Artist/activist Mayumi Oda was a 4-year-old growing up in Japan when atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

“The horror of seeing blackened, ash-covered bodies and the shadow images of people imprinted on concrete affected me deeply. I could hear the screams of survivors crying for help,” she wrote in her memoir, “Sarasvati’s Gift.”

That experience led her to pursue a life of compassion, and central to her artwork is the Buddhist figure of Kannon, the goddess of compassion and mercy.

At 75 the Hawaii island resident is being honored with an exhibition, “Guardians of Compassion: Images of Kannon by Mayumi Oda,” at the Robyn Buntin of Honolulu Gallery, through April 30.

The Kannon bodhisattva is one of the most beloved deities in the Buddhist and Hindu worlds, offering help and grace to those in need. In different regions she is known as Avalokitesvara, Kwan Yin, Guan Yin or Kanzeon. She is revered for her sacrifice, as a mortal who attained enlightenment yet stayed in the mortal realm to guide others through times of hardship.

Oda’s connection to the goddess began in childhood. Her father was a Zen Buddhist who taught her the importance of concentration and being present in every aspect of life and the creative process. It gave her the discipline to draw for 12 hours a day.

As she grew older, painting goddesses helped her to present a positive expression of feminism, and her colorful, flowing imagery drew comparisons to French artist Henri Matisse, earning her the label of the “Matisse of Japan.”

In addition to painting, she has been a crusader for peace and founded the Plutonium Free Future organization in Berkeley, Calif., and Tokyo in 1992 to stop nuclear proliferation and shipment of plutonium.