What happens when we stop seeing what’s right in front of us? The people. The traditions. The details of everyday life. Sometimes, it takes an outsider to remind us what we already have. For Tsuyumi Miwa, Japanese heritage artist, poet and writer based in Singapore, seeing has taken on a different meaning. Tsuyumi loved art from childhood. But while living in Australia, a severe allergic reaction led to emergency surgery and the temporary loss of her sight. For more than a month, she lived in darkness. Without sight, her other senses became more sensitive. When she regained her vision, the experience changed her. She later became an NHK announcer, working on a radio programme for blind listeners. As Tsuyumi puts it: “I lost my eyesight, but I became their eye.” Years later, after moving to Singapore, she returned to art—and began seeing things many of us had stopped noticing. When someone told her Singapore had “no culture”, she couldn't believe it. She saw culture everywhere: Peranakan shoemakers, flower garland makers, opera performers, kopitiam operators and traditional artisans quietly keeping their crafts alive. So she started painting them. Her Singapore Cultural Series captures their stories and the worlds they carry with them. In this finale of Tradition & Heritage: Compass or Shackle, Tsuyumi sits down with Lim Pei Ying, ICF Master Certified Coach and Producer of the Clean Your Toilet Podcast, to explore what it means to truly see our culture, others and ourselves. Together, they explore: - How losing her sight changed how she saw the world. - Becoming “the eyes” for blind listeners. - Finding her way back to art. - Why she began documenting Singapore heritage. - The artisans and traditions we've stopped noticing. - What outsiders sometimes see that insiders can't. - What we lose when culture disappears. - Honouring what we inherit without being trapped by it. There is a beautiful irony in Tsuyumi's story. Someone who once lost her sight has spent years helping others see. The people we overlook. The beauty in the ordinary. The culture quietly disappearing around us. Her work gives Singapore a mirror. An artisan retires. A shop closes. A skill isn't passed down. Something we barely noticed becomes something we wish we'd appreciated. When culture disappears, we don't just lose what people made. We lose how they saw the world. So the real question is: What have we stopped seeing? And what might we discover if we look again? 🎙️ About the Podcast The Clean Your Toilet Podcast explores the inner work behind identity, leadership, mastery, creativity and building a meaningful life through honest, unfiltered conversations. What about your own culture have you stopped noticing? ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Meet Tsuyumi Miwa 02:55 Falling in Love With Art 09:42 The Accident That Changed Everything 10:51 Regaining Her Eyesight 12:33 Becoming an NHK Announcer 15:55 “I Lost My Eyesight, But Became Their Eye” 18:25 If You Love Something, It Comes Back 20:55 Returning to Art After 10 Years 23:06 “Singapore Has No Culture?” 25:13 Why She Started Preserving Singapore Heritage 28:26 Finding Singapore's Forgotten Artisans 31:00 Painting Their Stories 39:56 Painting Is Connection 43:23 Seeing the People Singapore Has Left Behind 44:40 What Can an Outsider See That We Can't? 46:50 Leaving Home to See Your Culture Clearly 49:38 Culture Lives in the Smallest Gestures 54:55 What Happens When Singapore Loses Its Culture? 56:16 Culture Is a Country's Soul 1:04:42 Bringing Singapore & Japan Together 1:06:19 Are You Living Someone Else's Story? 1:07:28 Honour Where You Come From. Choose Who You Become. #CleanYourToiletPodcast #Singapore #Heritage #CulturalHeritage #Culture #Tradition #Japan #japaneseculture #Identity #Artisan #art #InnerWork #PersonalGrowth #SelfDiscovery #Purpose #Podcast
