Takashi Murakami followed his parents into the so-called new religions of Japan when he was young. But by the time he became 20, he began to realize that something was off.
The renowned artist left the religious group because he was unconvinced by religion. The accomplished designer said there are many different religions in Japan.
According to Murakami, there are 500 arahants, or gods believed to exist in Buddhism alone. It is unclear what religion he follows nowadays. However, his arts show human yearning for religion.
In his feature film Jellyfish Eyes, a boy loses his dad but pretends to be cheerful in front of his mother. His debut feature film is based on Japan’s 9 rector scale earthquake that killed 16,000 people in 2011.
The tragic natural calamity gave the artist an insight into why people turned to religion. He said, “People need to find solace when they are dreadfully miserable and lost in the panic. That’s when I understood it to be the purpose of religion,” Murakami said.
