Today, after visiting Ikegami Hongyo-ji Temple in Ota-ku, we stopped by the famous plum garden nearby.

For Japanese people, plum blossoms, rather than cherry blossoms, are the flowers that herald the arrival of spring.

In the Heian period, people wrote tanka poems expressing their joy at seeing the first plum blossoms bloom amid the harsh changing seasons. On this day, too, while it was still cold, many plum trees with their colorful flowers stood out against the blue sky.

Afterwards, we were invited to enjoy a musical performance at the live house “Tsukimiru Kimi Omou”. The performers were a group called Dream Dolphin, led by Joy Noriko.

The backdrop for the performance was actually a projection of Shiozawa’s flower motif artwork. Noriko had previously asked Shiozawa if she could use his art as a stage backdrop by putting it on video and projecting it onto a large screen.

Dream Dolphin’s music is a thematic representation of life and the universe, embodying nature and oceans. Their sound, that is a crossover of various similar genres, such as techno trance and healing, is orchestrated on synthesizers and speaks to the audience like mystical poetry. The music is accompanied by laser projections of animated murals, making for a surreal and immersive experience for all.

Shiozawa’s works are depicted with a sense of movement, and when you actually move the motifs in his works using digital technology, they appear incredibly realistic, like plants that are alive and thriving.

We were amazed at the spectacle of Shiozawa’s animated work, and are so grateful to Noriko for this new experience.

Finally, Noriko introduced Shiozawa to the audience. When Shiozawa announced that he is involved in peace art activities at World Heritage temples and shrines, the audience erupted in applause.