NEO NOBORIGOI

While visiting New York, Koga encountered a "maneki-neko" (beckoning cat) in a shop with no connection to Japan whatsoever. His surprise at its striking presence amid a foreign culture became the impetus for this series. Koga's style is grounded in the classical forms of Japanese art. His signature piece {Hoyoroi Sakazuki}, for instance, takes as its motif the "kawari-kabuto" (distinctively individual helmets) of Warring States warlords, reborn as a contemporary form — with Koga adding his own "concept", a lens on contemporary society and beyond. The same holds true for this piece. Based on the typical maneki-neko form, this one wears the {Hoyoroi Sakazuki}, the sake cup that inspires ambitious young people. In this way, the role long carried by the "maneki-neko" is inherited while new elements are added, updating it into a new "maneki-neko" for the present day.