Description
I was inspired by traditional Japanese woodblock prints called ukiyo-e, specifically “Under the Great Wave off Kanagawa” by artist Katsushika Hokusai. This woodblock print symbolizes the tension between impermanent human struggle and the enduring, immutable forces of nature. You must have seen the towering claw-like crest of the wave with Mount Fuji dwarfed in the background remaining calm, snow-capped and unyielding symbolizing spiritual strength. The work also features several half submerged small oshiokuri-bune (fast-moving boats) with fishermen desperately rowing through the waves illustrating human endurance against overwhelming chaos and danger. In this collage, there are no boats but I added a purple octopus and tiny turtles under the big wave with a tori gate silhouetted in the upper right corner. Tori gates symbolize crossing a spiritual boundary (kekkai) to a space where Shinto gods (kumi) reside and are gateways into the spiritual realm. Tori literally translates to “bird abode” and is linked to ancient myths where a rooster perched on the sacred gate to lure the sun goddess Amaterasu out of a cave. For fun the cat riding the wave has surfboard arms. Doesn’t any surfer wish their arms would paddle as well as their board? And isn’t surfing entering a watery spiritual realm?
