On this day, a birthday party was held for Ryoma Nishizawa, a Cyprus restaurant owner who had been commissioned to create a new piece, “Aphrodite and Susanoo” at a private villa overlooking the ocean at the tip Awaji Island.

Shiozawa brought the timely completed work from Kyoto to Awajishima to present at the venue, where is was met with cheers and applause from the large crowd that gathered for the event.

The party, hosted by Ryoma himself, was attended by over a hundred people from all manner of creative disciplines, including musicians, dancers and artists, and was enjoyed by all of the kids who marveled at the performances and took part in a variety of games.

The buffet was prepared by an Italian chef from Nara and was absolutely delicious. After the meal he performed by drawing his family heirloom sword towards the eastern sky where lightning happened to strike simultaneously which resulted in a mystical phenomenon that astonished the audience.

Shiozawa first reported on the 2.5m square work “Cosmic Dragon” that was dedicated to Yasaka Shrine on August 6th and introduced the Nishijin-ori Cosmic Dragon that he was unable to show at that time due to the crowds. He mentioned that he would like to continue collaborating with the craftsmen, who possess the intricate Nishijin-ori weaving techniques that are unique to Japan, through his work.

And then, he unveiled the new work” Aphrodite and Susanoo” to everyone.

He began to explain that the Greek goddess Aphrodite and the Japanese male deity Susanoo are also Benzaiten and Poseidon, and that all gods around the world have the same roles, just with different names.

Pitting religions against each other because of varying ideologies inexorably leads to war, so in this work I want to appeal for peace from the perspective of the Japanese Shinbutsu Shugo (a syncretism of Shinto and Buddhist beliefs), who showed that religions don’t have to be exclusive and that uniting under peace is the true will of the gods. This painting will soon make its way to Cyprus, to today was the last chance to see it in Japan.

He continued,” Cyprus is an island where Greece and Turkey were once at war, but there is now a ceasefire, so this is the perfect place for people from all over the world to have the opportunity to view this painting and feel the importance of peace”

I would also like to hold an event there with Ryoma if I can get there, and I hope everyone will come and see it, he said, which was met with loud applause.

Then, he performed a hand-pan accompaniment to this painting.

He had barely finished speaking when a beer dispenser exploded, spraying the ceiling and making everyone jump. The power of the water god dragon had apparently followed us here from Yasaka Shrine where a similar thing happened. This seems like a testament to this new work being approved by the gods, and not just art, but a window into the supernatural.