PHILOSOPHY
Before it becomes words —
following the feeling.
Photo by Mermaid nao (Miyako Island)
For me, art is a way of loving people.
I receive the whole of the person standing before the painting, and cherish them completely.
I simply celebrate how wonderful they are — always, no matter what.
In Japan, there is a concept called "Yaoyorozu no Kami" — the belief that a spirit dwells in every word, every object, everything we touch.
I hold this same sense close, and when I paint, I put into the work my love, a prayer that the person will continue to be protected, and a wish to cherish their whole being.
That feeling continues to live within the painting, staying close to watch over and love the person who sees it, for as long as it exists.
With that wish, I face each and every piece.
The feeling is already there.
In conversation, there are moments when I sense that a feeling the person hasn't yet put into words, or a light they haven't noticed in themselves, is truly there. What I do is probably less about creating something new, and more about receiving what is already there, and giving it color and form.
For individuals, and for businesses alike.
Until now, what I've mostly faced is "the person themselves." What I've come to see through life is that a business or a company, too, begins from one person's wish: "This is the future I want to create." PERSONAL and BUSINESS may differ in who they're for, but I feel the wish at their root is one and the same.
The Power of Encounters and Environment
Where we are, and who we meet, can change us profoundly.
I've been saved, again and again, by my life on Miyako Island and by the many people I've met along the way.
I believe everyone is, by nature, the finest being there is.
But in today's world, there are moments when we lose sight of that true self.
That's exactly why I want art to be one of those environments and encounters that helps you stay true to your own axis, no matter what.
A single painting can align your energy and return you to who you truly are.If it could carry that role —
That's the wish I paint with.
In fact, a 2019 report from the WHO Regional Office for Europe also shows, through research from around the world, that art has a positive effect on mental and physical health.
Words I Hold Dear
"It is only in a place of love that a person finds the strength to live."
"Life is a journey in search of the treasure called joy."
I hold these two close to my heart in my work every day.
Lately, there are words I've come to deeply agree with.
"There are no bad people in this world, only sorrow." (A line that spread widely after the film Parasite.)
"The world has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed." (Gandhi)
It feels as though these words put into language exactly what I already carried inside me. I believe them, truly, with my whole heart.
01 | Dialogue —— Listen
The values you hold dear, your origins, and the future you want to create. Through dialogue, I receive the feeling that exists before it becomes words.
02 | Essence —— Find
I pick up the words, emotions, and symbols that repeatedly surface in our conversation, and find the "core" at their center.
03 | Art —— Paint
I express the core I've found through color, form, light, composition, and motif, layering acrylic, watercolor, crayon, and pen again and again to paint a single original piece.
04 | Story —— Add Words
Along with the finished piece, I also give you the words — why this color, what it symbolizes.
"You are the finest masterpiece the gods ever made."
Story → See how ordering works →
My Belief
My joy can only be found within myself.
That is why I have to be myself.
I see love and joy not as abstract ideas, but as something essential to life itself.
I paint art that warms the body.
Warm feelings raise the body's temperature, and lead us toward happiness.
Gentle emotions and warmth of heart warm the light that lives inside each of us.
That single moment of warmth becomes the driving force to live.
With even the smallest touch of hope, a person can open their own future by their own strength.
We are beings who feel before we think.
Art gently awakens the senses already within you.
It helps you notice the voice of your heart you had forgotten, and the true wish beneath it.
There is even research showing that viewing art lowers stress hormones and releases hormones linked to happiness.
Just as joy raises your body temperature, when the heart relaxes, the body naturally softens too.
Art, it seems, has the power to awaken the will to live.
Your life has meaning — truly, it does.
There is no need to compare yourself to anyone else. Simply being you is already beautiful.
And perhaps the meaning of life is a journey to find the treasure called joy.
I hope my art can quietly light the way for the heart that navigates that journey.
Your joy can only be found within you.
That is why you have to be you.
The fact that you are you —
— that, in itself, is as precious as a miracle.
Light is always pouring down upon you.
Mission
Awakening the light and possibility that already live within each person.
That is my mission.
Each person walking their life to the fullest, from the heart.
As more people live this way, love and possibility will circulate abundantly, contributing to the world.
That is my wish.
"It is in an environment filled with love that a person finds strength, and can have a positive influence on themselves and others."
— From my speech at THE WING TOKYO 2025