Takashi Murakami

My company, Kaikai Kiki, is unique because it's an art business. I had to find out how to do this by myself.

— Takashi Murakami

My parents came from the Kyushu Island in the Southern part of Japan to find work in Tokyo. So we could only…

— Takashi Murakami

In Japan, I am famous in certain special circles - mainly as someone who is trying to break down and enlighten the…

— Takashi Murakami

New York City is still the art capital - every time I'm in New York, I'm thinking about competition.

— Takashi Murakami

The way I formed my studio and how I organize things actually came out of the model of the Japanese animation studio…

— Takashi Murakami

I'm very sad to be compared with Warhol and The Factory, because I have no drugs, you know. We have no drug…

— Takashi Murakami

When I was little, I guess I was just an ordinary kid. But then things changed when I was in junior high.…

— Takashi Murakami

The theme my generation explored was the relationship between capitalism and art.

— Takashi Murakami

Galleries in the West have probably been looking for exoticism. That's the reason my paintings initially sold well, I think. And then…

— Takashi Murakami

I grew up in a low-income area of Tokyo. Like most homes in Tokyo, ours was small. It was a free-standing, two-family…

— Takashi Murakami

My mum and dad were a little like tiger parents. I hate that, but at the same time, I am a little…

— Takashi Murakami

Rather than a big figure, I guess you could say I'm more of an influential minority symbol.

— Takashi Murakami

My own belief is that rather than getting involved in trying to change the reality of social-political things, creators can be involved…

— Takashi Murakami

I actually feel like the phrase 'big in Japan' is not appropriate for me. The reason is that there are more people…

— Takashi Murakami

The works I made at the start of my career rely on the themes of war, atomic power, and outer space.

— Takashi Murakami

If I have a certain opinion, I try to incorporate that into my work.

— Takashi Murakami

My father, Fukujuro, drove a cab and my mother, Itsuko, was a homemaker. My parents often took me to see Impressionist exhibits.…

— Takashi Murakami

Our family was poor, but my parents gave us money for education.

— Takashi Murakami

In Japan, I focus mostly on sending messages through Twitter, trying to spread my minority way of thinking.

— Takashi Murakami

My aesthetic sense was formed at a young age by what surrounded me: the narrow residential spaces of Japan and the mental…

— Takashi Murakami