The grid structure of the lotus flower, together with the fine dots and strokes of color, expresses the dynamism of life. The dragonfly, with a form almost resembling an aircraft, moves through the composition as though responding to the lotus flower.
An open doorway suggests the threshold to the sacred. The dragonfly becomes a symbol of the force needed to cross that boundary in a single movement.
While painting this work, I recalled an extraordinary experience I once had at a Shinto shrine on the outskirts of Nagaoka City in Niigata Prefecture. There, I witnessed what appeared to me as a spirit, or kami, taking the form of a luminous bird moving through the night sky. The people around me and I stood in astonishment, watching the phenomenon unfold.
To me, it seemed as though the vision were awakening a dormant force within us and urging us to move forward. It was a moment that profoundly influenced my understanding of life and the way I see the world.

* For the series concept, see the note following the description of Dragonfly #1.