About the Artist

The Long Winding Road to Art, Purpose, and Peace

I was born in a small rural town in Japan, the only son of farming parents who had survived the hard years of World War II. We had little money, few opportunities, and no expectations beyond survival. School never inspired me; the future felt distant, and I had no reason to study. The only class I truly loved was art — it was the one place I earned an “A,” and the one time I felt free.

As a boy, I worked beside my parents like a child laborer, learning discipline and endurance long before I understood them. In junior high, I discovered table tennis and found confidence in the rhythm of the game. I became a local champion and dreamed big — until I lost in the prefectural finals. That defeat crushed me but changed everything. For the first time, I studied seriously. I realized that effort, not talent, builds a future. I pushed through high school, passed the competitive entrance exam, and earned a place at a public university to study economics.

After graduation, I worked wherever I could — from large companies to small offices, from accounting firms to freelance and benriya jobs. I drove rideshare, traded penny stocks, sold at swap meets, and used Craigslist and eBay to survive. I tried everything that was honest and legal to make a living. I have done more kinds of work than I can count, and each one taught me something about people, patience, and persistence. Every job, no matter how small, became another brushstroke in the story of my life and my art.

Over the years I learned something money could never teach — how every failure, every job, every restless change was quietly preparing me for art. My creativity was never gone; it was just waiting for a life rich enough to express. When I finally returned to drawing and design, everything — the discipline of study, the precision of numbers, the rhythm of sport, the loneliness of work — poured into the screen canvas.

That is how Lil Tokyo Beat was born. It isn’t only a brand; it’s my language. Each design is part memory, part emotion, and part rebellion against the idea that art must follow rules. My goal is simple: to create pieces that feel alive — art you can wear, built from experience, imperfection, and endurance.

My financial life still has challenges, but my mind has never been clearer. Through Lil Tokyo Beat, I live the life I once dreamed of in that small farming town — creating freely, honestly, and without fear.

Van Gogh and Me

I often think about Vincent Van Gogh. We shared the same passion for art and the same difficulty in making a living from it. Because of that struggle, I have lived with sacrifice — no family of my own, few close friends, and years spent in every form of honest work before I could create artwork full-time. The desire for love and a family is still there, but survival has always come first.

Our paths differ, of course. Van Gogh suffered from illness; I do not. He had the loyal support of his brother Theo, whose business success allowed him to stand behind Vincent both financially and emotionally. I’ve had no such support — only faith, endurance, and the will to keep creating on my own.

During his time in the asylum at Saint-Rémy, isolation gave Van Gogh the rare freedom to paint without distraction. In just a single year, he created around two hundred works — a burst of beauty born from pain and solitude. I understand that same need to create endlessly, even without comfort or security; the difference is that I must carve out those moments of freedom within the noise of ordinary life.

Yet the fire that pushed him to paint through poverty and pain is the same force that drives Lil Tokyo Beat today — to create, to keep going, and to find beauty even when life is hard.

— Lil Tokyo Beat

If you’d like to know more about my journey beyond art, visit bemysavior.com.

Much of my work is rooted in Japanese visual culture, drawing from samurai symbolism, traditional aesthetics, and quiet strength expressed through art. These ideas are explored most fully in my Japanese-inspired wall art posters , where storytelling and atmosphere have room to breathe.