Four Cities Suite, Tokyo 1983

Curator: This is Hiro Yamagata’s “Four Cities Suite, Tokyo” from 1983. Yamagata worked primarily in acrylic paint and often with airbrush techniques, especially during this period. Editor: Whoa, intense! So much going on here, like a wild theatre. Is it just me or does this picture almost buzz with all the tiny people and that central arena, bright white like a stage. It's electric. Curator: The subject is a Sumo wrestling match. Think about the labor involved in these events, not just the wrestlers’ training but the manufacturing of the elaborate decorations, the banners, the seating, even those dropped balloons. Each is carefully placed and adds to the event's spectacle. Editor: Dropped balloons? Those jaunty, multi-colored spheres? Okay, now I’m imagining all these stoic Japanese businessmen hurling them into the ring – feels wonderfully surreal. It really opens up a strange perspective – everyday existence bursting into some extraordinary performative drama. Curator: Precisely, this speaks to the social dimension. These Sumo matches were significant social and economic gatherings. The wrestlers themselves, figures of almost mythical status in Japan, endorse brands and are sponsored by powerful corporations. Look at those banners hanging above. Editor: Good point about those brands; I hadn't fully processed those yet! The flags definitely suggest something more than *just* sport – almost a fusion of sporting event and commercial expo? The artist blurs all this by having so much action happening; what's significant and what isn't? Curator: Exactly! Yamagata highlights that inherent blending. The very composition draws attention to both the center-stage ritual and its embeddedness within layers of commerce, leisure, and national identity. The acrylics enable him to build a bright, clean image. Editor: Looking at it from that perspective – like a woven tapestry of culture and cash – really makes you re-think the event, doesn't it? There's definitely this dynamic tension here. You initially see wrestlers competing but there’s this whole ecosystem there as well! I now wonder who’s "winning". Curator: Precisely the question Yamagata provokes. His choice of bold color and simplified form invites us to consider these multi-layered relationships. Editor: This has transformed what I originally felt was just an energised and energetic painting into some intense social critique, or some dynamic portrait of contemporary Japanese life... very cool. Thanks!