Mizuha

I often pray that I will always have the transcendent power to create amazing karakami. You could say that it is a power that goes beyond age, nationality or ethnicity. 

I would like to be a conduit between the gods and karakami. 

To that end, it is imperative that I make myself as transparent as possible. It’s not my hands, but what is born that is the most precious. I always face karakami with the water deity at my side.

But, however, on the other hand,
Prayer, confusion, strength, and weakness—all dwell in the art, with hope.
I want to be natural, I desire to show nature as it is, so I seek to erase myself and disappear. I think I will become transparent, but the stronger that feeling, the farther I get from attaining “mu” (nothingness). 
In the first place, deciding to become mu is not mu. 
I have now come to realize that it is natural for those minute fluctuations in the spirit to emerge in my work.

Because my existence is natural.

It is only now that I can think like that, at the end of an unprecedented art exhibition. 。

The Inochi (Life) series, “Hoshi ni Negaiwo (Wish Upon a Star),” “Kifu no Michi (Way of the Seasonal Wind), and the new “Mizuha” which follows. 
The impressive world of Toto Blue and the swirls created by shifuku printing will surely be a new landmark in my body of work as a karakami artist.

Karakami Artist Toto Akihiko

The Beauty of Karakami: The World of Toto Akihiko
Mica Melody–400 Years in a Moment
Art exhibition

Location: Aida Mitsuo Museum of Art
Duration: Tuesday 9th September to Sunday 5th October 2014