The Souten

When spring is here, cherry blossoms fascinate the people here in Japan. Whoever you are, you'll fall into rapture under the sky-scraping cherry tree full of blossoms.That's where the painting 'The Souten' will take you.The Souten, The Celestial.Sayaka Ogawa, the composer/pianist, has released some pieces of work collaborating with Akiko Fukunaga, a modern Japanese-style painter for the first time.Two original tunes inspired by Fukunaga's paintings including 'The Souten' have been digitally released.All started in spring 2021, Fukunaga requested Ogawa to compose some pieces of music to go with the art exhibition of her own.Ogawa used her mother's piano and home-recorded the tunes at her parents' house where she was at that time for the benefit of her health. The tunes were musically exhibited along with Fukunaga's paintings at Fukunaga's exhibition.The breath taking 'The Souten' is a gigantic work of art by the size of five tatami-mats, over eight square meters.'The Souten' refers to the blue skies and the heavenly divine.The painting 'Turns Into A Flower Myself' vividly presents the figure of Sayaka Ogawa under the fully bloomed cherry tree. It is used for the jacket of the tune 'The Bud'.Fukunaga also joined the concerts of Ogawa and demonstrated live-painting.The two have been actively interacting with each other crossing over the differences of the forms of art.We hope you will enjoy the superb harmony that two close friends may bring.