The work originates from an encounter with fireflies during a visit to Echigo-Tsumari. Shimenawa (注連縄) binds the stones, while luminous mizuhiki (水引) knots cradle a piece of driftwood, pulsing with the flickering rhythm of fireflies—a fragile metaphor for life itself. Twin pines are rendered on shide (紙垂), evoking the tragic separation of mother and child beneath such trees in Grave of the Fireflies (1988), a silent plea for peace and reunion. Through this ephemeral interplay of light and shadow, the piece carries a prayer for a world free from war.
