Using mixed media on canvas, Akemi makes series works from small to very large paintings depicting her concept of uniting people through our common universal unconscious. This is supported by her studies of the theories of psychologists Freud and Jung and the philosophies of Zen Buddhism.

Akemi's current works were influenced by her Mother's recent life threatening illness and multiple operations. The hours spent sitting at hospital bedsides looking out of the window while her Mother slept and wondering what the future would bring were the inspiration for two series about life and its meaning.

Mountain Series

During the autumn of 2002 Akemi spent many hours sitting in her Mother's hospital room wondering if she would make it through another night. The Doctors had given her the "…only time will tell." prognosis which usually means "…there's nothing more we can do - now it's up to the Gods." The Gods of Japan are many and live in the natural world as well as in the sky.

Unlike the multi-storied, hi-tech Rinku General Hospital that towers over Osaka Bay on the one side and the Izumi Mountains which tower over it on the other.

For Akemi these mountains slowly became a symbol of what her Mother means to her. The mountains are broad based and incline gently to a great height representing for Akemi the dignity and strength of human life. The colours, changing throughout the day and the seasons, symbolising the nobility of the human spirit and the elemental character of life.

Akemi envisaged a small house on the very top, a hermits cell or retreat perhaps, strong in its faith and solitude, surrounded by nothing yet that emptiness being full of meaning. As the days and nights slowly passed Akemi felt that the Mountain had become her Mother and as in the past, she gained strength from the source. She wondered if the refuge on the mountain top should disappear would she have the strength to bear the loss and carry on with her life so far away.

As dawn broke the monitoring machines beeped and whirred more regularly, the breathing became steady and a new day began.

The mountains still stood in the morning light.

Sunflower Series

Akemi usually tries to represent emotions in her paintings and in so doing seeks to unite people through our common sensibilities. In the Sunflower Series she is depicting periods in life rather than emotions although feelings are involved as each age of man has its attendant emotions .

Akemi enjoys watching the way flowers decline from the beauty of buds through full bloom to the ignominy of the rubbish bin - a metaphor she feels for the cycle of life.

Who has not compared fields of sunflowers, their faces slowly following the sun as it moves across the sky, to spectators watching a tennis ball criss-crossing the court but in very slow motion. Sunflowers age in a delightful way, when old and withered they still watch the sun but without moving. If not harvested they are picked clean by the birds before bowing their heads and finally succumbing to the earth from which they grew. The passage of life is represented here in the Sunflower Series from Sunrise to Sunset, each painting symbolic of a period in life's cycle. Each an individual whilst all four together make one biography.

Previous works were also interpretations of Zen and its connection with Western philosophies.

Icon Series

This series represents the spirituality of Zen with its beliefs in the contrasts of ying and yang. Where the fullness of life is experienced by its contrast with the emptiness of "Mu", a Japanese word/sound sometimes used as a mantra during meditation.

"Enso-circle" is the cycle of reincarnation and renewal that contrasts life with death thus making all actions important. And "Chi-earth" is the dust to dust from which all things come and to which we all return. This also relates to the Zen belief of "The Universe in a grain of sand"

Finally in this series comes "Shin-soul" the purification which Zen is all about and which with study and determination will eventually lead to the final "Satori-enlightenment" yet to come.

Unconscious Detail

The search for a common connection between all our subconscious levels has led to the Unconscious Detail series of paintings. These works further explore the theory that the conscious and subconscious mind is made up of archetypal layers each one responsible for a different level of awareness. Akemi believes that if we can reach deep into the unconscious mind we will find a common intuitive response to the same subliminal triggers in all mankind.

Earlier works included the Sound of One Hand Clapping Series, her visual interpretation of the Zen Buddhist koan, or riddle, that devotees use to focus the mind and aid meditation. The search for the answer to such beguiling questions helps students concentrate during their quest for enlightenment.

Life Drawing

Another discipline that Akemi uses as a basic exercise is life drawing because it helps her appreciate the fundamentals of human nature and the natural world. She maintains that the intricate combination of lines & textures in the figure illustrate the complexity of the human condition.

The search for the inner human being can be seen in these studies also. Just as her paintings reach into the inner workings of the mind so her life drawings expose the real person within. The true character that is only exposed in the most vulnerable of situations, where the model allows the artist to intrude into their very personal space.

These studies reflect, directly & indirectly, in Akemi's paintings. She transfers the figure onto the paper concentrating on expressing the form as simply and gracefully as possible. Charcoal on paper has an immediacy that Akemi appreciates as there can be very little going back so the first emotion is the important one. She also uses brush and ink on shoji paper executed with a delicate line reflecting the calligraphy studies of her Japanese heritage. It is this line and texture coupled with the context that the viewer finds so compelling.

Akemi tries, through her work and practice, to awaken the viewer's subconscious and connect to her own unconscious world. Thus leading to a universal landscape of the soul through a common unconscious experience.