Exhibition location: ESPACIO The Hakone Geihinkan Rin-Poh-Ki-Ryu – Uruwashi
Phoenix of the Wind
The Houoh has long been regarded as a divine messenger of the wind, and in some traditions, as the deity of the wind itself. This work takes as its theme the moment when plants sway in the breeze. Amid overlapping branches and leaves, the faint presence of the Houoh gradually emerges. The wind itself is invisible. Yet its presence is revealed as it stirs the trees and rustles the leaves. In the same way, Branch Feathers — The Houoh of the Wind — does not portray the Houou directly, but instead evokes its presence through subtle traces, inviting the viewer to sense what cannot be seen.
Shingo Muramoto
Born in Ishikawa Prefecture in 1970, Muramoto completed the Master's Program in Lacquer Art in the Department of Crafts at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1997. In 2002, he completed the Kanazawa Utatsuyama Kogei Kobo (Crafts Institute) and is currently based in Kanazawa, where he continues his artistic practice. He also serves as Director of the Lacquer Art Workshop at the College of Science and Technology, Ningbo University. He received the Special Jury Prize at the International Urushi Exhibition Ishikawa in 2002, 2012, and 2020. His works are included in the collections of the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
