Kinmokusei 03

This picture is the third in a series of three paintings entitled "Kinmokusei", the name of which comes from a plant that blossoms with bright orange delicate petals across Japan. The plants beautiful colours not only inspired me to make these painting but also their cultural connotations in Japan. They bloom in late September which evokes an Autumnal feeling and memories of festivals which often happen during that time. 

In this picture, the woman is wearing a festive dress and the design was developed from the second in the series of the Kinmokusei paintings I made. The woman in this picture is reminiscent of Delacroix's "Liberty leading the people". 

I'm a Japanese artist living in Tokyo, please check out my other blog posts to see my other works.  

You can also check out the other 2 paintings in this series here:

Kinmokusei 01

Kinmokusei 02

Kinmokusei 02

This picture is a T-shirt design. The motive for it was inspired by the "Kinmokusei" plant(Orange Osmathus). This is the 2nd of a series of 3 paintings. You can see the first Kinmokusei painting here. 

Kinmokusei 01

The Kinmokusei or Orange Osmanthus in English has incredibly small and delicate flowers. However the shape is beautiful, it has a strong perfume and has a striking appearance. I wanted to use this flower as an inspiration in my picture to express a sense of fun and an image of traditional Japan (above).

The Kinmokusei flower flowers for about 2 to 3 weeks around the end of September. It has a large number of tiny orange flowers and gives off a sweet pleasant fragrance. You can smell this all across Japan. The flowering of the Kinmokusei reminds us of a traditionally Japanese Autumn when they are in full bloom.

Higanbana 03

Higanbana flowers grow in large clumps around rivers and rice paddies. It's amazing to see them all in full bloom. However, they are in fact poisonous. In this painting I wanted to depict a woman that is sensitive and delicate like the flower but also powerful as represented by the red colour.

Higanbana 02

 In this piece I designed a necklace and bracelet from the Higanbana motive in my previous pieces under the same theme.  The bracelet uses a tradition golden laquer pattern. The necklace uses a pattern inspired by a "dragonfly ball" or traditional Japanese glass marble. The red pattern in the ball is inspired from coral.

Higanbana 01

During the Higan holiday in Japan, it is common to give botamochi, a Japanese sweet using Azuki beans, as an offering to ones ancestors. However, in recent years, people tend to give more varied offerings including what the deceased used to like eating or drinking. In this picture, I drew a bottle of sake as an offering with the Higan flower motive on it.

In Japan, the Autumn equinox is referred to by Buddhists as Higan. Higan is a flower but also in Buddhism it symbolises "the other side" which is a metaphor for leaving the world of confusion and desire behind and crossing over to the other side of enlightenment. It is also a metaphor for the afterlife. During Higan, people pay their respects to their ancestors by leaving botamochi, a kind of Japanese sweet made from red bean paste. This is to nourish one's ancestors in the afterlife.

Hozuki 03

This design uses the 2nd Hozuki painting as inspiration in the kimono belt design. If you look closely, you can see the image of a Hozuki plant, representative of summer in Japan.