A collection of contemporary artworks by Takashi Murakami and others fetched nearly $9 million (about ¥700 million) in a New York auction to raise funds for the victims of the March 11 disaster, Christie's said Wednesday.
The 21 works were sold for a total of $8.76 million, far above the estimate of $5 million, it said, adding that proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Sasakawa Peace Foundation as well as two other organizations.
At the start of the auction, actor Ken Watanabe read a poem, "Ame ni mo Makezu" ("Undaunted by Rain"), by Kenji Miyazawa (1896-1933), in English and Japanese. Miyazawa was a poet and author of children's books from Iwate Prefecture, which was hit hard by the disaster.
Watanabe has been involved in quake relief activities and operates a website, kizuna311.com, to post messages to support the victims.
Murakami has called on his fellow artists to provide artworks for the auction. Participating artists included Yoshitomo Nara, Zeng Fanzhi, Mark Grotjahn and Jeff Koons.
"I am very grateful that it (the total prices) came to be way more than we expected," Murakami said after the auction. "I think the poem reading by Mr. Watanabe moved the hearts of the bidders," he said.
"I want to continue sending out messages from Tohoku to all over Japan and around the world," Watanabe said.
