On this day of May 11th, I took President Shimamoto, who runs a real estate company, his wife and his younger brother to Yasaka Shrine and Honnoji Hotel in Kyoto.

 The Cosmic Dragon at Yasaka Shrine:

The Cosmic Dragon, whose body is made up of galaxies, is a purveyor of creation that spits out the Earth, like a newborn child, from its mouth. Orion in the upper left is said to be both connected to the three pyramids, and serves as a conduit for Earth’s connection with the universe. This painting allows viewers to consider Earth in the universe and urges us to consider what kind of Earth we will pass on to future generations.

Next, we were shown to the Honnoji Hotel.

Artwork “Honnoji Incident”:

At the Honnoji hotel we saw the artwork “Honnoji Incident”. The Gion festival which aims to ward off epidemics, was ironically cancelled for two years because of the pandemic. To coincide with the return of the festival in 2022, this work was displayed at a hotel famous for its popularity with festival goers. Given that the theme of this work is for peace, it was no accident that it being once again displayed closely coincided with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In the world of the Lotus Sutra, this work depicts the time where Mitsuhide and Nobunaga abandoned their grudges for peace in Japan.

We then showed off Shiozawa‘ｓ latest creations in our art studio.

Today, Mr.Shimamoto purchased the work “Tengu.” It depicts a vision Shiozawa had on the mountains of Kurama. It is a representative work that demonstrates his skill in turning invisible beings into paintings.

Afterwards, the Shimamoto brothers had a lot of fun talking about what theme they would like to see painted next, with many gods in the discussion.