Many years ago, not long after I came to Japan, I was riding my bike down the little road that goes past the library when I noticed someone working on a big mural. It had an eye-catching design – a large, green, reclining Buddha with a pink-and-white lotus flower at his head. I knew this type of street art was fairly rare in Okayama, so I stopped and admired it for a minute. Unfortunately, I couldn’t really speak Japanese at that point, so I left without speaking to the artist.
That mural remained on the wall for many years, and even became a minor tourist attraction. It was a regular sight for commuting students, local pedestrians, and anyone taking a shortcut downtown. I’ve seen photo club groups examining it in search of a good angle, and even professional models posing in front of it for the camera.
Now that old mural is gone, but a new one is being painted in the same place by the same artist. It has a similar Buddha motif, but now it’s a bit brighter and more colorful, not to mention larger. It extends beyond the big stone wall onto the walls of other structures on the property.
As luck would have it, I happened to ride past the wall again while the artist was working on it! Determined not to let the chance escape me a second time, I stopped my bike and struck up a conversation. The artist is a friendly, interesting guy who goes by the street name of ACUTE. It seems he’s been active in Okayama for many years now, creating murals in addition to canvas and print works of art. Since the original Buddha piece, which he did for free at the time simply to gain exposure, he has been called upon for numerous projects around Okayama. This is in addition to canvas and print works, many of which can been viewed on his website:
https://www.acuteartworks.com/profile
If you’re in the area, check out the new mural and take some pictures! It’s already quite impressive, and it’s not even finished yet.
The old mural as seen during hanami season.
