Nihon no kimochi (Feelings of Japan)

I have lived in Japan for 5 years (2016-2021). This painting represents the close link between tradition and modernity that characterizes Japan so well.

This is captured with the image of a young Japanese woman from current times but dressing traditional Japanese clothes.

Besides this, in the compositionthere are several other figures:

1. Mount Fuji, an icon of Japan that transmits power and represents strength, everytime I used to looked at it during my time in Japan.
2.  A ‘Himitsu Bako‘ or secret box, this is traditional handcrafted Hakone wood mosaic ‘Yosegi‘.
   This box represents the secrets that everyone keeps in their lives, including mine during my time in Japan.
3. The Sakura tree represents the spring, and for me this is also the symbol of new beginings that I encounter each time I moved to a new country in my life.
4. The Tori and the small figure below it, represents the mixed interaction between the two main relitions of Japan: Shintoism and Buddhism in Japan, which enriches the Japanese society with different values, values that I learned and made some of them part of my life even after leaving Japan.
   The kanjis writen on the Tori mean: ‘Prayer for happiness’, these are the words I wrote in the Todai-ji Temple of Nara before I left Japan.
5. The ‘Onsen‘ or Hotspring, for me it represents cleansing of body and soul, as well as peace and the reunion with your deeper self.