Meet Yuki Matsuoka | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yuki Matsuoka and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yuki, what’s your definition for success?
Success is recognizing failure. We all make mistakes.
The important thing is not to repeat them.
And to do that, we must realize that we have failed.
By realizing and learning from them, we can find new ways to enjoy life.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am 39 years old now, I started working in a clothing store when I was 20 and started my own business when I was 29. I never experienced any failures in my business and my store grew a lot and was doing well all the time. However, because it was going too well, I became dissatisfied with my way of life. I like to face challenges, so living smoothly is stressful for me.
Then, at the age of 35, I closed all existing stores and launched a new brand and clothing store in 2019. The location is in my hometown, Himeji, Japan, a tourist area with the World Heritage Site Himeji Castle.
The brand is a Japanese modern design brand that combines Japanese tradition and fashion.
There are two main purposes for starting this brand.
One is to show the charm of Japan to the world.
The other is to connect with people around the world.
I want to understand each other even if we are from different countries or races.
There are still wars and conflicts happening somewhere in the world, but we need to overcome historical, political, and social problems to become one.
I started the brand with these objectives in mind, and COVID came along shortly thereafter.
No one came to the tourist area where my store is located anymore.
All at once, the business went into a slump. I was helpless.
That’s when I discovered art and started painting.
I continued to paint for about 20 hours every day. I continued to paint and posted my work on social networking sites, and I began to receive invitations to participate in art fairs and exhibitions.
It has been about 3 years since I started my artistic activities, and now I have been going to all kinds of countries such as Dubai, Paris, London, and Florence.
Art has saved me. Art has given me fortune, hope, and dreams.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would recommend my hometown, Himeji, Japan. There you can experience history and culture, and nature.
There is also a clothing store and an art gallery that I run.
There are cherry blossoms in the spring and autumn leaves in the fall.
It is a very beautiful city.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I am grateful to my parents. I was bullied very intensely in my childhood.
I was afraid of people and thought about committing suicide because I had a hard time living everyday.
At that time, my parents were very kind and protected me.
I decided to live because I did not want to see my parents’ sad faces.
If I had not seen my parents’ sad faces at that time, I would not be alive today.

Website: https://yuki-matsuoka.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matsuoka___yuki

Twitter: https://twitter.com/y_matsuoka_bc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/be.cool.ym/

Image Credits
Yuki Matsuoka