Words by Yoshio : “This is my first time attempt to paint on a long roll paper (43 in x 393 in). It was my dream and desire to create a painting with that size paper. So I decided to do it as the memorial work for this solo exhibit. And I made a promise to myself.  Before I painted, I selected 6 important elements of Japanese aesthetics which relates to my life and art making motives.  I also taught Japanese aesthetics and philosophy class at colleges.”

"I made a rule for each painting. It was important to express and embody at least 3 of 6 Japanese aesthetic below into a painting depicting with our common nature like mountain, water, air, light, sky, cloud and others. Most difficult part of the challenge was  that those 6 aesthetic elements were invisible and hidden that only for us to sense them or not. It deeply relates to our spirituality. I wish my works were able to capture the trace of my experiment in this show. Hope you enjoy solving the mystery I challenge.”

Here’s the list and translation of the 6 Japanese aesthetic terms below.

 
Ki (気); Inner existed energy, Spirit. When “Ki”fills your body, your soul begins to dance.

Yugen（幽玄); A Japanese word pertaining to a profound awareness of the universe that evokes feelings that are inexplicably deep and too mysterious for words. 

Ma（間）；The void between, through, around, and within all things. This includes between objects, people and their environment, as well as spatial and temporal states. 

Mujo (無常); Impermanence. Everything on earth evolves , changes, and perishes.
Mononoaware (もののあわれ）；The transience of all things, and the ephemerality of experience or the “pathos of things.” 

Mushi (むし); Like living things which we cannot comprehend with
our five senses.