau to the Silk Road. Among all the cities she has visited， the one that always lingers in her thoughts is Zhenjiang， a southern town known as a forest city.

What are the dreams and artistic pursuit of Shinsen Hashimoto. Let us get close to her and listen to what she says.

“The road of painting is long and arduous， but， I’m willing to create the wonderful world with my true self. This is my life.”

Originally named Meiko Hashimoto， Shinsen Hashimoto studied costume designing and pedagogy at Sugino Women’s College. She was particularly good at sketches， colours and literature， which laid a good foundation for her painting career. Hashimoto started to learn Japanese painting upon graduation from the college with several famous Japanese painters successively. In her learning and creation， she did not confine herself to Japan， but toured various countries in the world to see the masterpieces by famous painters and learn from them. She made full use of her skill in sketches， calligraphy and colours and learned both the Eastern and Western techniques that would benefit the Japanese painting. She combined the beauty of simple smooth lines of the East with light， shadow and colour of the West， studied diligently and formed her own painting style. In 1978， her works entered the art exhibition in Tsu for the first time， attracting attention of various circles. From then on， her enthusiasm for painting soared， creating several hundred works. She took part in various painting exhibitions held in Japan every year and won awards for the best works， special awards， awards of excellence， etc. Apart from mounting one-person painting exhibitions in different places in Japan， she went to the United States， Britain， France， the Philippines and Yemen several times for visits， painting from nature and holding one-person exhibitions. She was elected member of the New Japanese Research Association， Mie Culture and Arts Association， director of Mie Calligraphy Federation and specially invited artist of the art exhibition of Tsu. She became well known in central Japan as well as in the painting circles of the country， and won the Cultural Contribution Award granted by the Japanese Ministry of Culture， International Culture and Arts Award granted by the Japan Culture Promotion Association， the Order Royal Arts by Thailand， and other honours.

In 1984， Hashimoto stepped on the soil of China. She who took a special preference to oriental arts opened the door for herself to a vast treasure house of culture and arts. Since then， she has led her fellow artists in the Tsu-Zhenjiang Culture and Arts Association to China every year to paint from nature and do sketches， showing their sincere love for Chinese culture， especially Chinese paintings. As the Japanese painting is done on a special kind of paper with stone powder and glue， Hashimoto always takes home some fine-grain sand or stone fragments wherever she goes， grind them into powder and then mixed them with some mineral pigments for her painting， which demonstrates her profound love for the land of China. Her study of Chinese calligraphy and her exchanges with the Chinese painters have enabled her to understand the relations between calligraphy and painting and master the techniques of Chinese ink and wash. Thus， she has entered a higher level in her artistic creation. Her works with Chinese themes have not only been displayed in China， but also in France， Germany， Belgium and other countries， and won her several international culture and arts awards. One of her works has been used as trademark by a German winery.

The reason that Hashimoto uses Shinsen (spring of the heart) as her pen name is that from her painting brush flows the spring of her heart. She said: “When starting a painting， I’ll do the first stroke with all my heart and continue to do so to my heart’s content.” It usually takes two to three months for her to complete a painting， which reflects the perseverance， self-confidence and willpower of the painter.

“Zhenjiang is my second home. I will do my utmost to promote cultural and art exchanges between Tsu and Zhenjiang in the remaining years of my life.”

In her hometown Tsu， Shinsen Hashimoto is also known as “Zhenjiang Mum”. Whenever she is away from Tsu and no matter where she has gone， if her neighbours or friends are asked about the whereabouts of her， they will reply without hesitation: “She has gone to Zhenjiang.” Indeed， her enthusiasm for and devotion to Zhenjiang can not be described in words. She has traveled so often between Tsu and Zhenjiang that even she herself has lost count of the number of times.

The first visit to Zhenjiang Hashimoto made was in the winter of 1984. It was that year that Tsu became the first city to forge friendship-city ties with Zhenjiang. Hashimoto came to the city reputed for its imposing mountains and rivers where the life and customs of the people reflected the profound historical and cultural heritage. She fell in love with the city at the first sight. It is said that calligraphy and painting are sister arts. Hashimoto who loves and has a good knowledge of the oriental culture was very excited when she saw the famous Tablet of “Praising the Crane” at Jiaoshan Hill and called it “the tablet of dream”. The rubbings of the tablet had spread to other countries even before the Ming Dynasty and are held in great esteem in Japan.

Soon after she returned to Japan， Hashimoto organized the Tsu-Zhenjiang Culture and Arts Association and assumed its presidency herself. It now has a membership of over 700 people， many of whom are well-known artists and calligraphy and painting amateurs. Since the founding of the association， Hashimoto has shuffled between Tsu and Zhenjiang， meeting people with the same fondness for calligraphy and painting and making many friends， especially those in the calligraphic and painting circles. When organizing artists of Tsu to visit Zhenjiang and exchanging experience with their Chinese colleagues from the Zhenjiang Studio of Traditional Chinese Paintings， she discovered that Zhenjiang had good painters who should go abroad and show the expressiveness of Chinese painting to the Japanese and other people so as to promote cultural and art exchange and their development in China and Japan. With her help， the Zhenjiang cultural exchange delegation visited Japan in 1987 and mounted three calligraphy and painting exhibitions in the art gallery of Mie Prefecture for the first time. At that time， very few Chinese painters had held exhibitions in Japan. In a short time of three years， the artists of both cities created quite a number of good works through their contact， attracting the public’s attention and producing positive impact. From then on， such exhibitions and cultural exchanges have been held every year. Hashimoto also helped painters in Zhenjiang to have the albums of their works published. Through these activities a number of local artists of Zhenjiang and Tsu have made their names known in the international art circles and their influence has expanded from Japan to the Republic of Korea， the United States， Europe and other places.

The Tsu-Zhenjiang Culture and Arts Association has not only been the first people’s friendship organization founded since the two cities twinned friendship ties， but also the most active one in promoting friendly exchanges between the two cities. In the autumn of 2004 on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the association， Hashimoto sponsored once again a large-scale exhibition， putting in a lot of her time and money. The exhibition， with “sweet retrospection， 20 emotional years and heading for the future” as its main themes， was rich in content. On display were paintings， photos， calligraphic and art works by artists of both cities， snapshots of moving historical moment of exchange activities， stage costumes of Chinese operas， products of Zhenjiang， arts and handicrafts of Tsu， mementos of exchanges between the two cities， etc. Mayor Yasuo Kondo of Tsu and Mayor Xu Jinrong of Zhenjiang attended the opening ceremony， cut the ribbon and delivered warm speeches. The 3-day exhibition drew thousands of Japanese visitors and became one of the most attractive activities marking the 20th anniversary of the twinning of friendship-city relations between the two cities.

“Art is a common language of the world. A painting， a work of art can link the hearts of people who speak different languages. The goal of my life is to carry out exchanges and promote friendship through art.”

“Happiness lies in harmony among people” is Hashimoto’s philosophy. Calligraphy and painting are her career and art is her pursuit while her goal is to expand exchanges and enhance friendship among the people through the medium of calligraphy and painting. Hence her friendly sentiments towards Zhenjiang have far exceeded calligraphic and painting exchanges.

She has edited and published a commemorative book Hello， Zhenjiang about her exchanges with Zhenjiang and an album Taking Off—sketches on her trips to China， in which she conveys her feelings for China and Zhenjiang to the Japanese people. The book Hello， Zhenjiang was displayed at the Exhibition of Achievement of Exchanges Between International Friendship Cities held in Beijing and attracted the attention of other participating countries. Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) made a documentary of her China tour and the Zhenjiang Television Station also shot a TV documentary about her. All this has contributed positively to disseminating Chinese culture and building the image of Zhenjiang.

She uses her influence to expand contact between Japan and Zhenjiang. In 1989， she led a delegation of Ozono Chants Room to Zhenjiang， introduced karaoke that was very popular in Japan to the city and carried out exchanges in dress designing， weaving， knitting， etc. Since then， Ozono Chants Room has established and maintained stable relations with the cultural and art circles of Zhenjiang， exchanging experience and making improvement together. The Chinese and Japanese performing-art amateurs performed together several times in both Zhenjiang and Tsu and their performances have been warmly received. In 1993， with her help the Ueno Agriculture College in Mie Prefecture and the Jurong Agricultural School (now Jiangsu Agricultural Vocation-Technical College) established friendship-school relations. Taking this opportunity， the cities of Ueno and Jurong increased contact and twinned friendship-city ties. The Cherry Garden Day for Sino-Japanese Friendship， an annual event started in April 1993， has received great help from Hashimoto. She organizes a delegation to go to Zhenjiang every year to take part in the tree-planting activities. Several hundred cherry saplings planted in Zhenjiang have now grown into luxuriant trees， blooming every spring.

Like a loving mother， she cares for the life of the Chinese students in Japan. She often takes time off to visit those students， especially on-the-job training students from Zhenjiang who are far away from their parents， gives them encouragement and helps them overcome their difficulties. The students all cordially call her “Zhenjiang Mama”. Once， a student unfortunately had a traffic accident. Upon learning this， she rushed to the hospital to lend a helping hand， rendering meticulous care and coordinating for the proper handling the consequence of the accident. When the student， beaming with tears， expressed her gratitude to her， she said with the smile of a kind mother: “Friendship has no national boundaries and feelings are the same. I’m your kinsfolk in Japan.” In the past 20 years since Tsu and Zhenjiang twinned friendship ties， she has received every delegation or individual from Zhenjiang to Tsu and made them feel at home， while actively participating in and giving full support to large-scale international activities Zhenjiang sponsored. She has always retained her image of an envoy of people’s friendship.

In the past， a great American woman Pearl S. Buck， known as “human bridge” linking the Eastern and Western civilizations who looked upon Zhenjiang as her hometown， enjoys the love and esteem of the Zhenjiang people. Now， doesn’t Ms. Shinsen Hashimoto who devotes her energy so enthusiastically and tirelessly to her second home—Zhenjiang play the same role of a “human bridge” between the people of China and Japan? She was among the first batch of foreigners to be conferred the title of Honorary Citizen of Zhenjiang. She is worthy of the name and the people of Zhenjiang are proud of her.