【Guardian Series】 Even unseen by human eyes, there are presences that quietly draw near and watch over us. The "Guardian Series" is a collection of fantasy works depicting creatures long revered as sacred, as guides, and as symbols of protection — each rendered in their own distinct form of guardianship. Some draw close in silence. Some keep watch over dangers lurking behind us. Some illuminate the way forward when we are lost. Strength may not always mean fighting fiercely — perhaps it is simply being there, continuing to watch over without end. Each guardian, painted in moonlight, stillness, and ethereal luminance, carries its own story and meaning. I hope that whoever encounters these works feels the story of their own personal guardian. 『Moonlit White Deer Tale』 In a sacred space (shinkiki — divine ground set apart from the human world) bathed in moonlight, a white deer keeps quiet vigil over a lone woman. The white guardian, whose form towers far beyond human scale, stands behind her — never imposing, yet sheltering that place as if gently wrapping her within its presence. The woman is not fighting anything, nor is she seeking help. She simply exists there in stillness, protected by a vast presence from a place she herself cannot see——. What I sought to capture in this work is that kind of "guardianship unnoticed." A full moon. A deep forest. Mountains sinking into mist. A torii gate standing in the distance. Within a dreamlike sacred realm, I painted the quiet moment of connection between two utterly different beings — a white deer and a human. To protect may not always mean standing at the front and fighting. Perhaps it means simply being near, watching in silence so that the path is never lost. Among the works in the "Guardian Series," this piece most clearly portrays the relationship between the one who protects and the one who is protected.