Minako Yamaoka-Tojo

Minako Yamaoka-Tojo (Etoupe Abstracts) — Paintings born at midnight.
In the profound quiet after midnight, I dissolve the day’s accumulated emotions into layers of color and stroke. What emerges is a serene abstraction — the quiet residue of that stillness.
The name Etoupe comes from the muted, warm grey that anchors my palette. It is the color of understated elegance: neither loud nor invisible, but quietly, steadily present. This hue guides every work, creating a space of calm and introspection.
By day, I am Minako Yamaoka-Tojo, a cardiologist and researcher based in Tokyo, dedicated to the prevention of cardiovascular disease. The weight of clinical practice and science naturally leads me back to the studio — not as a physician, but simply as myself.
I hope these paintings offer a moment of tranquility in your own space, just as they bring stillness and balance to mine.

・1999 Ph.D. (Doctor of Medical Science)
Yamagata University Graduate School of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan

・1995 M.D.
Yamagata University School of Medicine, Yamagata, Japan