Konohana-no-Sakuya-hime

Konohana-no-Sakuya-hime is a goddess who appears in ancient Japanese chronicles such as the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. According to the myth, she and her elder sister Iwanaga-hime were both sent to marry the male deity Ninigi-no-Mikoto. Iwanaga-hime, however, was rejected because of her appearance, and as a result Ninigi’s descendants were destined to be as short-lived as blossoms.
In this work, a woman in ancient attire stands beneath a great cherry tree, her arms spread wide as if embodying the act of blossoming. Through the lens of myth, the painting conveys a vivid sense of feminine vitality and life force.
Born in Tokyo, Kamakura studied under the nihonga painter Yasuda Yukihiko and was active in the Japan Art Institute. His father, Kamakura Yoshitarō, a native of present-day Miki Town, Kagawa Prefecture, was a Holder of an Important Intangible Cultural Property, Katae-zome (stencil dyeing).