Introducing Art Miya & Sachiko Tsuchiya

A born globetrotter, Sachiko Tsuchiya has had the rare opportunity to bridge the very different worlds of Tokyo and New York, personally and professionally.

Born in Tokyo, Sachiko spent her early years immersed in Japanese culture and tradition under the careful tutelage of her diplomat father and socially adept mother. She attended the Futuba (Two Leaves) Girls School — the same school, Sachiko likes to remind us, attended by both Princess Masako (married to the Crown Prince) and Empress Michiko.

Her father, Jun Tsuchiya, was offered a diplomatic post as Consul General in New York City and Sachiko was enrolled at the Brearley School. Her three Brearley years proved to be a major turning point in her life. Her classmates warmly welcomed her and quickly brought her up to date on American youth culture. Many of those classmates remain good friends today and form the core of her wide circle of New York acquaintances.

However, a diplomatic life brings with it constant change. Just as the Tsuchiyas had firmly settled into their New York life, Sachiko’s father received his next assignment: Japanese Ambassador to Colombia, South America.

Sachiko stayed in Bogota for one year — enough time to learn some Spanish — and then was off to Geneva, Switzerland for high school as a boarding student at the International School of Geneva.

It was in Geneva that Sachiko’s love of art was really nurtured. She threw herself into studio art, was named “Most Artistic” member of her class and was assigned to do the illustrations for the yearbook. During the two years in Geneva, she remembers spending all her pocket money on art books and visiting museums. It was also in Geneva that she learned to speak French.

Immediately after high school graduation and already an accomplished artist, Sachiko flew directly to London to enroll at St. Martins School of Art. She was so excited about the prospect of art school that she forgot to get a visa to enter the country but that detail was quickly forgotten by British immigration authorities who kindly allowed her entry.

Two years at art school in London gave Sachiko a thorough grounding in drawing, composition, technique and other skills she would need as an artist. But she missed Japan. After a long absence, she returned to her country to become reacquainted with all things Japanese. Using her characteristic dedication to excellence, she became a serious student of Nanga — Chinese literari painting — and accepted a position with a Japanese art book and magazine publisher.

Through her work in publishing, Sachiko began interviewing contemporary Japanese artists and her interest in all aspects of contemporary Japanese art took flight. Her artistic focus broadened to include the philosophy of art, the history of art, and the business of art. She began to represent artists as well as buyers and sellers of art.

After selling some paintings to the President of Wacoal (a major Japanese lingerie company) for the company’s corporate art collection, Sachiko began working for his private foundation selling art to other companies while continuing to make major purchases for Wacoal. Then, in a move that ran distinctly counter to the traditional Japanese concept of staying with one company for an entire career, in 1990 Sachiko left Wacoal to open her own art business — Art Miya. This gave her the chance to pursue her passion of introducing Japanese art and Japanese artists to the West.

Sachiko has been instrumental in organizing major exhibitions of top Nihonga (traditional Japanese painting with powder paint) artists in Paris and London and was delighted to have Art Miya exhibit contemporary Japanese ceramics at the 2007 Asian Art Fair in New York. She believes strongly that contemporary Japanese artists bring with them in their artwork the rich cultural heritage of their country, providing continuity from past to present. A combination of Buddhist and Shinto philosophy is the foundation for Japanese art and culture. There is throughout Japanese art an emphasis on being close to nature. Respect for the cycles of nature must be reflected in daily life — from art, to clothing, to food and the presentation of food. These are the elements that emerge so strongly in contemporary Japanese art.

Sachiko Tsuchiya’s career in art has taken her across the spectrum of artistic endeavor — as artist, as writer, as curator for a major corporate art collection and currently as a champion of contemporary Japanese art. Her background clearly gives her a unique perspective. She now divides her time between Tokyo and New York and is fortunate to feel equally at home in both cities.

Art Miya

1991: Sold “Island of Happiness” by Yasuo Kuniyoshi to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo.
1992: Sold “View from Helesdon” by John Crome the Elder to Municipal Museum of Kouriyama in Fukushima Prefecture.
1993: Sold sculpture and drawings by Robert Smithson to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo.
1994: Sold “Le Palais de Rideaux” (gouache) by Rene Magritte to Municipal Museum of Himeji, Hyougo Prefecture.
1995: Published and sold Higashiyama Kaii’s lithograph “Hekiko” for the International Congress on Health, Environment and Culture at the U. N. University in Tokyo, organized by Japan International Culture Exchange Foundation.
1996: Published and sold Higashiyama Kaii’s lithograph “Moonlight”.
1999: Published and sold Higashiyama Kaii’s lithograph “Morning Waves” and “Moonlight”.
2000: Published and sold Sugiyama Yasushi’s painting called ” Sha ” (cranes) and donated part of the proceeds to the Japan Society in London.
2002: Produced and sold a ceramic replica of part of a screen by Hashimoto Gaho’s “Tiger and Dragon” (an Important Cultural Property) and donated part of the proceeds to the Anglo-Japanese Society in Tokyo.
2004: Published and sold Higashiyama Kaii’s lithographic print “Spring Dawn” and donated part of the proceeds to Warashibe-kai Institution for the Disabled in Osaka, Japan and to Riding for the Disabled in the UK.
2004: Published note card sets based on the National Museum of Tokyo’s (TNM) collection and sold them at the Museum Shop at TNM.