Japanese Kumano Kodo Calendar

This theme was decided before production. I received a request from Nippon Paint Co., Ltd. to create an illustration of my colorful world with the theme of "Spinning History and Connecting Culture" and "Romantic Road." The elements of my designs (illustrations) are inspired by Japanese culture, traditional designs and invisible things.

n 2002, I received a request for a calendar for the first time as an illustrator. The most important thing (because it's a 6-page calendar, you can use one illustration for 2 months without getting bored) is that I wanted to make a calendar.

Every time I look at it, I discover something new, and I wanted it to be something that people who use it can enjoy every day.

I also wanted to create a different image for each month by changing the color variations.

I'm not a designer, so I don't have a design plan. By receiving this award, I feel that I have gained a new step (confidence) as an illustrator.

I would like to start a new production.

The client requested us to create a work that overlaps their company history (company history) with the pilgrimage route (Kumano Kodo). The ancient roads that carry the traditions and culture of each region have something in common with passing on the client's company's work to the next generation.

The Kumano Kodo is a pilgrimage route to the Kumano Sanzan shrines. The illustrations for the July and August calendars are based on the Kumano Kodo.I created the illustrations centered on the 133-meter-high Nachi Falls and the annual Shinto ritual (fire festival). I think the design is typical of the Kumano Kodo, fusing the opposing elements of ancient tradition and modern business (the waterfall festival and the fire festival). At the time, I also drew many illustrations of Japanese mythology and festivals. It was fun to express history and culture from ancient times to the present on a single road.

Drawing illustrations by hand for many years can be stressful, but it's fun. I create illustrations by repeatedly coming up with ideas and making drafts (for a six-page annual calendar, the same illustration appears for two months), so I wanted to draw something that I would never get bored of.There's a sense of tension that digital doesn't have (the fun of a one-shot deal) and the fun of inaccurate and ambiguous shapes.I've been doing calligraphy since I was a child (the fun of a one-shot deal), so I think that's also an influence.There are things that digital can never imitate. The thickness and texture of the paint, the distortion and ambiguity of the shape, and accidental uneven coloring are also drawbacks, but there's also the warmth of the human hand. Things that can only be conveyed through hand-drawn illustrations.