- Source:
- @has_kuma / @hasuimo / imohashop / @hasmo44 / hasuimo / © hasuimo / © LINE Corp. / © Higashi-Doujin Inc.
- Tags:
- afterlife / Art / Buddhist / Christian / Ghosts / hasuimo / Illustration / Religion / Shinto / Spirits
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An Interest In The Spiritual
Japanese illustrator hasuimo makes no secret about the orientation of her art. The tweet pinned to the top of her account clearly states: "I like spiritual things." Bringing together a kawaii and fashion-conscious aesthetic and a fascination with Christian, Buddhist and Shinto iconography, sometimes blended together in startling new configurations, the illustrations she shares on her Tumblr account alternately feature nuns, angels, saints, cherubs, dead bodies, skulls, crosses, crowns, halos, aureoles, tombstones and even Jack-O'-Lanterns in the mix.
Many of the girls in hasuimo's art wear triangle headbands. Originally an item decorating the bodies of the deceased at Buddhist funerals, it is often used in popular culture, manga and anime to indicate anyone who has passed on to the afterlife.
With permission from hasuimo
The theme of this illustration is Obon, a widely practiced Buddhist custom of honoring the spirits of one's ancestors, who are believed to visit the household altars during this period.
With permission from hasuimo
This illustration is a good example of the way hasuimo playfully combines religious symbols. Perhaps a modern-day Kannon Bodhisattva, this girl's multiple arms are not making Buddhist hand gestures with religious significance but are rather engaged in the everyday life of a high school girl, reading her smartphone, curling her hair with a finger, holding a game console, etc., while she wears a crown imbued with Christian symbolism yet decorated at the edges with zigzag-shaped shide paper streamers used in Shinto purification rites.
With permission from hasuimo
With permission from hasuimo
With permission from hasuimo
Not all of her illustrations are playful and casual. Some of her work has a darker, more desolate tone.
With permission from hasuimo
With permission from hasuimo
With permission from hasuimo
With permission from hasuimo
With permission from hasuimo
GIF animations
In addition to static illustrations, hasuimo also likes to create works which include animated elements.
With permission from hasuimo
With permission from hasuimo
With permission from hasuimo
With permission from hasuimo
With permission from hasuimo
Hasuimo's latest project: SNS in the Afterlife
At the recent Comitia meeting on May 5th, hasuimo released her latest illustration book which covered the theme of "SNS in the afterlife." You can buy your own copy and have it shipped internationally here.
History of Activities
Contact
If you'd like to take home some of her work, hasuimo has a limited selection of goods available for purchase online at her shop on Booth. If you use the SNS app Line, you can also download her stamps here.
Be sure to follow her on Twitter and Instagram and check her Tumblr and Pixiv accounts to enjoy her artwork.