At dawn, on the coastal road to Seiryū-ji, moving shadows came into view. Soon, the sun rose above the horizon, exposing a group of white-clad pilgrims.
THE WORLD IN BRUSH & PEN
Buddhist Pilgrimage, Shikoku
Buddhist Pilgrimage, Shikoku Japan 1999, Watercolour on Paper, 31 x 41 cm
Hiroshi Shimazaki
At dawn, on the coastal road to Seiryū-ji, moving shadows came into view. Soon, the sun rose above the horizon, exposing a group of white-clad pilgrims.
From Nagoya, they were led by a sprightly woman in her eighties, and her companions were of similar age. The energy I sensed among the group amazed me. Perhaps it was rooted in the power of their faith. Years later, I learned that all in the group had passed away. Someday, I may catch up with these gracefully aged individuals again.
ARTA member Hiroshi Shimazaki is a geographer / artist who has been practising watercolour landscape sketching and painting for sixty years. Here he offers one window into an artist’ s mind.
AUTUMN 2026 | 15