木漏れ日
Komorebi

Concept

Komorebi (木漏れ日) is a Japanese word for the sunlight that filters through tree leaves. The word is often used in haiku poetry.

The Komorebi art project unfolds a poignant narrative of inner turmoil and solitude — a universal tale resonating across time and borders.

Genesis

In 2020, Masami Mikami conducted an interview with an individual whose life story became the foundation of the project. His story is symbolized by the shape of the geodesic dome, which was a symbol of Montreal’s Expo 67, the era in which he was born.

Our production illuminates a journey from despair to redemption, where a single beam of light charts a course of hope, beauty, and enlightenment.

Inspirations

Following are key sources of inspiration for this project.

Shinto

Every culture has its own mythology and legends. They transmit the spirituality of ancient ancestors to their ascendants; accordingly mythology and legends are valued as the most important cultural heritage of the people.

In Japan, the Kojiki (The Record of Ancient Matters) is the oldest form of literature that presently exists. It was compiled in 712 A.D. by the order of the Emperor. According to the Kojiki, in the beginning of the universe there appeared various deities (kami) from the chaos. A male kami and a female kami appeared at the end and gave birth to the islands of Japan as well as the natural environment and several more deities who became ancestors of the Japanese.

The ancient Japanese considered that all things of this world have their own spirituality, as they were born from the divine couple. Therefore the relationship and connection between the natural environment and the people was that of blood kin like the one between siblings.

Japanese Buddhism

Zen

Zen cherishes simplicity and straightforwardness in grasping reality and acting on it “here and now,” believing that an event or thing immediately present before one’s eyes or under one’s feet is an expression of suchness.

Concept of time

In Buddhism, time refers to an interval on an individual’s mental continuum between the experience of two sequential events. Since mental continuums have no beginning and no end—and thus time also has no beginning and no end—the two events may not both occur in one lifetime. A period of time, then, is not something that exists independently of the two sequentially related events or a person’s experience of them.

Canadian Art and Culture

Canadian contemporary art and history from the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Symbolism from Expo 67 and especially the US pavilion, a geodesic dome designed by Buckminster Fuller.

Buckminster Fuller was a visionary architect, inventor, and futurist who imagined a harmonious, sustainable world. His innovative designs, like the geodesic dome exemplified by the U.S. Pavilion at Expo 67, symbolize efficiency, beauty, and interconnectedness, envisioning a future where art and science converge to nurture a thriving planet.

Another source of inspiration for this interdisciplinary creative work comes from the Flower Children of the 1960s and 70s, whose ideals of peace, love, and interconnectedness resonated with Fuller’s vision.

Flower of Life

Followers of sacred geometry believe that repeating patterns demonstrate the interconnection of life on Earth and universal existence.

Flower of Life design can also symbolize the interconnectedness of life on Earth from a scientific and ecological standpoint.

Leonardo da Vinci

The great artist and inventor explored the relationship between the physical and metaphysical worlds through his art and writings, particularly in his famous drawing “Vitruvian Man.” This work depicts a man fitting perfectly within both a square and a circle, symbolizing the harmony between human proportions and the universe. Here we see his drawing superimposed on the Flower Of Life.