"In a way I’m doing something that the viewer can’t do himself. It’s like people who occasionally think about jumping under a train. In my art I’m actually jumping under the train. That shock – I’m doing it for you." -- Fuyuko Matsui

"I don’t like sweet and cute art," Matsui told Culturekiosque in a 2007 interview. "Japanese art nowadays is like that, but if we think in centuries, in the Kamakura period for example, it was scarier, more ghostly. I want to return to that taste in my art."

"The mainstream of Nihonga today is iwa e-no-gu (stone powder pigments that does not dissolve in water and needs to be applied with a thick glue solution). Instead of iwa e-no-gu, I felt I should paint very thin. Also, using strong strokes is not the strongest way. Taking time and care leads to deeper expression. It’s like torture – sticking pins in, is more painful than big punches."