村上隆・虹の尾を踏む
Takashi Murakami Exhibit - Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow
Double Helix Within Dark Matter

There are fears that visit me every day. I have never once been able to escape the fear of death. Not so much death itself, but the physical pain and emotional desolation that accompany the process of dying. With no religion to comfort me, no breathing methods to steady my heart, will I be able to face my fate? I am not yet prepared.

祇園精舎の鐘の聲、諸行無常の響き有り。
沙羅雙樹の花の色、盛者必衰の理を顯す。

"The sound of the bell of Gion-shoja rings with the transience of all things; the color of the flowers of paired sal trees shows the truth that all glories must fade." These are the opening lines of the 平家物語 Heike Monogatari, a historical tale that all Japanese learn and remember from middle school. From these words, it becomes obvious that at no point in human history have we ever been free from war. Could it be that the sapiration for war is programmed into us as essential to the survival of the species? Try as we might, we cannot break its spell. It is the emptiness of that realization that leads our minds to dwell on the frailty of individual lives, the absurdities of fate and the miracle of being alive. We feel the futility and sadness of war and yet we cannot atone for this inescapable human behavior.

In Buddhist tradition, the paired sal trees are significant as the location where Buddha attained Parinirvana, or final Nirvana, in Kusinara. These trees are not just a physical marker but symbolize the interconnectedness and impermanence of life and death. The sal tree itself is a large, timber-yielding tree native to the Indian subcontinent.

"In the Land of the Dead: Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow" (2014)
"Kaikai Kiki"  ・  "Mr. DOB"  ・  Figures  ・  100 Arhats
Black Gallery  ・  Flowers  ・  Dream Hall  ・  Skulls
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