Brisbane-based Japanese artist Yuiko Uto of Buttons Ink draws her grandmother Ayako as a girl collecting walnuts in the mountains of Akita with mischievous raccoons (mujinas) watching on. This latest collaboration wraps the story of “Ayako and Mujina” told in ink and coloured pencil around the Ever Vessel Glass water bottle.
Yuiko Uto's “Ayako and Mujina" tells a deeply personal story inspired by her grandmother, Ayako, who lived her whole life among the mountains of Akita Prefecture.
Ayako would share her stories of encounters with the mischievous raccoons (mujina) that also called the mountains home. In Japanese folklore, raccoons are said to trick people, and Ayako was wary of them her whole life, even as an adult. “Mujina” is the word for raccoon in the regional dialect of Akita in northern Japan.
At the heart of the artwork is a young Ayako out on a day of adventure beneath Mt. Chokai, a striking peak known locally as Akita Fuji. While gathering walnuts, she encounters a group of well-dressed tricksters among the beautiful forests and mountains of Akita.
The original artwork was created on paper using permanent ink and coloured pencils.
Yuiko Uto is a Brisbane-based Japanese artist, illustrator and graphic designer working under the studio name Buttons Ink. Yuiko studied graphic and product design at university in Tokyo, Japan but her journey as an artist has been largely self-taught. Her drawings are inspired by her own feelings, past and present. That sense of connection to the world leads her artistic direction.
Drawing has been part of Yuiko’s life since childhood. Yuiko describes her life's work as a search for the lines and shapes that bring her a sense of comfort she cannot find anywhere else. For Yuiko, the greatest reward is knowing that someone has felt a special sense of connection with her artwork.
Yuiko’s creative year doesn’t stop with Ever Vessel. She is also collaborating with Kazuyo’s Collection, a much-loved West End store in Brisbane. The store is also home to a selection of Yuiko’s art prints, offering another way to discover her distinctive work in person.
More of Yuiko's work can be viewed on the Buttons Ink website and Instagram:
We fell in love with the story of Ayako and we're incredibly excited to share the Ever Vessel × Buttons Ink collaboration. A family story of a girl and mischievous raccoons from the mountains of Japan, carried into everyday life on glass.
