ARTIST · ART & SOCIAL CHANGE
THE ARTIST
Human questions, artistic practice
Masahiko Hashimoto is an artist working across music, film and visual art, creating experiences that invite people to reconsider their own existence and their relationships with others.
His practice begins with parental love, family memories, birth and the experience of being alive. He gives these shared human themes form through songs, films and visual artworks.
The work extends beyond its presentation. He develops programmes combining art, dialogue and collective expression, connecting his artistic practice with university research, education, experiences at World Heritage sites and international projects.
Here, inner transformation means reconsidering how we understand ourselves and relate to other people and the world. His aim is to connect these shifts in perspective with everyday action and the ways we live together.
Born in Minamata, Kumamoto, Japan, Masahiko Hashimoto is an artist working across music, film and visual art. He creates works and experiential programmes exploring love, family and life, with a practice encompassing singing, composition, film direction, writing and narration.
In 2012, his song Nukumori no Kioku was recognised as a recommended cultural work for child welfare by the Social Security Council of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. LIFE® Inochi began screening in 2018, with Hashimoto responsible for its direction, script, music and narration.
Together with Sayaka Hashimoto, he develops his work through Feel&Sense. From Koyasan and Kumano to Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, and Caux, Switzerland, his practice connects artistic creation, lived experience, learning and international collaboration.
PERSPECTIVE / ART IN THE AGE OF AI
Not only “What can I do?”
But “Who am I?” and “What matters to me?”
As AI advances, I believe it becomes increasingly important to make time to explore these questions through our own experience.
Our value need not be measured only by our abilities, achievements or comparisons with others. Reflecting on being born and on the relationships that sustain us can offer another way to recognise the value of our existence.
This is the kind of encounter I want to create through art: experiencing a work, looking inward, listening to others and creating together. My aim is to connect those experiences with respect for our own lives and the lives of others—and with how we participate in society.
Masahiko Hashimoto ARTIST
SELECTED WORKS
Works & Projects
Encountering a work.
Reconsidering ourselves through experience.
01 / THE MUSIC
Songs and compositions give form to parental love and memories of those we hold close. Works including Nukumori no Kioku explore human relationships and what it means to be alive.
02 / FILM & LIVE EXPERIENCE
Experience being born, once again.
Film, music and narration trace the connections between the universe and life. By inviting audiences to re-experience birth, the work opens a space to reflect on being here. Its presentations range from planetarium screenings to performances with orchestra and choir.
Direction, script, music & narration: Masahiko Hashimoto
Staging & production: Sayaka Hashimoto
Film, music and voices. One shared experience.
03 / ART & CONTEMPLATION
ART TO SATORI
The mysteries of life, Siddham characters and mandalas. Through their visual artworks, Masahiko and Sayaka Hashimoto explore existence and our relationship with the world, inviting a pause for personal reflection.
Explore the artworks
FROM ART TO SOCIAL PRACTICE
Bringing art into society means putting these experiences into practice in education, communities, cultural settings and international collaboration. Beyond viewing a work, participants are invited to learn, reflect, create and act together.
01 / CREATE
Creating music, film and visual art around love, family and life, so that questions can be encountered through the senses, not only through explanation.
02 / EXPERIENCE
Combining encounters with art, dialogue and shared expression such as choral singing, so that participants can explore their own feelings and give them a voice.
03 / RESEARCH & LEARNING
Bringing university research collaborations alongside the development and delivery of experiential programmes, connecting artistic inquiry with opportunities to learn.
04 / SOCIAL PRACTICE
From educational settings and World Heritage sites to international projects rooted in the Expo, creating opportunities to learn and express ourselves across cultures and generations.
PROJECTS / ART IN SOCIETY
Art as a starting point for learning and dialogue.
Putting ideas into practice with people in Japan and beyond.
ART · EDUCATION · PEACE
An international programme of learning and co-creation rooted in Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. Film, music, dialogue and choral singing create opportunities to reflect on our existence, our relationships with others and peace—and to express those reflections together.
Discover the project
ART · NATURE · RETREAT
Small-group experiences in the World Heritage settings of Koyasan and Kumano, combining nature, art, stillness and dialogue. A space to refine our sensitivity, reflect on ourselves and consider what we value in life.
Explore the journeysA CONTINUING JOURNEY
Milestones
An immersive film experience inviting personal reflection on birth and life.
The first Inochi Exhibition in Koyasan marks the 1,250th anniversary of Kūkai’s birth. Film and song are also offered at Kumano Hongu Taisha.
LIFE Inochi with the Super Kids Orchestra is presented at EXPO Hall.
A programme of learning, dialogue and artistic expression across borders, presented for Caux’s 80th anniversary.
AND THE JOURNEY CONTINUES
04 / JOURNAL & EVENTS
Film, orchestra and voices come together on stage.
The intention behind our journeys, in our own words.
LIFE Inochi with the Super Kids Orchestra.
LET'S CREATE TOGETHER
For artistic commissions, performances, screenings, exhibitions, research collaborations, educational programmes, international projects and media enquiries.
Tell us about your purpose, participants and timing.