Japanese spirit 1

The first thing that I did for art in Japan was an artist's studio-visit. On the third day of my arrival in Japan, feeling a bit of jet-lug, I headed to the studio, the studio of Kisho Mukaiayama. (It would be hard to get this, but already his name gave me an impression that he would be someone who has a Japanese spirit. ) He picked me up at the reception of his apartment building. " I heard that you were a grand son of Miya Daiku," I said after greeting him. "Yes, and I was brought up in Koya-San," he replied. “ All Right,” his remark hit me. Miya-daiku are highly skilled wooden builders, who build ancient and traditional architectures like Shrine and Temple. The number of Miya-Daiku gets less and less, so they are considered as a national asset. To become Miya Daiku is like to be a monk, requiring a great deal of training, patience and self-discipline. So, a grandson of Miya-Daiku means something here. Then, Koyasan is a mountain where a great monk," Kukai," was settled down and founded a temple for the study and practice of Esoteric Buddhism twelve centuries ago. This is the very spiritual place where my mom regularly has gone to practice over 3 decades, and I have been for 3 times. Something was clicking my mind. As I expected, his place was absolutely neat and well decorated. A white leather sofa, white coffee table, his painting-like white wax sculptures, Japanese traditional furniture, Joseph Beuys’s posters, all are well fitted into his modern apartment. With my excitement, a tea set that he served knocked me down. In a small Japanese traditional tray, everything from the teacup from some cookies and chocolate was placed in a well-deliberated manner. It was like a Zen garden. At this point, even before seeing his art, I already got a great sense of who he was and I felt that I was meant to get to know him as a person. He had Japanese Spirit, which we are missing or losing now, which I was really longing to see. “My mother needs to see him,” I kept thinking, the moment I met him. My soul, loving to connect people to people, had been banging me....to be continued.