Mizuha (sacred cross)

An American couple visited the atelier. Devout Christians, they had responded to a piece I had painted featuring a cross, and after a series of conversations with them, I created a blue work of art that included a prayer to the cross.

My work “Mizuha” is layer upon layer of spiral patterns, and it is left up to the viewer how it makes them feel. It can be an imagined landscape, water, the sky, or even the universe. I believe that people should be free to interpret what they see and feel, including entirely different realities—not just in this world but also the next.

The husband had imagined something related to the sea, especially the deep sea, which was a big part of his lifestyle, and that led to the creation of this piece. The painting was commissioned for the tearoom alcove at the newly engaged couple’s home, along with karakami for the fusuma sliding doors.

Although we communicated across a language barrier, I worked with the knowledge that beauty transcends national borders.

November 2022
Karakami Artist Toto Akihiko