Lillian’s Importance to the Ontario Society of Artists (OSA)

Lillian played a vital role within the OSA. She was elected in 2005, and from the moment she joined, she worked tirelessly with the council. When she became president in 2006, she took over an organization facing significant challenges. Lillian got involved in all aspects necessary to make a volunteer society successful. Lillian served as President of the OSA from 2006 to 2008.

Exhibitions and Accomplishments

Lillian exhibited widely across Canada, including at the John B. Aird Gallery(Toronto), the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre (Burnaby, B.C.),and the University of British Columbia’s "Absence in Remembrance: The Japanese Canadian Internment" exhibition. She participated in the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre’s "On Being Michiko" (2012), the Royal Ontario Museum’s "On Being Japanese Canadian: Reflections on a Broken World" (2019), the Canadian Museum of History’s "Lost Liberties: The War Measures Act" (2022), and the Canadian War Museum’s "Outside the Lines: Women Artists and War" (2024). Lillian also co-published the graphic novel " On Being Yukiko " (2020), with Jeff Chiba Stearns, which tells the story of her family’s forced relocation during the Second World War. Her art projections were featured in the world premiere of the ballet "Kimiko’s Pearl" (2024), produced by Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts atthe first Ontario Performing Arts Centre. Her works are also included in the Government of Ontario Art Collection and the Nikkei National Museum & Culture Centre. Lillian continued to create until her last breath, with books in progress and a constant flow of new artwork.

She was recently one of the 7 recipients honoured with the King Charles III Coronation Medal awarded & presented by our Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Edith Dumont, in 2025.

Rest in Peace, dear Lillian.