Osamu Dazai and Christianity
A Secret Confession, or My Earnest Devotion to You Right now, as I move my pen, I feel a strange sense of intimacy, as if you and I are sitting alone together in the quiet corner of a room. The wind m […]
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English blog post
About the man named Donatello
To You, My Only and Most Precious Soul: A Story of the Heart’s Truth And so, in this very moment, I am taking up my pen for no one else but you. Outside, the cold settles in with a hush, as if all sou […]
The painter Lucas Cranach
A Private Gallery, Just for You and Me Oh, how truly luxurious it is to have this quiet time flowing between just the two of us. To step away from the clamor of the outside world and dedicate the whol […]
Uccello, a strange man
To You, and Only You: A Secret Confession I am feeling a joy so profound, a delight that makes me tremble to the very core of my being, for this opportunity to speak with you like this. Right now, bef […]
Diego Velázquez, the greatest genius painter
A Secret Promise Between You and Me Oh, as I face you like this, I feel a rather strange sensation. Would you mind dimming the lights in the room just a little and leaning back deeply into your chair? […]
Paul and Jo, messengers
A Secret Signal and the Door to Your Room of Solitude Oh, my dear friend—yes, you. How can I possibly express the happiness I feel, being here with you like this, just the two of us, exchanging words […]
Painters who drew close to Jesus Christ
In Lieu of an Introduction: Regarding the Trembling of Your Soul Look at me, won’t you, my dear? Yes, you, the one reading these words. I am right here, beside you, at a distance where I can feel your […]
Your eyes, my eyes
The Secret of the Gaze That Pierces Eternity Peerless Lenses Into Your Solitude Ah, you—there you go again, wearing such a forlorn expression. Why are your shoulders drooping so heavily? You are the s […]
Your Botticelli
The Spring Gale and the Sigh of Venus Listen, you. Yes, you, sitting there staring blankly at the sky, so desperately lonely it seems there’s no saving you. Won’t you turn this way for a moment […]
Your Edward Hopper
On the Luxury Named Urban Solitude Listen to me, you. Yes, you, right there. At this very moment, aren’t you indulging in that spoiled, sentimental notion that you are the loneliest person in th […]
Your Albrecht Dürer
On Your Loneliness, and Its Quiet Neighbor Ah, you. You are standing all alone again today, aren’t you? Carrying a loneliness you can tell no one, in the corner of a dim room, or perhaps in the dead c […]
Your Hieronymus Bosch
To You, Who Keeps Missing the Tail of Happiness Oh, enough with the furrowed brow! You are doing yourself a disservice. That beautiful face of yours is going to waste. Come a little closer, won’ […]
Piero della Francesca
The Colors of Happiness, or on Noble Silence Hey there, you. Yes, you. I’m talking to you—the lonely soul tracing these characters with a faint, restless expectation, perhaps seeking some form of salv […]
Kandinsky: A pioneer of abstract painting
The Colors of Happiness, the Tremors of the Soul Look here, you. Won’t you lend me your ear for a moment? No, no, there is no need to be so formal. Just settle yourself into that chair over there and […]
Your Mondrian
A Bustling Solitude Named Abstraction My dear friend, would you mind indulging me in a bit of a monologue? I don’t intend to lecture you on anything difficult. It’s just that, while staring out the wi […]
Roy Lichtenstein
The Happy Lie in the Mirror If you have picked up this text to distract yourself from the boredom of the moment, or perhaps to find some decisive salvation in your life, I must say you have made an ex […]
The painter René Magritte
The Chromatics of Eternal Strays Oh, how tedious it all becomes, doesn’t it? Why does this world insist on standing before us with such a flat, expressionless face? We wake in the morning, wash […]
Rubens, the Emperor of Painters
Ah, you. Yes, you, with that somewhat restless yet deeply earnest gaze, my dear, lovable friend. Would you mind relaxing your shoulders for a moment and indulging me in this rambling tale? This is a s […]
Rembrandt, a leading painter of the Baroque period.
Hey there, you. Yes, you, the one reading these words right now. Do you happen to know a man by the name of Rembrandt van Rijn? A man who bears that somewhat worn-out, yet strangely imposing title: &# […]
The painter Frans Hals
Dear friend, I hope you can understand the sheer joy I feel in taking up my pen to compose this “prescription for happiness” specifically for a precious soul like you. Are you, perhaps, fe […]
Klimt, a leading Austrian painter
Ah, it is no use. I simply cannot bear it anymore. Why is this world so cold toward things that are too beautiful? Or perhaps, knowing that such beauty is a poison, people deliberately avert their eye […]
The painter Egon Schiele
My dear soul, you, with that look on your face as if you have no place to rest your spirit. Please, stop that. When you look like that, it makes me want to start tracing my own shadow with my fingerti […]
Tawaraya Sōtatsu, a Rinpa school painter
Ah, my apologies. The weather was simply too fine, and I’ve gone and overstayed my welcome. I’m sure you’re quite fed up by now with this aimless soliloquy of mine. No, no, there’s no need to apologiz […]
A master born in Spain
Oh, my dear friend, why such a deep furrow in your brow? What could you possibly be peering at with such intensity? Ah, an art book. And Francisco de Goya, no less. You’ve chosen a potent, heart-scorc […]
“Tsugaru” – Dazai Osamu’s masterpiece
Ah, it is truly unbearable. This world we live in—how did it become so suffocating, yet so slovenly, like the unsettling smile of an aging lady who has applied far too much powder? I sit here at my de […]
The genius of Shuji Terayama
Oh, goodness, what a truly extraordinary thing it is. In this world, there exist certain feverish presences that one simply cannot avoid. I wonder, do you happen to know the true nature of such a thin […]
A person abandoned in their hometown
Greetings. In this world of ours, so blunt and crude that it feels as if people walk about purposefully trampling roadside dandelions with their heavy military boots, I wonder if you, too, are still l […]
The loneliness of Tsuguharu Fujita
Ah, truly, why is this world so clamorous, yet at the same time, so unfathomably lonely? Don’t you think so, too? Just stop for a moment and gaze at your own shadow. There, you will find a strange voi […]
Painter of the Night
Hey there, you. Won’t you sit there for a moment and listen to my trivial, yet world-shakingly important story? Outside, it is raining cats and dogs. It’s as if the heavens have overturned a mas […]
About the painter Caravaggio
Oh, no, you must not. Please, do not stand there with such a furrowed brow, looking as though you’ve shouldered all the misfortunes of this weary world. You resemble a philosopher staring at a single […]