The artist-nun of the Tokyo Carmel was born in Aichi Prefecture in the Nagoya diocese. She is the youngest of four children. The family eventually moved to Tokyo, where the future artist-nun entered the Futaba School run by the Sisters of St. Maur.

Sister is self-taught, having studied art only in the school's mandatory hour-a-week course. At the age of 13, she began painting with watercolors, but long before this age, she had enjoyed drawing familiar Japanese scenes.

She entered the Carmel at the age of 21, and was immediately inspired to paint a Madonna in traditional Japanese garb. Thanks to a senior monastery-artist, Sister was able to learn and perfect the art of painting holy persons, something she had never been taught before. However, in 1964, the senior artist was confined to her bed with cancer. It was at this time that the work of designing the monastery's Christmas cards was passed on to her. Proceeds from the sale of these cards support the twenty nuns who form the community.

When asked how long it took her to paint an original Madonna, the cloistered nun responded: "It is difficult to compute the hours spent on each painting, as the time of work is cut up by hours of prayer, and dispersed throughout the day."

It is quite doubtful that this humble Japanese nun is aware of it - but her Madonna's are fondly admired throughout the world. And it is truly an honor to have been offered to exhibit twenty-seven of her original paintings across the United States.