Kumiko McKee was born and raised in Japan, where as a child she was always artistically inclined. She backpacked across 37 countries before ultimately moving to the United States in 1994, after which she became increasingly interested in her cultural heritage. She received her BFA in painting from the University of Wyoming in 2002. Her work draws on traditional Japanese art and culture and is intended to inspire appreciation and curiosity in non-Japanese audiences.

This poster of her painting Akashi Lady was donated to Rhode Island College’s Unity Center in 2005. The painting illustrates a character from The Tale of Genji, a story written in the 11th century by Murasaki-Shikibu based on court life of the Heian Period (794-1185 AD). The Akashi Lady, nicknamed after the region she comes from, is a concubine of Genji, son of the emperor. In the story, the Akashi Lady gives birth to Genji’s daughter, who becomes an empress. The background of the painting represents the Akashi region in a style evocative of classical Japanese painting, contrasting with the fully rendered figure in the foreground.