Enshoku no Mandala

The story centers on Tôhaku Hasegawa, a painter considered a Japanese counterpart to Caravaggio, active during the end of the Sengoku period and the fall of Japan's last shogun. Initially a Buddhist monk in the Noto peninsula, he traveled to Kyoto to study under Eitoku Kanô, a renowned Kansai painter, but was unsuccessful. Undeterred, Tôhaku's path shifts after an experience at the burning Azuchi castle, an event that may alter his life's direction. The narrative explores themes of artistic ambition, personal sacrifice, and the sources of creative inspiration.