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Rei Torii

This will be a slightly unusual post, because I want to introduce an active Japanese artist, Mr Rei Torii. His surname is, indeed, “torii”, as in the gate to a jinja, and Shinto themes are very important in his art. Recently, he has completed a large number of works, and a number of large works, recording the great renewal at Jingu in Ise. The Association of Devotees of the Jingu at Ise has given out reproductions of his work as rewards for contributors, and a number of important jinja have paintings by him. He has also had solo exhibitions in Tallin and Berlin, and in fact the Berlin one is still open.

Although I can’t put any of his images here, because I don’t have permission, you can see quite a lot of them on his homepage, and in his online shop.

In case you hadn’t guessed, the reason I am writing about him is that I like his paintings a great deal, particularly the Ise series. They capture, I think, an important part of the spirit of Shinto.

On an unrelated point, if you are interested in my Patreon for Shinto essays, now is a good time to sign up, because the first paid essay will go out to all the patrons who are supporting the effort at the end of November.

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