Analog Friends 08: Tomoko on National Park, Austria, and Childhood Memories

Hello, Analog Friends! This month, our shop assistant, Yuka, conversed with Tomoko from Krimgen, a Japanese stamp artist well-known for her stamp designs.

In this series of Cafe Analog’s blog called ANALOG FRIENDS, we invite you to enjoy long-form reading at a slower pace (preferably with a cup of coffee, tea, or chocolate!)—while getting to know the people behind Cafe Analog’s products you love.

Enjoy!

Hello, Analog Friends! Yuka here! I’ve been super busy packing tons of orders every day. But as I pack all the adorable stationery, I can’t help imagining you using them to create lovely gifts or dive into some cozy journaling time. That thought makes me so happy!

Lately, I’ve been adding lots of Krimgen stamps to your rental boxes. I carefully pick them from shelves full of little drawers, and every time I hold one in my hand, I’m struck by how these tiny stamps, featuring charming children and animals, feel so vintage—like something from an old storybook—even though they’re brand new.

I wondered, “How is this magical, fairy-tale-like atmosphere created?”. So, this time, I had an interview with the artist behind Krimgen, Tomoko, to learn more about her designs’ inspiration and what she hopes to express through her work.

She shared so much about what sparked her artistic journey and how her life experiences and the natural landscapes she grew up with have influenced her creations.

Yuka: Hello, Tomoko! Can you tell us how you started designing and making stamps, washi, etc.?

Tomoko: Hello! I’ve always liked stamps and washi tape and enjoyed collecting and using them. I wanted to try creating something with my own drawings. That’s what inspired me to start making stationery. I make things I want.

I’ve been designing while raising two children with my husband, so I’ve never had a fixed desk. I habitually spread out my tools and work whenever and wherever I have a little free time and space—in the living room, at the dining table, or even on my bed.

Now that my children are older, I’ve been able to set up an atelier in Hiroshima (shown in the image below). But even now, I still create my work whenever and wherever I have time and space.

Yuka: Your illustrations look like they come from a vintage European children’s book—are they your inspiration? What makes you choose this particular style/subject? 

Tomoko: My style comes from various influences, so let me break it down for you.

First, I grew up in a national park in Japan. It’s a highland area, and the vegetation there resembles European forests—a stunning, untouched beech forest.

Second, from a young age, I was deeply drawn to visual arts, but my circumstances didn’t allow me to pursue a path in art. The turning point that led me to begin working as an artist seriously was becoming an adult and having a child. When I closely connected with a child for the first time, I was deeply moved by how close he was to the natural world! It felt like proof that humans are inherently so connected to nature and fantastic beings.  

I found myself asking, “Why doesn’t everyone realize how incredible this is?” That question ignited a strong desire to express that beauty and emotion through my art and share it with others. That’s when I decided to embark on this new career.  

I felt it was something worth dedicating my life to, and that feeling hasn’t changed even now.

Third, around 2010, when I first started creating artwork and studying extensively, I visited an exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum themed around “forests.” There, I saw the original paintings of Swedish illustrator Elsa Beskow. I can never forget the impact it had on me. I was deeply impressed by her paintings, which expressed the harmony between children and nature, and from then on, I decided to make her one of my artistic mentors. (Since I didn’t receive formal art education, I chose several “mentors” to guide my self-taught journey, and she is one of them). 

It just so happens that the artists who have impressed me the most—all of my chosen mentors—are illustrators of old European children’s books. That’s why I think my painting style closely resembles theirs.

Now that I’ve mastered those techniques, I want to use them as a painter of the modern era to express “My thoughts about living in today’s world.”

Fourth, by chance, I had the opportunity to live in Austria for eight years. During my time in Europe, as I traveled through various countries, I encountered high-quality art and everyday items, beautifully maintained “satoyama” landscapes, mountain lifestyles centered around livestock, and the stunning beauty of forests and lakes. I stored all of these experiences in my heart. Every day was a learning experience.

As a result, the nature of Daisen National Park, where I was born and raised (in Tottori Prefecture, Japan), began to connect and blend with the European nature and lifestyles I had witnessed, and these influences started to emerge in my artwork.

Living in Austria taught me many different values. For example, the idea that “happiness in life might simply be spending time talking with friends at a café” is completely opposite to the belief instilled in me in Japan—that “happiness comes from competing and winning something.” I found this Austrian perspective deeply human, natural, and wonderful.

I hope that the concept of a “right to live close to nature” becomes more widespread in Japan as well.

By the way I’ve always had a strong tendency to collect things, and even when I was living in Japan, I was deeply impressed by Lisa Larson’s ceramics and started collecting them little by little. I also love Stig Lindberg. For some reason, I’ve often found myself drawn to Swedish artists. After visiting Sweden a few times, I started to think it might be because the natural scenery there resembles the place where I grew up.  

Personally, I feel that many Swedish artists seem to have nature and forest life naturally woven into their lives.  

I’m sending you a photo of one of my recent stamps. Every single day, I think, “I want to get better at drawing.”  

Yuka: What do you do to fuel your creativity? Do you have some routines to keep your creative cycle going?

Tomoko: I am doing my best to live wholeheartedly. When you live with all your effort, you inevitably face hardships and challenges. But when I take the time to truly face that pain, unfairness, and struggle and reflect on them deeply, a natural energy for creation wells up within me.  

For me, art is about finding ways to address the difficulties of reality—creating what this world is missing with my own hands.  

As part of my routine, I make it a point to stay informed about current events, think deeply about social issues, read books, find safe spaces where I can feel connected to nature, and nurture my love for living things—whether it’s cats, medaka fish, or people.  

Yuka: Being an artist and a businesswoman, each presents its own challenges. How do you balance your artistic and business sides? 

Tomoko: The driving force behind my desire to create is twofold: to use my own hands to bring into existence “A world that is essential to me but lacking in reality” and to “share it with others.”

For this reason, my artistic activities and business endeavors are not actually in conflict. My artistic activity involves ensuring that what I create reaches the people who need it, becomes a part of their daily lives, and supports them in some way. In that sense, selling my products is equivalent to “delivering” them, and my work only feels complete once they’ve reached their destination.

As for the compensation or rewards I receive, to me, they are simply “the budget for creating my next work.”  I consider it fortunate that the purpose of my artistic activity is to create what the world lacks and to deliver it to those who need it.

As a woman in business, there is much I think about every day. Living in Japan, where the gender gap is significant, I hope that my work can serve as one example that helps support other women and girls.

The challenge of continuing a career while raising children is something that cannot be done alone. In my case, it has only been possible because my partner shares parenting responsibilities equally with me.

Yuka: What is your dream for Krimgen? How would you like to see it grow? 

Tomoko: My dream is “to become better at drawing so I can quickly and accurately bring the things I want to express into existence in this world.” That has always been my dream.

Another dream of mine is for “more people around the world to live in peace and to love their lives and themselves.”

I have many goals, and one of my near-term goals is to publish books. While I’ve expressed myself for many years through illustrations and miscellaneous goods, I’ve come to feel that this medium has limitations. I believe creating stories is necessary to convey more profound messages to people.

I’m working hard every day to gain the skills needed to craft “worlds of stories” that we, as people living in the modern age, truly need.

Yuka: Has there ever been a moment in your career when you doubt it? How did you overcome these doubts? (Or maybe you are always sure that this is something meant for you :D)

Tomoko: There was only one time in my career as an artist when I felt uncertain.

I have some childhood experiences, and personal traits that left me with trauma, and part of my reason for drawing was to satisfy the “little me” inside. I often created art as a way to comfort this “little me,” and I assumed that once this part of me was satisfied, my creative work would come to an end. But there came a time when I started to think that might not be the case.

The turning point was when I saw Niki de Saint Phalle’s Nana series. Witnessing how she seemed to explode with a celebration of life after being freed from her trauma made me wonder if I, too, would continue creating even after being liberated from my own pain. If that’s the case, I wanted to see the kind of work that celebrates the joy of living freely.

Now, after undergoing counseling, I am gradually freeing myself from my trauma. Together with my creative “little self,” I am no longer creating from a place of sorrow but instead making works that express the joy and wonder of living.

Yuka: Which is your favorite season, and why? 😀 What do you usually associate with that season? 

Tomoko: I love the fresh greenery of May and the snow-covered days of December.  

In May, the way the trees joyfully sprout their vivid new leaves reminds me of glittering jewels. As a child, I used to take a 40-minute bus ride down the mountain to town every day for school. Sometimes, I would be the only passenger on the big bus, gazing out the window at the beauty and radiance of the May trees, so close it felt like I could almost touch them. I still recall the impressive emotion I felt in those moments.  

In winter, the snow would pile up so high it felt like you could swim in it, freezing the bare trees into sculptures. I remember watching birds flying between the trees in search of food, the warmth of a fire crackling in the hearth, the lively and cheerful evenings of tourists, and the breathtaking starry sky I admired on winter nights with my dog by my side.

___

Now that the interview is over, I feel like I’ve just finished watching a beautiful movie. I realized that Tomoko’s works are infused with many elements of her life’s journey. The depictions of nature in her words are especially vivid, bringing to life the landscapes she has seen as if they were right before our eyes. Her creations embody a world where nature and life are deeply connected—a world that feels both powerful and gentle.

As someone who also paints, I found myself deeply inspired by Tomoko’s passion for her work. Her words, “My artistic activity isn’t complete until the things I create become part of someone’s everyday life and support them in their daily routine,” carry a warmth that seems to wrap around everyone who encounters Krimgen’s creations.

Tomoko also shared her plans to start working on stories, which we’re all so excited about! It’s thrilling to imagine the Krimgen world expanding even further. I hope everyone can experience Tomoko’s warm, gentle artistry by holding a piece of Krimgen in your hands.