Here is the English translation of the text.
At the beginning of this text, I present the words of a truly great artist.
These are the words of the Renaissance master, Leonardo da Vinci.
“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.”
(Leonardo da Vinci)
These words possess a profound connection to me, to you, and to the world of art we are about to explore.
Why? Because I do not wish to speak of art to you merely as cold, academic knowledge.
I want to ignite a fire within your heart.
When you face the rough, unpredictable waves of life, receiving art with genuine passion is precisely what becomes a powerful weapon to dramatically transform your daily existence.
You and I have met here today.
This is bound to be a fresh, astonishing turning point in your life.
Now, let us embark on this journey together to enrich your life from this moment forward.
The Law of Beautiful Living that Torii Kiyonaga Teaches You
Have you been forcing your own style to fit the expectations of those around you, feeling cramped and stifled in the process?
Here, let me tell you the story of an extraordinary ukiyo-e artist from the mid-Edo period in the late 18th century: Torii Kiyonaga.
During the Tenmei era, Torii Kiyonaga completely overturned the conventional wisdom of bijinga (paintings of beautiful women).
Until then, beautiful women in ukiyo-e were often depicted as somewhat fragile, with slightly downturned faces.
However, what Torii Kiyonaga drew was entirely different.
He portrayed women brimming with a healthy, vibrant beauty—tall, small-faced, and possessed of ideal eight-head-tall proportions.
Frequently praised as the “Venuses of the Tenmei Era,” he released a succession of these portraits featuring women standing with dignified, magnificent statures.
In truth, this very attitude of Torii Kiyonaga is directly related to your everyday life as you navigate the modern world.
There is absolutely no need to worry about what others think or to make yourself appear small.
Just like the uninhibited, carefree women Torii Kiyonaga drew, you too are fully permitted to express your own individuality with pride.
The eight-head-tall Venuses he created offer you a special, distinct hint for reclaiming your own beauty and dignity.
When you believe in yourself and stand tall, the world right in front of your eyes begins to change dramatically.
“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”
(Steve Jobs)
This famous quote by Steve Jobs perfectly overlaps with Torii Kiyonaga’s way of life and with the situation you find yourself in right now.
Believing in your own internal aesthetic sense, no matter what the surroundings may say—that is the only true path for you to live authentically as yourself.
The Deep Relationship Between Torii Kiyonaga and Art Collecting That Enriches Your Mind
What kind of benefits does keeping art close to you—in other words, the hobby of collecting art—bring to your life?
Do you think it is merely an expensive pastime for the wealthy?
No, that is a tremendous misunderstanding.
The time you spend gazing at Torii Kiyonaga’s beautiful polychrome prints (nishiki-e) provides your brain and heart with the ultimate rest and inspiration.
Despite not being born into the bloodline of the Torii family, Kiyonaga became the fourth head of the Torii school through his overwhelming talent alone.
Today, the vast majority of his masterpieces are preserved in famous museums overseas.
Gazing upon first-class works as a part of your daily routine elevates your sensitivity to its absolute peak.
When your sensitivity is heightened, creative ideas flow effortlessly into your work, and you will find yourself handling interpersonal worries with surprising calmness.
Don’t you feel your heart drying up amidst the hectic rush of daily life?
That is exactly why taking a moment to display a single beautiful picture in your room, or gazing at your favorite piece of art on your smartphone screen, matters.
That brief habit provides you with an exquisite “breathing room for the soul.”
Engaging closely with art is, without a doubt, the most magnificent investment you can make in yourself.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
(The Bible: New Testament, Gospel according to John, Chapter 1, Verse 5)
It is precisely within the darkness of routine days that the light of art becomes necessary.
When your spirits are low, a single beautiful painting serves as a ray of light illuminating the path ahead.
Do you believe in the power of this light?
“Artists, as a rule, are bound to be extremely weak, untidy men. That is precisely why they long for that beautiful light of art.”
(Osamu Dazai)
Yes, we are all weak, fragile creatures.
Perhaps that is exactly why we long for beauty, and by keeping it close at hand, we somehow manage to keep moving forward.
Why not welcome that beautiful light into your own life starting today?
An Indomitable Spirit for You and Me to Venture Down Difficult Paths
Is there a massive wall blocking your path right now?
Do you find yourself frozen with hesitation before a brand-new challenge?
At such a time, please listen to the roaring cry from the souls of the great pioneers who built modern Japanese industry.
“We do it because it is difficult. I will do it because no one else is doing it, and no one else can do it. I might be a fool for thinking so, but without such fools, nothing new would ever be born into this world.”
(Kiichiro Toyoda)
Furthermore, Matsuo Basho also expressed his own way of living in this manner:
“Having eventually proven entirely untalented and unartful, I cling solely to this single thread.”
(Matsuo Basho)
Staking one’s life on a single path, discarding everything else, and charging straight ahead—why did they go so far as to keep walking such difficult roads?
It is because they knew that true, authentic value lies only beyond such hardships.
Torii Kiyonaga was exactly the same.
When a rising rival force, the Katsukawa school, gained immense power in the field of actor prints (yakusha-e), Kiyonaga spent a difficult period creating more than 120 illustrations for illustrated popular novels called kibyoshi.
Yet, he never gave up.
He developed his own unique genre of beautiful customs and manners, achieving a spectacular comeback through his innovative large-format nishiki-e.
The difficulties you are facing right now are by no means meant to destroy you.
They are nothing more than trials designed to make you stronger and more radiant.
This very moment is the greatest chance for your life to turn around and succeed beautifully.
Astounding, Concrete Measures to Overcome a Crisis Named “Opportunity”
Opportunities do not always arrive beautifully wrapped in elegant gift paper.
“An opportunity always arrives at first disguised as a crisis, or appears in the form of a heavy burden.”
(Aizo Soma)
Please engrave these words deeply into your heart.
The pressure and burdens pressing down on you right now—those are the very “opportunities” destined to dramatically elevate your life.
After his master, Torii Kiyomitsu, passed away, Torii Kiyonaga accepted the position of the fourth head of the Torii school. This was on the premise of serving as a temporary caretaker until his master’s biological, young grandson—Torii Shonosuke—grew up to inherit the family business.
This was an immense burden for him, and a crisis that threatened to strip away his freedom as a creator.
Indeed, after he assumed the leadership of the school, the production of the beautiful women prints that had won him such immense popularity decreased sharply.
However, without uttering a single complaint, and driven by a powerful loyalty to his late master, he raised the rightful heir of the main family with the utmost care himself.
Furthermore, so that his own biological son, Torii Kiyomasa, would not cause a succession dispute in the future, Kiyonaga went so far as to have his own son lay down his paintbrush—a heart-wrenching decision for any parent.
Such thorough self-sacrifice and devotion to duty!
Why was he able to go that far?
It was because he lived for a grander mission—the survival of the school—rather than his own temporary fame.
If you are carrying a massive burden in your work or family life right now, please try reframing it as a “special gift meant to grow your character.”
That exact attitude is what pulls you up into the ranks of the first-class.
“Three-fourths of the people you will meet tomorrow are hungering and thirsting for sympathy. Give it to them, and they will love you.”
(Dale Carnegie)
Giving generously to the people around you—this is the ultimate secret to transforming any burden into a golden opportunity.
The Unbelievable Psychological Mechanism by Which Art Saves You
Here, allow me to make a confession of my own.
As I painted and continued to express myself, I lived with a constant, massive question and worry weighing on my mind.
“Is what I am drawing truly helping anyone? Is there really a warm human connection waiting at the end of this incredibly lonely work?”
This anxiety would quietly eat away at my heart in the dark of the night.
However, one day, I realized something.
This deep loneliness and anxiety of mine, as well as the unspeakable suffering and loneliness nestled inside your heart—all of it, by passing through the filter of art, is beautifully purified. It is converted into a warm energy meant to connect us deeply with others.
Art is the finest medicine, beautifully dressing the wounds of our hearts.
When you are lost in sorrow, the colors of a single painting quietly stand by your side.
Suffering and sorrow inevitably visit every human life.
In those moments, it is the art of Mimi Takamizawa that stays close by your side.
To transform your heart from sorrow into joy—that is my true mission.
You no longer need to suffer alone.
The “eyes” drawn in my paintings are always gazing upon you gently, validating and affirming your very existence.
No matter where you are, I am always on your side.
“If you wish to be happy, think first of the happiness of others, and learn to give to them.”
(Jean Calvin)
When we focus solely on our own pain, our hearts become narrow.
However, by connecting deeply with others through art and exchanging warmth, the heart expands infinitely.
You have already worked so hard all by yourself.
From now on, why not surrender yourself to the power of art and let some of the tension leave your shoulders?
The Obsession and Perseverance of Honda and Toyota That Turn Failure into Gold
Let us introduce a dazzling episode from the world of business.
Soichiro Honda, who built the world-renowned “HONDA,” and his trusted ally, Takeo Fujisawa.
Soichiro Honda poured all of his almost mad passion into technological development.
Meanwhile, Takeo Fujisawa took sole charge of financing and marketing, constantly supporting Honda’s dreams.
Consider also Shotaro Kamiya, hailed as the “God of Sales” for Toyota, and Taizo Ishida, who financially supported the grand transition from “Toyota Loom Works” to “Toyota Motor Corporation.”
Between them existed an extraordinary, rock-solid trust and an obsession never to give up, no matter what happened.
They teetered on the brink of bankruptcy numerous times, ridiculed by those around them who said, “It’s absolutely impossible,” or “They are reckless madmen.”
Yet, they kept running.
Why? Because they believed from the bottom of their souls that what they were doing would inevitably enrich the lives of ordinary people.
Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of the Toyota Group, was also a quiet man treated as an eccentric. He became an invention maniac, spending every single day from morning until night building things only to tear them down and rebuild them again.
Even when called a “madman” by his neighbors, he stood firmly by his convictions.
“If you strike a hundred times and it doesn’t break, it might break on the hundred and first time. That is my way of living.”
(Soichiro Honda)
How much courage does this sheer obsession instill in your daily work and life?
Giving up on your own potential over a mere one or two failures is simply too tragic.
Continuing until you succeed—that is the sole boundary separating the ordinary from the extraordinary.
“There is no life within life; inside death, there is life.”
(Zen saying, famously known as a house precept of Takeda Shingen)
When you stand at the edge of a despairing abyss, thinking “It’s all over, I can’t go any further,” that is precisely the moment a new life sprouts.
You might be standing inside that “death” right now.
Because of that, the greatest chance for “life” is hidden right there.
A guaranteed bright future lies just beyond the horizon of your obsession.
How to Deliver True Value to the World Without Neglecting the Effort to Communicate
No matter how wonderful a thing you create, if it is not communicated effectively to the other party, it is exactly the same as if it did not exist in this world.
Akio Morita, the co-founder of Sony, once said:
“Even if a product has never been produced before, has never been seen by anyone, and has been painstakingly researched and manufactured at the very corner of somewhere through immense hardship—if you wish to turn that product into a commodity, you must arouse a desire among people to possess it. Otherwise, no matter how excellent the ‘product’ may be, it can never become a ‘commodity’.”
(Akio Morita)
This applies perfectly whether it is the world of art or your own business.
No matter how sincerely you perform your work, if you do not make the effort to “communicate” it clearly to your clients, your boss, or your precious partner, that value will never reach them.
Why did Torii Kiyonaga’s beautiful women prints become such a massive sensation?
It was because he did not merely paint pictures; he brilliantly captured and expressed the contemporary desires of people who thought, “I want to look beautifully poised like that,” or “I want to gaze upon such wonderful scenery.”
Furthermore, Steve Jobs left behind these famous words later on:
“Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.”
(Steve Jobs)
Cheap, poorly made things are forgotten in an instant.
However, the authentic quality into which you pour your very soul remains in the hearts of people across eras.
No matter how powerful a marketing strategy you employ, if the content itself is a mediocre piece of work, it can never become a lasting hit.
Please elevate the quality of the work you perform today to its absolute limit.
And make sure to communicate it firmly using words that pierce the heart of the receiver.
That entire, meticulous process is what multiplies your followers and makes your value unshakable.
The Compass of Edison and the Great Thinkers Offered to You Who Fear Failure
When starting something new, we inevitably become anxious, wondering, “What if I fail?”
In those moments, please remember these words by the Wizard of Menlo Park, Thomas Edison.
“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
(Thomas Edison)
Furthermore, Edison also noted:
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
(Thomas Edison)
And here is the ultimate secret to his success:
“My success is due to the fact that I kept going after others gave up.”
(Thomas Edison)
How does that feel?
Isn’t a fire starting to kindle deep within your chest?
At the exact moment you are about to throw in the towel, the finish line of success might actually be right before your eyes.
The founders of CHOYA Umeshu cut off all avenues of retreat with a determination so fierce they believed, “If we cannot succeed with plum liqueur, we must give up on life itself.” Through this, they carved out a market for authentic Umeshu that no one else dared to challenge.
Their unglamorous but overwhelming power of continuity built the brand we know today.
Taking a single step forward today, and continuing that step again tomorrow—that is the only vehicle that will rescue you from a mediocre routine and transport you to a special stage.
“He who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know.”
(Laozi)
Showing your worth through silent action rather than dressing it up with words—this is the greatest, most royal road to winning absolute trust.
The Daily Choices and Decisions That Will Radically Alter Your Life
Let us organize the maximum benefits waiting for you right here.
By reading this text and learning the spirit of art and the indomitable philosophy of these great figures, the following astonishing changes will visit your life:
- Establishment of your own internal axis, unswayed by surrounding noise (Living with dignity, just like Torii Kiyonaga)
- Acquisition of the ultimate healing to dissolve daily stress (A life closely acquainted with art)
- Formation of a powerful, positive mindset that turns any difficulty into a chance
- Cultivation of overwhelming continuity and patience that never quits halfway
Introducing even a tiny fraction of the light of art into your daily life sharpens your sensitivity and dramatically improves the precision of your daily choices.
A swift and decisive choice will enrich your future.
Come, let us breathe a fresh, invigorating wind into your room right this moment.
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”
(The Bible: New Testament, Letter to the Romans, Chapter 15, Verse 7)
Accepting and believing in one another—just as you and I have connected our hearts through these words of art, please build warm relationships with the people around you.
Your life can be born anew starting today, entirely depending on the choices you make.
Postscript: A Message Infused with Love from a Painter Named Mimi Takamizawa
Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for reading so enthusiastically up to this point.
Finally, allow me to speak a little bit about myself, a painter named Mimi Takamizawa.
I do not use canvases or paintbrushes at all.
I create my art using the modern tool of digital technology, and finish the pieces by printing them onto high-grade printmaking paper using an advanced method known as the “Giclée printing technique.” Despite being digital, these works possess a warm, deep texture that feels as though it clings to the paper.
The themes I draw are entirely consistent:
“Your eyes and my eyes, Christianity, eternity, psychology, truth, the gaze, history, solitude, isolation, hardship, resurrection, liberation.”
In modern society, every single one of us experiences a sense of loneliness and isolated hardship somewhere within.
That is precisely why I continue to draw “eyes” within my paintings.
The eyes I draw gaze intently upon you.
They convey a powerful message directed straight to you: “I am right here. I know everything about you. I will never leave you alone.”
My decision to become a painter was sparked when I learned of the tumultuous, staggering life of Vincent van Gogh.
The “Mimi” (meaning “ear” in Japanese) in my name, Mimi Takamizawa, was taken in homage to that famous ear-slashing incident born from the extreme state of Van Gogh’s mind.
Van Gogh left behind these magnificent, beautiful words:
“I want to express something comforting in a picture, like music.”
(Vincent van Gogh)
What an incredibly gentle thing to say.
If a work or a piece of job expresses something but fails to move anyone’s heart, fails to comfort anyone, it holds no value.
I, too, want to be a “doctor of the soul,” existing solely to comfort and rescue your heart.
To me, the work of an artist is a thorough, unstinting service provided at one’s own expense—an absolute devotion to you.
I dedicate everything I am to you, the person right in front of me.
At times, I may appear clumsy or even ridiculous.
But that is perfectly fine. Please, go ahead and laugh at me.
To be laughed at, and yet continue providing this desperate service like a jester solely to bring you joy—that is the path I walk, and my pride as an indomitable man.
I will never give up.
After Van Gogh’s death, behind the historical reality of his works being recognized by the world lay the tearful, monumental efforts of his brother Theo, and Theo’s wife, Jo.
Theo passed away a mere six months after Vincent, but Jo, left behind, declared:
“Besides the child, Theo left me another mission—Vincent’s work, to show it and to have it appreciated as much as possible.”
(Jo van Gogh-Bonger)
Precisely because this baton of sheer obsession was successfully passed down, we are able to shed tears before Van Gogh’s paintings today.
Authentic things of true value often lack immediate effects.
Even so, by believing and continuing, it will one day inevitably become a light that moves the entire world.
I hold Tokuji Munetsugu, the founder of CoCo Ichibanya, in the highest regard.
Mr. Munetsugu never looked sideways at other hobbies or temptations; he focused single-mindedly on his work, dedicating every ounce of his time to management and his customers.
During his childhood, he did not know the faces of his biological parents and spent a devastating youth in extreme poverty, eating wild grass in the summer to stave off starvation.
What rescued him during those dark days was classical music.
Yet, during his active years as an executive, he completely cut off his favorite hobby, thinking, “Now is not the time to be listening to music I love; now is the time to dedicate everything to the customer.” He is said to have worked up to 5,640 hours a year.
When he first opened the coffee shop that served as the predecessor to CoCo Ichibanya, on days when customers failed to show up, he and his wife survived by eating the crusts of white bread that were left over from making sandwiches.
Yet, Mr. Munetsugu recalls those days with a smile, saying, “We started from absolute zero, so that was only natural. Rather, it is a beautiful memory.”
Like laying bricks one by one, he focused intensely every single day for the sake of the single customer right in front of him.
Immediate decision, immediate conclusion, immediate execution.
“During my time in active management, I had no hobbies and made no friends. I never once went out to drinking establishments. I did absolutely nothing that would interfere with my work. There were years I worked 5,640 hours. I believed that if I did not lead by example, my subordinates would not work for me.”
“It was an incredibly lonely life. Because of that, I wanted people to show even a little bit of interest in me. I wanted them to be curious about me. That became my starting point. Therefore, when I started the business, rather than making money, I simply wanted to make people happy. I wanted people to say they were glad I existed, even if only a little.”
(Tokuji Munetsugu)
This thorough customer-first, you-first philosophy.
I overlay Mr. Munetsugu’s very soul directly onto my own artistic activities.
I dedicate the entirety of my life to you, standing right before me.
When you stand in front of my artwork, I am welcoming you in my heart with a roaring, thunderous standing ovation.
Suffering and sorrow inevitably visit every human life.
In those moments, it is the art of Mimi Takamizawa that stays close by your side.
To transform your heart from sorrow into joy—that is my true mission.
Please, receive my desperate, heartfelt service through the eyes drawn upon my creations.
And please, do not abandon me; let us walk through this warm, beautiful world together.
Finally, I leave you with the words of Henry Ford, which I love with all my soul.
“Most people think of success as a getting; but really, success is a giving.”
(Henry Ford)
The fact that I was able to meet you, and that I can give everything I have to you—this is the greatest, ultimate success of my life.
Thank you so much. May an abundance of rich, beautiful light rain down upon you.
