Born in Dalian, China, in 1913, and moved to Tokyo the following year due to her father's transfer. Passed away in Tokyo in 2021 at the age of 108.
Background and Experiences
1940 First solo exhibition at Kyukyodo Gallery in Tokyo. Her own freely inspired calligraphy, unbound by traditions, is criticised as “grass without roots”.
1945 Spends two years recuperating from illness after World War II.
1947 Begins to produce abstract works unconstrained by calligraphic forms.
1954 Produces first architectural work: mural calligraphy for Kenzo Tange’s Japanese Government Pavilion at the celebrations for the 400th anniversary of the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Exhibits in the Japanese Calligraphy exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
1955 Produces calligraphy live on camera for documentary film Calligraphie Japonaise by Belgian painter Pierre Alechinsky.
1956 At a time of international interest in the resonance between Japanese avant-garde calligraphy and Western abstract art, relocates to the US alone for two years, working mainly from a base in New York. Presents solo exhibitions around the US and in Paris, France.
1958 Returns to Japan. Lives in Den-en-chofu, in the Ota Ward of Tokyo. Reaffirming that Japan’s moist climate suits the nature of sumi ink, works on her own distinctive abstract expressions, creating in Japan, but actively exhibiting in other countries. Produces many works for architectural projects, including mural calligraphy, murals, ceramic walls, and theatre curtains.
1959 Tradition and innovation in Japanese art: Hakuin, Shiko Munakata, Toko Shinoda, Nankoku Hidai exhibition at Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller Otterio, the Netherlands
1960 Encouraged by Arthur Foley, a printmaker from the Philadelphia Museum of Art who came to Japan, she began creating lithographs.
1961 Exhibited at The 6th São Paulo Biennale (São Paulo, Brazil)
Invited to exhibit at the Pittsburgh International Exhibition of Contemporary Painting and Sculpture at the Carnegie Institute (Washington DC, USA).
1962 Contemporary Japanese Calligraphy: Meaning and Symbols Exhibition (Touring in Germany).
Modern Japanese Art: Painting and Sculpture, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan).
International Art Exhibition (Vancouver, Canada)
Contemporary Japanese Ink Painting Exhibition (Touring in the USA).
1963 Builds a villa in the foothills of Mount Fuji, Yamanashi Prefecture, and subsequently spends time at the villa each year.
1965 Produces relief and mural for Kyoto International Conference Center (designed by Sachio Otani). Presents the first of a number of solo exhibitions at the Betty Parsons Gallery, New York.
1974 Produces mural and fusuma-e panels for Zojoji Temple, Tokyo.
1979 Okada, Shinoda, and Tsutaka: Three Pioneers of Abstract Painting in 20th Century Japanexhibition (Phillips Collection, Washington DC, touring to other venues).
Wins the 27th Japan Essayist Club Award for Sumi iro (The Colour of Sumi).
1980 Solo exhibition Creation and Tradition: Painting and Printmaking [Organized by the
Tolman Collection Tokyo] at the Main Hall of Zojo-ji Temple, Shiba (Tokyo, Japan)
1981 Creates prints for the 5th Anniversary Portfolio by the Tolman Collection.
1982 Creates print for the cover of the book Japanese Printmakers on the International Stage co-authored by Mary and Norman Tolman (published by Sōbunsha)
1984 A two-person exhibition with sculptor Elizabeth de Cuevas, Toko Shinoda and Elizabeth de Cuevas at the Bruce Museum (CT, USA)
1989 Toko Shinoda Exhibition organized by the Seibu Art Museum at the Yurakucho Art Forum (Tokyo, Japan)
Painting and Calligraphy: Painted Characters / Written Paintings, Hokkaido Museum of Art, Hakodate (Hokkaido, Japan)
1990 Beauty of Japan Exhibition, Retretti Art Center (Punkaharju, Finland).
A retrospective touring exhibition of works from the Tolman Collection [Painting & Printmaking] at the Tolman Collection (Tokyo, Japan), Art Forum (Singapore), Galerie du Monde (Hong Kong), and Robin Banting (Hawaii, USA).
1992 Toko Shinoda Retrospective, Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu (Gifu, Japan)
1996 Solo exhibition TOKO SHINODA VISUAL POETRY, Singapore Art Museum.
2003 Toko Shinoda Art Space opens in Seki City (Gifu, Japanm0
2009 Goddesses of Japan: Shinoda, Iwami, Matsubara, Oda, Shiomi, Sinebrychoff Art Museum (Helsinki, Finland)
2013 Retrospectives: Shinoda Toko 100 years: Momo no Fu (Scenes from a Century), Gifu Collection of Modern Arts, Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu, and other venues; Toko Shinoda—A Lifetime of Accomplishment, Musée Tomo, Tokyo.
2014 Listening to Toko: Resonance/ Poems of Toko: Lyrical, Gifu Collection of
Modern Arts Museum(Gifu, Japan)
2015 Breaking Barriers – Japanese Women Print Artists 1950–2000, Portland Art Museum (OR, USA)
2021 Passes away in Tokyo at the age of 108.
2022 Toko Shinoda: A Retrospective, Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery (Tokyo, Japan)
2024 Toko Shinoda Hall opens at The Gifu Collection of Modern Arts Museum (Gifu, Japan)
2025 Toko’s Calligraphy: A Liberating Flow, The Gifu Collection of Modern Arts Museum (Gifu, Japan)
Major Collections (Selected)
Brooklyn Museum (NY, USA)
Metropolitan Museum (NY, USA)
Museum of Modern Art (NY, USA)
The Ford Foundation Collection (NY, USA)
The Rockefeller Foundation Collection (NY, USA)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (NY, USA)
Cincinnati Art Museum (OH, USA)
Smith College Museum of Art MA, USA)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MA, USA)
Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge (MA, USA)
National Museum of Asian Art (Washington DC, USA)
The Art Institute of Chicago (IL, USA)
Hara Museum of Contemporary Art (Tokyo, Japan)
Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu (Gifu, Japan)
Museum of Modern Art, Toyama (Toyama, Japan)
National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan)
Toko Shinoda Art Space, Seki City (Gifu, Japan)
British Museum (London, UK)
Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag (Haag, The Netherlands)
Rijksmuseum Kröller – Müller (Otterlo, The Netherlands)
Stadtisches Museum den Haag (Haag, The Netherlands)
Luxembourg Royal Collection (Luxembourg)
Museum Folkwang (Essn, Germany)
Museum fur Ostasiatische Kunst (Berlin, Germany)
Singapore Art Museum
Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art (Haifa, Israel)
National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne, Australia)