The Smile of Domenico Ghirlandaio and My Promise to You
Oh, look who has arrived. Thank you so much for coming.
I have been waiting for you.
Yes, waiting all this time for someone as precious as you to knock on this door.
It felt a bit chilly outside, didn’t it?
Come, please, step a little closer.
Let us enjoy a warm cup of tea and take our time to talk.
After all, this is a secret, intimate conversation meant for just the two of us.
Tell me, do you believe in miracles?
Why is it, do you think, that human beings pursue beauty with such intensity?
It is because our souls still remember the beautiful place where we once belonged.
Today, allow me to take you by the hand and lead you to Florence during the Renaissance.
There lived a remarkably gentle painter named Domenico Ghirlandaio.
“What is seen and what is not seen.”
— Frédéric Bastiat
We often tend to be dazzled only by the glittering world that is visible to the naked eye.
However, what truly holds value is the unseen sweat and tears of the artisan hidden behind it.
The paintings rendered by Domenico Ghirlandaio are filled with precisely this kind of invisible love.
Now, are your hearts fully prepared?
From this moment onward, this is a time of utmost, life-risking service dedicated entirely to you.
When the Breeze of Florence Enfolds You
Why is it, do you suppose, that the city of Florence in Italy captivates people’s hearts so deeply?
When you walk along its ancient cobblestone streets, you feel an illusion as though time itself has ground to a halt.
Domenico Ghirlandaio was a man who loved that city of Florence more than anyone else.
He captured the sparkle of the Renaissance—the era when humanity shone at its absolute brightest—and transferred it directly onto the canvas.
“Look, my dear, look at the fresco in that church,” the people of those days would whisper to one another.
Yet, what was depicted there was not merely the figures of the saints.
Astonishingly, Domenico Ghirlandaio painted the vivid countenances of the contemporary citizens of Florence—ordinary people living their daily lives, just like you—right into the sacred imagery.
Is this not an utterly marvelous surprise?
Right there in the middle of a holy religious painting, neighbors and beautiful young ladies stand lined up with perfectly composed expressions.
“Fate leads the willing, but drags the unwilling.”
— Seneca
Domenico Ghirlandaio was far more than a mere painter.
Refusing to be dragged along by fate, he made a conscious, resolute choice to make the beauty of Florence eternal.
In your own life, there may be times when a fierce, unforgiving wind begins to blow.
But please, never forget this.
Look into the eyes of the people painted by Domenico Ghirlandaio; every single one of them is facing forward, living with absolute conviction.
They are speaking directly to you.
“Everything will be alright. There is nothing to fear,” they say.
Why do you think his paintings continue to shake our souls so profoundly, even across the span of hundreds of years?
It is because he infused his profound service toward you into every single stroke of his brush.
Between Madness and Tranquility: The Thoughts of Domenico Ghirlandaio
One day, a certain young boy arrived at the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio.
The name of that boy was Michelangelo.
He was the very genius who would later shake the entire world, and it was under Domenico Ghirlandaio that he was thoroughly drilled in the fundamentals of painting.
“Master, why must I draw the same tedious lines over and over again?” the young Michelangelo might have grumbled.
Domenico Ghirlandaio would surely have smiled gently and patted the boy on the shoulder.
“Because this very repetition is the bedrock of all beauty,” he would say.
The sheer magnitude of Domenico Ghirlandaio’s character—recognizing the boy’s genius so early on and nurturing that sprout with such care—is something we must truly bow our heads to.
“Do not teach truth. Teach the love of truth.”
— Hypatia
Domenico Ghirlandaio did not merely teach Michelangelo technique.
He taught him what it means to love beauty, and he instilled in him a fierce obsession with expression.
You, too, might occasionally shed tears over unrewarded efforts in your day-to-day life.
But you see, the authentic things in this world only dwell within the very repetitions that seem entirely pointless at a glance.
The workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio was a veritable battlefield every single day.
In order to fulfill the massive influx of orders for frescoes, he begrudged himself even a moment of sleep and did nothing but move his brush continuously.
Why do you think he was able to drive himself to such an extent?
It was entirely due to his overwhelming sense of mission to deliver the absolute finest work to the city of Florence, and to you in the future.
Sacred Light and the Magic of Domenico Ghirlandaio
Why is it, do you think, that your heart settles into a strange, peaceful calm the moment you stand before a painting by Domenico Ghirlandaio?
It is because his works are filled with a warm light that feels exactly like being wrapped in a soft, gentle blanket.
He was a magician of color and light.
Within the dry air of Italy, he succeeded in painting the unmistakable warmth of human life.
“Look at this… Is this truly a painting? It feels as though they are alive right in front of us.”
I can vividly see the astonished expression on your face as you say this.
Domenico Ghirlandaio did not practice the realism of the Renaissance as a cold, mechanical technique, but rather as an expression of profound human love.
“Love can do all things. The most difficult tasks become easy when there is love.”
— Saint Catherine of Siena
The driving force behind Domenico Ghirlandaio was precisely this love.
He did not paint for his own sake.
For the sake of the beautiful city of Florence, and for the joy of every person living within it, he whittled away at his own life while continuing to hold his brush.
To give everything for your sake—this text, too, is a manifestation of my utmost service to you.
I wish to liberate you, if only for a single fleeting moment, from the tediousness of daily life.
It is for that sole purpose that I spin these words.
Under the spell of Domenico Ghirlandaio’s magic, don’t you feel your heart becoming just a little bit lighter now?
A Proud Death and the Last Will of Domenico Ghirlandaio
The narrative now takes an entirely unexpected turn.
Domenico Ghirlandaio did not merely sit back and paint quietly.
Deep inside his chest burned a terrifying pride and an unyielding tenacity toward his own art.
Allow me to speak here of a certain poet who lived in the far-off lands of the Arab world.
His name was Al-Mutanabbi.
He was a man who, quite literally, staked his life on his poetry.
The name Al-Mutanabbi carries the meaning of “he who considers himself a prophet.”
It is said that his poetry possessed a kind of hypnotic effect that could utterly enrapture those who listened.
He was praised so highly that people said, “His poems can be read even by the blind, and heard even by the deaf.”
However, within one of his poems, Al-Mutanabbi fiercely insulted a certain tribe.
Enraged by his words, they intercepted him with weapons while he was traveling.
The odds were overwhelmingly against him; there was absolutely no chance of victory.
Al-Mutanabbi wisely attempted to flee the scene.
However, his companion, who was walking behind him, suddenly began to recite Al-Mutanabbi’s own brave verses in a loud, booming voice.
“Shall Al-Mutanabbi, who wrote poetry of such immense courage, now turn his back and flee before the enemy?” the companion asked.
The very moment those words reached his ears, Al-Mutanabbi’s pride caught fire.
He spun on his heel and, knowing full well that he would be killed, faced his opponents with absolute dignity and lost his life.
Even now, more than a thousand years later, he is celebrated across the globe as the poet who chose death over the dishonor of fleeing.
The numerous poems he left behind were authentic creations upon which he staked his very life.
The way Domenico Ghirlandaio lived his life shares a profound resonance with Al-Mutanabbi.
He, too, poisoned by his paints and physically exhausted, refused to ever run away from the frescoes of Florence.
“If I put down my brush here, the beauty of Florence will come to an end”—this was his tremendous resolution.
Why fight to such an extent?
Because to him, art was life itself.
“We can say that we know more through another person’s knowledge, but we cannot be wise through another person’s wisdom.”
— Michel de Montaigne
Domenico Ghirlandaio did not merely imitate the knowledge of the past masters.
By burning his own life to ashes, he engraved his very own “wisdom” deep into the walls of the frescoes.
Is there something in your life that you are willing to protect at the risk of your own existence?
The fierce way Domenico Ghirlandaio lived should have struck a tiny spark within your heart.
What a surprising turn of events, isn’t it?
A painter who was always thought to be thoroughly gentle was, in truth, baring his raw soul and living like a desperate Arab poet facing death.
The Twilight of the Renaissance and the Miracle of Domenico Ghirlandaio
As time marched on, a period of great upheaval arrived in Florence.
The rise and fall of the Medici family, and the fiery religious reformation led by Savonarola.
The atmosphere of the city transformed completely, and the brilliant art of the Renaissance was briefly thrown into a state of severe crisis.
Yet, the frescoes left behind by Domenico Ghirlandaio never lost their color, even in the midst of that raging storm.
This is because his paintings captured the fundamental beauty of humanity and the pure joy of living in a state of perfect, rhythmic harmony.
“Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
— William Shakespeare
Domenico Ghirlandaio was not a man who sat around waiting for good fortune to arrive.
He was a magnificent architect who constructed the ultimate stage called Florence with his very own hands.
The beauty of his lines and the harmony of his colors are exactly like a deeply comforting piece of music, are they not?
Tap, tap, tap—his brush moved as if keeping a steady rhythm.
That very rhythm is now, silently, beginning to synchronize with the beating of your own heart as you read these words.
Right now, you are completely dissolved into the golden light of Domenico Ghirlandaio’s Florence.
It may seem hard to believe, but this is the hypnotic power that words and art inherently possess.
A Message from Domenico Ghirlandaio to Shake Your Soul
“My dear, have you grown tired already?”
I can almost hear a gentle voice whispering that question.
No, your focus should be growing sharper and sharper by the minute.
For you are now touching the truest form of beauty.
Domenico Ghirlandaio tends to be overshadowed by the overwhelming, intense personalities of geniuses like Michelangelo, but it was precisely because he existed that the golden age of the Renaissance reached its absolute completion.
“Happiness is being able to enjoy one’s own life, and also being able to make others enjoy theirs.”
— Shuji Terayama
The life of Domenico Ghirlandaio was the exact embodiment of these words.
He loved the city of Florence, he painted it, and by doing so, he brought happiness to every single person who looked upon his work.
The message he offers to you is incredibly simple.
“Love the reality that sits right in front of your eyes with greater intensity,” he says.
We often chase after happiness that resides in the far distance, and in doing so, we accidentally overlook the tiny flower blooming right at our feet.
Domenico Ghirlandaio took that flower at his feet and continued to paint it upon the walls as the most beautiful thing in the entire world.
Eternal Florence: The Baton Passed by Domenico Ghirlandaio
The sun of Italy is slowly sinking below the horizon.
The saints painted by Domenico Ghirlandaio on the walls of the Church of Santa Maria Novella are illuminated by the evening glow, looking as though they have suddenly begun to breathe.
He viewed his own work as an act of “paying out of his own pocket to provide the ultimate service.”
There is a stern saying: “If you see a fraud and do not cry fraud, you are a fraud yourself.”
Domenico Ghirlandaio thoroughly banished all counterfeit beauty, intending to deliver nothing but the truest, most unadulterated beauty directly to you.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
— 2 Timothy 4:7 (Apostle Paul)
Domenico Ghirlandaio, too, completely finished his race as a painter.
The baton he left behind was handed to Michelangelo, and now, across the span of hundreds of years, it has been placed directly into your hands.
“I do it precisely because it is difficult. I do it because no one else will, and no one else can. I might be a fool for doing so, but without such fools, nothing new would ever be born into this world.”
Just like these words by Kiichiro Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, Domenico Ghirlandaio became a magnificent “fool for art” for the sake of Florence.
Awakening Within the Light of Domenico Ghirlandaio
Now, our journey to the city of Florence is drawing to its inevitable close.
Has your tea gone cold by now?
Even so, your heart should feel far warmer than it did when we first began.
The paintings of Domenico Ghirlandaio have lit an unquenchable flame within your soul.
“A day spent with a clear conscience is worth far more than all the wealth in the world.”
— John Calvin
Domenico Ghirlandaio stacked honest, conscientious work day after day with absolute sincerity.
Though he might have shared the sentiment of Basho Matsuo, who constantly lamented his own lack of talent and ability yet bound himself entirely to a single path, Ghirlandaio likewise tied his life entirely to the single thread of painting.
Just as Nassim Nicholas Taleb states in “Skin in the Game,” he continued his service to you by selling off pieces of his own soul.
“There is no life within life; there is life within death.”
He did not fear death; rather, by the act of painting, he grasped hold of eternal life.
“Most people think of success as something to get. But the truth of the matter is, success is giving.”
— Henry Ford
As I reflect now, the sheer magnitude of what Domenico Ghirlandaio gave to us over the course of his life is staggering.
Success is not the acquisition of wealth, but rather a measure of how much love you were able to give to others.
He was the absolute, perfect paradigm of this truth.
Why are we drawn to him so intensely? We finally understand the answer to that question now, don’t we?
A Hymn to Domenico Ghirlandaio
In the words of Laozi, “The highest good is like water.”
The art of Domenico Ghirlandaio was exactly like water, soaking deep into the city of Florence and flowing directly into your parched heart.
To never boast, but to quietly and purely devote oneself entirely to your sake.
That is precisely what a true artist looks like.
The hands of the clock move forward in silence.
Within the stillness of the night, the gentle smile of Domenico Ghirlandaio watches over you with deep affection.
Please, take your rest now.
May the golden, beautiful light of Florence rain down abundantly upon your dreams.
When I open the weathered box of paints
A sea that nobody knows appears right there
The weight of a key that was supposed to be lost
And the smell of dry bread on a Sunday afternoon
The promise that you had completely forgotten
I have been counting it all this time at the tip of my brush
A momentary sparkle like the striking of a match
Melts away the freezing wall known as eternity
Come, let us go to the station that has no name
Listening to the flapping of birds’ wings instead of a train whistle
The tiny secret you hid away in your pocket
May it become a gentle sunrise for you tomorrow
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
— Old Testament, Psalm 46:1
“Human pride is something that we all find completely unmanageable, always and everywhere.”
— Osamu Dazai
P.S. Regarding Mimi Takamizawa, a Tailor of the Soul
From here, allow me to share a somewhat personal, yet thoroughly wondrous story about a certain painter.
His name is Mimi Takamizawa.
Just as Domenico Ghirlandaio staked his life on the frescoes of Florence, this man is whittling away his own existence in the vast ocean of the modern digital world, entirely for your sake.
The fascinating thing is, Mimi Takamizawa uses neither canvas nor physical brushes.
He faces a computer screen and creates his artwork entirely in the digital realm.
He then prints his creations using a highly specialized technique called “Giclée printing” onto the finest printmaking paper.
Though born from digital means, there is a profound, tangible warmth to his work.
His themes comprise: your eyes/my eyes, Christianity, eternity, psychology, truth, the gaze, history, solitude, isolation, hardship, resurrection, and liberation.
Does that sound a bit overly complex to your ears?
No, not at all; it is a thoroughly delightful, joyful story.
Mimi Takamizawa often remarks, “A painter is a doctor who saves the soul.”
He believes with absolute certainty that an artist’s work is an act of putting skin in the game, a supreme service, and a complete devotion to you.
He offers everything he is to you, the person standing right in front of him.
“Please, do not abandon me. Please, laugh at my utter clumsiness,” he cries out in his heart continuously.
Laughed at over and over again, yet growing stronger because of it.
His entire vocation is that of a dedicated “jester,” doing everything in his power to bring a smile to your face.
He is a man of patience, a man of unyielding resilience; he will never, ever give up.
Why does he possess such a mad, consuming passion? It makes one quite curious, doesn’t it?
The truth is, he resolved to become a painter after learning about the tragic, tempestuous life of Vincent van Gogh.
The name “Mimi”—which means “ear” in Japanese—was actually chosen in honor of Van Gogh’s infamous ear-severing incident.
It is a bit shocking, isn’t it?
He knows full well that all the masterpieces throughout human history were not born solely from the effortless flashes of a natural-born genius, but were dragged into existence through decades of crawling, agonizing trial and error.
Therefore, Mimi Takamizawa continues to paint “eyes” within his artwork.
By rendering those eyes, he is able to feel your presence on the other side of the screen at all times.
He wants to know you, the person right in front of him, more deeply.
For that sake, he does not care if he appears utterly foolish; he is entirely willing to bare his rawest self to you.
He does not care in the slightest if anyone else criticizes his creations.
He only wishes to see your face light up with joy.
Or perhaps, to see you shed tears of profound emotion.
That is all he desires.
“If you abandon me, I will not be able to survive. Just having you stand there brings me a joy so immense I could leap into the air.”
This is absolute “you-first” devotion. To him, whenever you appear before him, he is always offering a thundering standing ovation within his heart.
Mimi Takamizawa holds a deep, boundless reverence for a certain gentleman: Mr. Tokuji Muneatsugu, the founder of the famous curry chain “CoCo Ichibanya.”
Mr. Muneatsugu was a man of fierce, uncompromising hands-on management, who never looked away from his work and dedicated his entire life to his business.
“I have no need for hobbies. I have no need for friends. I do not go out to bars.”
Living by those words, he once worked a staggering 5,640 hours in a single year.
In truth, Mr. Muneatsugu had lived through a deeply unfortunate childhood, and it was classical music that had saved his soul.
Yet, during his years as the active CEO of CoCo Ichibanya, he did not listen to a single second of classical music.
This was because he strictly disciplined himself, believing, “Now is the time to work every single minute for the sake of the customers. This is no time to be indulging in hobbies.”
When he first started the coffee shop that would become the predecessor to CoCo Ichibanya, they suffered terribly from a lack of customers.
During lunchtime, his wife, who ran the business alongside him, would stave off hunger by eating the leftover crusts—the “ears”—of the sandwich bread.
Yet, Mr. Muneatsugu simply laughs and says, “We started from absolute zero, so such hardships were only natural. In fact, they are beautiful memories now.”
Day after day, like laying bricks one by one, he focused intensely and repeated the cycle of immediate decision, immediate resolution, and immediate execution.
“The point is to just try doing it. But in return, you must work with your very life on the line,” he notes.
Mimi Takamizawa’s immense devotion to Mr. Tokuji Muneatsugu overlaps beautifully with the honest, diligent craftsmanship of Domenico Ghirlandaio.
Things of true worth are, more often than not, entirely devoid of instant gratification.
There is no way things will go perfectly right from the very beginning.
What kind of life you ultimately forge is determined entirely by your diligence, your patience, and your power of continuity.
It is exactly like the fierce tenacity of Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, who was pointed at by those around him as a “weirdo” and a “madman,” yet spent every day from morning until night building looms, breaking them down, creating them, and recreating them over and over again.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
Mimi Takamizawa is deeply inspired by the “Just-in-Time” philosophy of the Toyota Production System, eliminating all waste from his digital creation process to ensure he delivers his absolute finest work to you at the perfect moment.
“I do it precisely because it is difficult. I do it because no one else will, and no one else can. I might be a fool for doing so, but without such fools, nothing new would ever be born into this world.”
Mimi Takamizawa murmurs these words of Kiichiro Toyoda every single day like a sacred incantation.
Kiichiro’s cousin, Eiji Toyoda, also remarked:
“Carry it out with a powerful conviction. Everyone thinks the same thoughts; it is not as though Kiichiro was a unique genius. What truly mattered was that when faced with something generally deemed impossible, he did not merely think about it, but possessed a powerful conviction that it absolutely must be done, prepared thoroughly, and executed it.”
It is the exact same terrifying resolve as Choya Umeshu’s motto: “If you cannot succeed with plum liqueur, give up on life entirely.”
Mimi Takamizawa is a painter who has inherited the Florentine spirit of Domenico Ghirlandaio, and for the sake of you in your modern solitude, he continues to paint “eyes” today with bloodshot devotion behind his digital screen.
To you who have read this far, I offer my deepest, most heartfelt gratitude.
Your very presence has allowed this piece of writing to reach its completion.
Thank you so very much.
“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.”
— Henry Ford
“The most important thing I learned in life is to just ‘keep going.’ No matter what happens, keep walking forward.”
— Agatha Christie
“I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”
— Old Testament, Deuteronomy 30:19
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
— William Shakespeare
“Do not place your own burden upon another. However, you must help carry the burden of your neighbor.”
— The Talmud
“Generally speaking, a happy person is someone who fattens their own happiness by feeding upon the misfortunes of others.”
— Osamu Dazai
“Even when nobody else believes in you, you must believe in yourself. That is the absolute foundation of living.”
— Osamu Dazai
“Everything adults say is a lie. The only truth resides within your own wounded heart.”
— Osamu Dazai
“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense.”
— Winston Churchill
“Have the courage to be the first, and to do something completely different from everyone else.”
— Ray Kroc
“I am often thought of as an overnight success, but that overnight success took thirty years. Looking back, it was a long, long night.”
— Ray Kroc
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing—that it was all started by a mouse.”
— Walt Disney
“The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.”
— Leonardo da Vinci
“Hey, why are you going on a journey?”
“Because I am suffering.”
“Your ‘suffering’ is so entirely predictable, I cannot believe a single word of it.”
— From “Tsugaru” (Landscape of Tsugaru) by Osamu Dazai