My name is Shishu and I work as a calligrapher and artist.
Visitors to my exhibitions often ask me how my works and expressions are created. So, I would like to share with you the behind-the-scenes of my creations and the things I think about on a daily basis.

Art is
1. Expanding the human brain
2. Present a new way of thinking

Art has the power to change the world and can provide a new perspective to effectively address the problems of humanity that cannot be solved by science or economics. As a result of exploring ways in which the power of art can be a source of salvation for many people, the "Hell Painting Bonyaki Daigomaku" ART project was born, in which a large-scale painting of hell was burned to the ground last year.

The "power of prayer" infused into the Kinpusenji Temple art "Hell Painting Bonyaki Great Goma Offering"

On October 2023, 10, the "Hell Picture Bonyaki Great Goma Ceremony" was held at Kimpusenji Temple in Yoshino Town, Nara Prefecture, to pray for the end of war and epidemics.

After sunset, the burning ceremony took place accompanied by sutras from about 30 monks and mountain ascetics, and huge flames rose up into the sky, so intense was the heat that some people were left reeling back.
In the midst of the raging flames is my 15m long painting of "Hell - Four Pieces." I used crows to represent the afterlife as well as the hell of the mind.
The hell for the sin of "stealing" is represented by a crow being boiled in a cauldron, and the hell for the sin of "killing" is represented by a crow being burned in flames, and he also completed the sins of "evil sexual desire" and "lying."

The reason I started working on hell paintings was because of COVID-19. It wasn't just the epidemic that spread around the world; it also exposed the weakness and filthiness of people's hearts.

Such an unknown virus has caused anxiety among people and made them face the fear of death.

All living things are born and die. What is new becomes old. All things that have form decay. We know that these are the laws of nature, but the fear of death never ends. If the fear of death that awaits us in our lives comes from ignorance, then we have come to understand that the way to be free from that anxiety is to know and think about "Why do people die?" Just as there is a purpose to living, there must be a purpose to dying as well.
I decided to create a masterpiece called "Hell Scene," which would allow me to confront the "purpose of death" and "life."

During the Tenpyo period, Emperor Shomu and the monks built the Great Buddha through prayer.
We believe that art also has the power, like prayer, to calm the minds and actions of those who have lost peace and ease the fear of death.

Don't let the monsters in your heart run wild.
Controlling your mind frees you

One of the things that causes us suffering is the negative emotions that nest in our hearts.
"Anxiety and fear" that make you dread something that hasn't happened yet as something bad, "anger" at things not going your way, "jealousy" that makes you envious and jealous of others, a long-held feeling of "unforgiveness," "irritability" that makes you lose your composure, "hatred" that makes you reject others, "resentment" that makes you unable to forget what has been done, "obsession," "sadness," "loneliness," etc.

If we let these emotions run wild in our minds and relive them over and over again, negative emotions can easily take over our beautiful hearts, feeding on negative thoughts and growing bigger, until they become monsters that run wild and make us lose control of our actions and words.
What can prevent this is the power of your own "consciousness." Consciousness acts as the command center, taming and controlling this troublesome hell of the mind.

But what if the monsters of hell that dwell in your mind are already beyond your control? I'm sure we've all had similar experiences. I thought there must be a way to use the power of art to free people from the hell that dwells in their minds.

Now, many people think that they are "good people" and that "hell has nothing to do with them."
That happened to me too. Sometimes, even without any bad intentions, I hurt others unknowingly through my own words and actions. Sometimes, even if I don't mean to lie, I end up lying because I forgot a promise. It starts with realizing that you have weaknesses, foolishness, and a dirty heart that can hurt others.
The sayings "Learn from others' mistakes" and "You reap what you sow" are not meant to be directed at others, but rather I try to always direct them at myself.

The flames rising high into the sky, the overwhelming heat burning down the hell in my heart

In the first bonfire in 19 years, the burning took place in the dark, with the exposed innards and a crow with its eyeballs popping out of it painted on a scene of hell being burned in real flames. The crow's eyeballs looked as if they were burning down into the flames of hell, and it was a horrifying scene, just like hell itself.
As we watched the hellish scene burn out, we continued to "pray."

"May all the hell that dwells in my heart be burned away."
"May I be able to completely forgive the person who I feel has hurt me"
"I hope I am happy," "I hope that person is happy,"
Feeling the heat of the burning flames with our whole bodies, we prayed that our hell would be devoured by the flames of Kongo Zao Daigongen.

"The monster that had been nesting in my heart since I was a child was completely burned away. Since then, I no longer remember the emotional wounds that I used to relive so often. Even when I found myself in a similar situation to the one I was in when I was hurt, I was able to let it go without accepting the situation, as if I had completely forgiven it. Negative emotions also stopped appearing.

What is the true nature of "prayer"?
Humans have been praying for thousands of years. Prayer that has been passed down through the ages must have a certain meaning, and the power of prayer must be real.
The act of building the Great Buddha 1300 years ago during an epidemic was also a form of prayer.
"Art" is imagination, "the hell that lurks in the mind" is imagination, and "prayer" may also be imagination. Yes, the answer I have arrived at is that the true nature of "prayer" is "imagination."

Our imagination is what creates the resentment in our hearts, the troubled relationships, and the wounds and pain in our hearts that influence our actions and words. Some people are not hurt by the same experiences, and some don't even remember them. On the other hand, we can relive our wounds over and over again, hurting others even more deeply. All of this is created by our own imagination.

Hearts that have been wounded by imagination can be healed by imagination. The imagination can overwrite and save memories of "complete forgiveness" on top of past pain and emotions. This imagination is the true nature of "prayer."

For thousands of years, art and religion have been deeply connected around the world, providing salvation and healing to people. This project uses the expressive power of modern art to make the "power of prayer" easier to understand and imagine. We hope that it will help save people's hearts and minds in order to live well.

Use your imagination. Don't let your imagination get you into trouble. Join us in our next project.