Lucky Omen

Hirayama was met with acclaim and wide recognition in 1959 with his masterpiece Bukkyō Denrai (Transmission of Buddhism). From that moment on, he successively produced work that focused on Buddhism with elements of fantasy. This piece, created in 1962, is not directly tied to a Buddhist theme, but nevertheless conjures a certain mysterious spirituality through its imagery — a flock of doves passing across a rising, dark, and backlit pagoda. For this painting, Hirayama received the 5th Emerging Artists Award from Chūōkōron, a monthly Japanese literary magazine first established in 1887.