@arishaintokyo: Terumasa Ikeda’s works are a fascinating display of centuries of craft tradition fused with an almost uncanny futuristic sensibility. His works are a modern application of Japan’s “raden,” craft, wherein iridescent shells or mother-of-pearl materials are prepared in fine layers and inlaid on wood and lacquer. The numbers on the piece were chosen because numbers are recognizable across all cultures, whereas the traditional Japanese raden motifs like birds or flowers carry significance/meaning special in Japanese culture. “Raden” is used in Japan to refer to inlays of mother-of-pearl materials in lacquer on wood. The origins of the material inlay technique come from ancient China, and the practice evolved in countries like Korea and Japan to produce beautiful variations. These photos and videos are from my visit to the Tokyo Gendai 2026 exhibition, where seeing Ikeda-san’s works in person was at the top of my list. The works shimmer as you move around them, and invite you to look closer with their peeks of bright color from the abalone shell. They are entrancing in person. I gathered with a fellow group of exhibition visitors to watch the explanatory video included here, courtesy of the gallery staff at the booth. Gasps from the fellow viewers echoed my own surprise; we all were clearly astonished to see the meticulous process of creating these pieces. A woman remarked in awe, “時代のものですね,” “it’s something of this age, isn’t it?” It certainly is ✨ If you liked this video, follow me for more deep dives on creative things, especially in Japan. Terumasa Ikeda on Instagram: terumasaikeda Artist’s gallery on Instagram: Ippodo Gallery (Tokyo) #japan #japaneseart #japaneseculture #japanesecraftsmanship

FinnleyH :

actual art that makes sense to pay for

Haviture :

This feels like a modern interpretation of the rosetta stone

ThatGuyKiarc :

Ryan Booth :

I fully made a stupid comment thinking this was generic footage, not realizing this creator actually found and filmed this. Sorry for being dumb! This is a really great video and the work is beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

New Phone :

poor future archeologists

owen :

so he glued numbers onto an obelisk

Jody Chamberlain :

They’re gonna find this thousands of years from now and think it’s the Rosetta Stone lol

Hayjaded :

So cool! I work for the company that makes these shell sheets. Beautiful.

Stitches :

do the numbers mean anything or are they random

Alisha :

In case people don’t see this detail in the caption: These pieces are created with a wood base that has lacquer applied. The lacquer is what gives the floaty-shiny look. It’s a difficult material to work with, and this artist uses a special humidity and temperature-controlled space to let the lacquer cure.

Max K :

The obelisk is incredible. I can't even begin to imagine how much time and effort went into that. Truly staggering commitment to the craft.

erromero :

Oh look. My written art in actual 3d. 😳😳

Vanessa :

It’s like Koreas traditional craft too

Saint of Eating Meat :

ah yes digimon evolution gimmicks

AJ 🍉 :

Yo thanks for putting me on to my new favorite physical artist 🔥🔥🔥

miracleboy559 :

OMG ALISHA YOU HAVE A TIKTOK?? i follow since the japanse lessons from like 10 years ago!

Bowser :

It’s the Rosetta Stone, but for the robots

kcalB :

Millions of years later people will find it and try to decipher[Tears of joy]

Spam - Unmeat Varient :

I'm absolutely obsessed with this 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

leanne :

Haha kinda reminds me of minesweeper. Or I may just be too addicted

KenyattaD :

Where is the tiktok order link?

Andres :

absolutely beautiful. I would love to see this in person

Austen Marie :

is this the same artist who did the pokemon piece in the same style?!?! (its gotta be)

AceOfHearts❤️ :

Whaaatt?? Really incredible. I wonder if there’s any videos of him doing the whole process.

BodhiBoho :

"this society took an amazingly great amount of effort to produce this rock covered in numbers. it is highly likely to mean something very important to them at the time. we are still decoding it and nobody has figured it out yet. " - future historians.