Kenji Tanaka was a graphic designer in Osaka who worked from home to care for his son, Haruto. Haruto was eight years old, nonverbal, and profoundly autistic. He communicated through gestures, sounds, and — increasingly — through painting.
The Painter
Haruto had been painting since age four. His paediatrician encouraged it as occupational therapy, and Haruto took to it with a focus that startled everyone. He painted for hours — landscapes, animals, patterns. His work was remarkable for his age: precise, detailed, and emotionally vivid.
Kenji was not religious. He'd been raised in a secular Japanese household, celebrated New Year at the local shrine out of tradition, and had never stepped inside a church. Neither had Haruto.
In October 2022, Haruto painted something different. Over three days, working with intense concentration, he created a scene Kenji couldn't explain.
The Painting
The painting showed a vast golden room filled with people. In the centre was a figure in white — not vague but specific, with wounds visible on his hands. Around the figure were people of every ethnicity, many of them weeping with joy. Above them, shapes that could only be described as wings. At the edges of the painting, darkness receding like a tide.
Kenji stared at it for an hour. He showed it to his wife, his mother, and his colleagues. Nobody could explain it. Haruto had never been exposed to Christian imagery — no TV programmes, no books, no church visits. Where had this come from?
The Father's Search
Kenji did what a designer does: he researched. He found depictions of heavenly throne rooms in Christian art and was stunned by the parallels. He visited a church in Osaka for the first time — a small international congregation — and showed the pastor a photo of the painting. The pastor wept.
Kenji started attending that church. He was baptised six months later. Haruto comes with him and paints during the service. The congregation has framed three of his paintings in the sanctuary.
"My son can't speak a word," Kenji says, his voice breaking. "But God gave him a language that doesn't need words. Haruto showed me heaven before I even knew it was real."