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The 13th artist room “Cherry blossoms” was the motif chosen by the Japanese artist Hiroko Otake who started on production on December 16th, 2014, and completed it on January 16th, 2015.
Ms. Otake says: “Japanese people took art into their everyday life with sliding doors and folding screens, from a long time ago”. I decorated a guest room by painting a cherry tree, so that the corners of the room were like the folds of a folding screen. As soon as you enter the room, you see a big cherry tree covering the bed. By drawing cherry blossoms like butterflies which are a symbol of transiency or the soul, I expressed the beauty of the end of life. As it flies around the room, a butterfly expresses the cycle of the four seasons – spring, summer, fall and winter. And I did the gay golden clouds beyond the cherry tree with about 400 gold leaves carefully affixed one by one. When you stretch out on the bed, butterflies in the shape of cherry blossoms will dance all around you. But outside the window, you will see an urban landscape against the scenic backdrop of Tokyo Tower. This contrast reminds us that all things are transient. I hope you enjoy the Japanese sense of beauty in the artist’s room “Cherry blossoms”, with its falling cherry blossoms.
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Have you ever dreamed of sleeping inside a work of art?
At Park Hotel Tokyo, dreams come true with the exclusive Artist Rooms!
Every Artist Room is specially painted by a Japanese Artist who designs and recreates the hotel room with his/her own style.
While every room has its own unique character, my favorite room is “Cherry Blossoms”, by Hiroko Otake. As the name suggests, the room displays the reproduction of a Sakura tree in full bloom with pink and golden leaves.
The walls are painted in white and blue with colorful butterflies flying throughout the chamber.
The first time I entered this room, I felt like I was inside a painting, enjoying the iconic Japanese Hanami (cherry blossoms viewing) surrounded by joyful colors.
In addition, this room faces Tokyo Tower, offering a stunning view by day and a picturesque night scenery. The sight from the window is priceless, particularly on sunny days during the early morning, where you can distinctly see Mount Fuji behind Tokyo Tower, making everything more magical.
Room #3106 | Completion Date: 2015.01
Cherry blossoms –circulation –
Japanese people accept that their physical being is only transient, yet see beauty in this transient nature, and weep for it. The cherry tree, which is especially beautiful when its blossoms fall, reflects the aesthetic sense unique to Japan, and continues to be loved by its people.
This image, in which I took blossoms and butterflies as my motif, expresses the unstoppable passage of time, uncertainty, and the fact that we remain the same while the world around us changes incessantly.
In this room, I painted cherry blossoms using the butterfly which is a symbol of transient nature or the soul. The butterfly represents a cycle, such as that of the four seasons – spring, summer, autumn and winter – and human birth and death, as it flutters around the room.
I hope that this work with its cherry blossoms and gold foil, which has been used for wall paintings in Japan since ancient times, will give you a sense of brightness and the uniquely Japanese aesthetic awareness of transient nature.
Hiroko Otake
