Born in Manchuria, Toko Shinoda（1913-2021） picked up a paintbrush for the first time at the age of five. As she continued to write, her father gave her the pseudonym ‘Toko’ (桃紅 that means Peach and Red respectively in each letter).
Her real name is Manzhouzi (Masuko), but she continued to write under the name ‘Toko’ for the rest of her life.
Her name comes from the seven-word couplet “Peach red, Li white, Rose purple”「桃紅李白薔薇紫 問著春風總不知」 (The spring wind blows evenly, but each flower has its own colour”), in an ancient Chinese book called “Shikaku” (“Poetry”), and was given to Toko, who was born in the spring.

Toko says, ‘I’m afraid my name is next to Li Bai’, but Li Bai has a poem, ‘Peach red flowing water, shoes leaving in a huff’, which is also related to Toko（Peach red）.