Water Spirits from the Far Reaches of the Hidden Portal in Amida Falls

Observing the reference image "The Amida Falls in the Far Reaches of the Kisokaidō Road" by Katsushika Hokusai, I perceived the painting as a sacred place. To me, the waterfall resembled a central nervous system and a portal. Exploring other works by the artist, I discovered several depicting yōkai. This led me to imagine that the painting conceals a yōkai, represented by this "nervous system," a coded message indicating the presence of a portal between our world and that of the yōkai, envisioning it as a hidden message within the artwork. I imagined the waters of Amida Falls flowing through both worlds, linking them together through this hidden portal, symbolizing the waterfall as a bridge between the visible and the invisible, which in Japanese spiritual culture is associated with the realm of yōkai. A yōkai is a specter, spirit, or demon, which in some cases has animal, human, or both parts simultaneously. They are also often representations of nature and invisible forces. Waterfalls and other natural elements are frequently associated with the supernatural in Japanese folklore. For example, there are yōkai related to water, such as mischievous aquatic creatures, and dragons, which are guardians of rivers and lakes.

For the sound design, I was also inspired by the movements and flows of water, waterfalls,  spirits and underwater monsters like ryu dragons, and especially images of light reflections on and under water. Except for the percussion, all sounds were designed by myself. The overall sound design represents the presence of light in the dark depths of water. Light also symbolizes life, energy, the portal and the channeling between the two worlds. The deep darkness, in contrast, symbolizes the inner world, the hidden, rest and solitude. 

Since this is an impressions jam I decided to go for something very experimental so I tried to push the boundaries with the sound design and decided to make a blend between different styles and genres that would represent this idea about the portal at Amida waterfall.

https://soundcloud.com/aven-gelic/the-hidden-portal