AMANO YOSHITAKA

In recent years, Amano has engaged with sacred figures of Japanese religious tradition through collaborations with some of Japan’s most revered shrines and temples, producing the ceiling mural Phoenixes (2020) for Musashino Reiwa Shrine in Saitama, Saddharma Pundarika Sutra (2021) for Tanjoji Temple in Chiba, the special exhibition “Golden View of the World” (2022) at Myoshinji Temple, Kyoto, and the dedicated fusuma (sliding door) paintings INARI (2025) for Fushimi Inari Taisha.

For millennia, countless Japanese deities—driven by turbulent passions and dramatic destinies—have been handed down through worship. Among the most representative figures are Amaterasu, the sun goddess; Susanoo, the storm god; Tsukuyomi, the moon god—together known as the Three Noble Children—and Yamata no Orochi, the eight-headed serpent. The memory of a land long shaped by coexistence with the forces of nature lives on in these myths and continues to resonate with us today.

In Amano’s hands, these deities—who give and take away, create and destroy, bring order and nurture, warn, guide, and watch over humankind—are depicted as protagonists in a newly imagined mythology.

On view are a monumental ink rendering of Yamata no Orochi on washi paper, group compositions that appear to burst forth from the artist’s brush, depictions of the Three Noble Children painted over metal leaf, and small pastel works on paper evoking illustrations from an ancient mythic tale. We warmly invite you to experience Yoshitaka Amano’s vision of Japanese mythology, expressed through a rich and diverse body of work.