National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

These paintings are experimental and adventurous for Shiko. However, such an approach was one of Shiko's strong points. He always said to fellow artists, "It is not good that the Japanese painting style remains this rigid. I will break it, so please reconstruct them after that." These pieces can be said to be the practice of that statement. What Shiko tried to destroy was the conventions of the Japanese style of painting, and the reform of the style based on original ideas free of any factors of themes, composition, and colors, which was the lifework of Shiko.
Shiko traveled to India to work on these paintings. The funding from Hara Sankei for one whole year was used to cover the cost. He left Kobe by ship on February 23, arrived in Rangoon in Myanmar on March 20, and stayed in Calcutta for fifteen days. It is difficult to specify which of these hot countries are depicted here, but it is thought that the motifs in the morning section developed from the people living on the water in Singapore and Penang, and those in the evening section are from Kaya Village on the riverside of a branch of the Ganges River in eastern India.
This world of dazzling light, with its simplified motifs, distinct colors, and abundant golden sands, increased the potential of the Japanese style of painting.