An elephantine gift

An oil painting featuring Hanako, a 68-year-old Asiatic elephant living at the Inokashira Park Zoo in Musashino, Tokyo, was donated to the Thai embassy in Japan on November 18 by two Japanese organisations supporting foreign students from Asian countries.

The Thai government gifted Hanako to Japan in 1949 as a symbol of friendship to encourage Japanese people after World War II, and it lives on as the nation’s oldest Asiatic elephant. 

The organisations selected the painting of Hanako to convey hope and friendship to Thai people suffering in the wake of a terrorist bombing attack in Bangkok in August this year.

The two groups are the Asian Culture Association in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, and the Bridge Asia Foundation, an incorporated non-profit organisation in the same ward, both of which are engaged in cultural exchange activities with Asian nations.

The 162-centimetre by 260-centimetre oil painting, titled “Hanako: Undojo,” depicts Hanako contentedly basking in sunshine filtering through foliage in her exercise yard, a scene painted with delicate and soft touches.

A staff member at the Thai Embassy found the painting at a gallery in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, and it was once even borrowed from the gallery and exhibited temporarily at the entrance of the embassy.

Discovering the connection, the two organisations decided to purchase the painting and donate it to the embassy.

The creator of the artwork is Aki Fueda, 41, an artist born in Musashino. Fueda, who now lives in Suginami Ward, Tokyo, said that she had watched Hanako since she was a child and started to sketch the pachyderm as a high school student. After graduating from the Tokyo University of the Arts, she introduced a collection of 32 works themed on the elephant. She began painting “Hanako: Undojo” in October 2013, taking three months to finish.