japanese artists hand-paint murals in rooms for park hotel tokyo

japanese artists hand-paint murals in rooms for park hotel tokyo
all images courtesy of park hotel tokyo

the park hotel tokyo offers guest stay in a completely one-of-kind suite, transformed from a standard room into a hand-painted art experience. the hotel has invited renowned japanese artists working in a diverse range of disciplines to paint on the walls and ceilings of the bed and bathrooms, adorning the spaces with their original works.

so far, eight rooms have been completed in varying styles and themes. the most recent by artist nanami ishihara is vibrantly colored, and draws upon lively cultural festivals she has visited; the first room by hiroyuki kimura took on a more traditional tone, and features motifs of sumo wrestlers in their historic poses and postures. park hotel tokyo plans to add nine artist spaces per year over the next three years to create an entire artist floor (totaling 31 rooms) as part of its artist in hotel project.

the room references the eclectic culture that can be found on the tokyo city streets

nanami ishihara on the concept of her room: extraordinary or ordinary, everyday or special. when I travel, I always feel the destination is special. it’s a special day, so my heart beats faster. a very special day, a festival. I felt the thrill of traveling to this place resonated with the excitement of the festival. and I wanted the festival to never end. I thought I would paint this never-ending festival. I hope you enjoy the fleeting happiness of the joyous festival in this room.

the entire room is canvased in traditional japanese symbols and motifs

vibrantly colored faces are painted onto the surface of the walls

ishihara paints onto the hotel room wall

for the sixth artist room, painter ryosuke yasumoto decorated the space themed around the 12 signs of the zodiac, filled with lively images of the animals. ‘I will be happy if the guests can sense the world of the humorous, old folk tale of the 12 signs of the zodiac’ said yasumoto. the cat and weasel — not included in the 12 signs but appeared in the folk tale about how they missed out on being chosen — are included in the wall and ceiling motifs. humor lies in the details: visitors lying on the bed can make eye contact with the tiger painted on the back wall through a mirror, and a monkey hides behind the curtain.

zodiac motifs canvas the ceilings and walls

ryosuke yasumoto describes his room: 2014, when this artist’s room was created, is the year of the horse, and I was also born in the year of the horse. I just happened to fill this room with items from the zodiac. I don’t know if I can paint it well, but I just let my brush run free. I painted a cat which was cheated by a rat so that it wasn’t included in the zodiac. by the grace of god, I also painted a weasel. the 1st day of the month has a similar pronunciation to ‘weasel’ in japanese. I would be delighted for you to experience the interesting story of the zodiac from long, long ago.

artist room — ‘zodiac’ at park hotel tokyo
video courtesy of park hotel tokyo

yasumoto paints the tiger on the wall behind the bed

swirling black-and-white lines cover the ceiling

a monkey hides behind the curtain, adding to the humorous tone

hiroyuki kimura takes the japanese national sport of sumo — central to his artistic practice — as a motif, and constructs his artist room with careful attention to detail and humor. scenes from matches are painted on the walls and larger-than-life men can be seen doing stretches and exercises.

the hotel and kimura describe of the concept: not only do we wish to supply superb rooms of art for our guests but also we wish those rooms to reflect japan in some form. our first aih room encapsulates that through its subject, sumo. sumo is a japanese national sport, but it is more than just that — it has a very special significance for all japanese. for example, the ceremonial leg raising and stomping before each sumo bout is believed to crush evil spirits in the ground beneath so that the earth becomes fruitful. leg raising and stomping on the ground also holds a meaning of success in the production of crops, and settling down with a family. the traditional custom where a japanese wrestler holds a baby to pray for its healthy development is still a popular pastime. this ceremony, where the baby is held by a wrestler who symbolizes health and prosperity, aims to ensure the fruitfulness of children and grandchildren.

the first of the artist rooms, the ‘sumo’ space encapsulates traditional japanese culture

they continue ‘as most all the actions and customs involved in sumo have deep meanings, sumo matches can be regarded not only as competitive sport, but also as ceremonies to pray for human development. sumo embodies the wisdom which ancient japanese people needed to sustain themselves in health under harsh natural conditions. this is why sumo was practiced, purifying the precious earth with water and salt, and compacting the ground, so that they could live in good health forever. sumo is the japanese way of saying ‘thank you’ to nature, and wishing for human prosperity. kimura claims, ‘I create these artworks by sketching daily exercises, practicing sumo myself, and involving myself spiritually in the sumo rituals as much as possible. I wish to express all the fervent emotions found in sumo, the crystallization of japanese culture, in paintings and terracotta. I hope that you too will feel the brilliance of the wrestlers in the ring.’