The scenes that illustrator Masashi Shimakawa decides to memorialize are not special in any way. They depict ordinary moments on ordinary streets of Japan: a person waiting for a light to change, a row of vending machines or an eatery at dusk, glowing from within. But finding beauty in the mundane is something Shimakawa excels at.
Shimakawa was born in Hyogo and is based in Kyoto so one could assume that a large majority of the scenes he illustrates are somewhere in Kansai. Viewers are treated to occasional hints like a train station or the name of an eatery, but for the most part the locations remain unknown.
Regardless, Shimakawa treats each scene with a beautiful color palette and unique texture that invites viewers to take in each and every detail. You can see more of his work online and you can also keep up with the artist on Twitter or Instagram. He doesn’t sell his work online but is currently accepting commissions (although his site is entirely in Japanese).
