hideaki kawashima

In Japan, the word yōkai refers to strange apparitions — creatures and spirits from Japanese folklore. This animist tradition deeply influences both manga culture and contemporary art. Japanese painter Hideaki Kawashima, now 55, obsessively paints faces of haunting beauty, often resembling playful spirits with flowing hair that evoke strange sea creatures. His works convey complex emotions, from subtle melancholy to profound pain. Trained in classical Buddhism, Kawashima spent two years as a monk. He lives and works in Japan.   ALL ARTWORK COPYRIGHT HIDEAKI KAWASHIMA, COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND TOMIO KOYAMA GALLERY