Flowers

Who is...

...KAIKAI & KIKI?

Kaikai-kiki

Kaikai and Kiki are two characters that represent the artist’s spiritual guardians. One is white with big ears and a smiling mouth (Kaikai), the other is pink with small ears, three eyes and some shark-like teeth (Kiki).

The word kaikaikiki is a term that was used in the book History of Japanese Painting (Honcho gashi, compiled by Kano Sansetsu and Kano Eino) to describe the work of Kano Eitoku, a 16th century Japanese painter who is known as a genius of the Kano style. Murakami uses Japanese lettering to write the term on the ears of his characters, and their origins derive from descriptions of Kano’s work as kaikaikiki“bizarre, yet refined,” “delicate yet bold”. The artist’s hope is for each of the figures to emanate these complex dichotomies.

Kaikai and Kiki appear in sculptures, paintings, and drawings, together or separately and accompanied by other characters.