This summer, the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) transformed into a fantastical world of vibrant color. Its newest exhibition, “Takashi Murakami: Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow,” is a testament to the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami’s talent for combining history and culture with whimsical escapism.

Upon entering the CMA, visitors are met in the atrium with Murakami’s re-creation of the Yumedono, or Hall of Dreams. Part of Hōryū-ji, a Buddhist temple in Japan, the Yumedono was built where Prince Shōtoku once lived in the late 500s and early 600s. The octagonal hall takes its name from a legend in which a golden Buddha appeared to the prince in a dream. It houses the Kuse Kannon, a statue shaped in the likeness of the prince and believed to have the power to save people from suffering. The grand structure sets the theme of the exhibition: healing.

Inside the re-created Yumedono, four intricate paintings are illuminated on the walls. This quartet is titled “The Four Symbols of Kyoto.” Considered the cultural capital of Japan, Kyoto is home to numerous historical landmarks. By interweaving Chinese cosmology with the city’s geography and architecture, Murakami reinterpreted the appearance of the guardians of the four cardinal directions. The Black Tortoise of the North evokes Kyoto’s mountains and is populated by arhats—followers of Buddhism who have attained Nirvana. The White Tiger of the West portrays the roads of Kyoto and the Blue Dragon of the East embodies the rivers. My personal favorite, the Vermillion Bird of the South, represents their marshlands and is bathed in bright flames.

Murakami’s artwork continues downstairs in the exhibition halls, where large statues of the kawaii duo, Kaikai and Kiki, greet guests with wide grins. They set the mood for the first room, which opens with the evolution of Murakami’s most recognizable character, Mr. DOB. A parody of Mickey Mouse, his name is a spin on the word “dobojite,” meaning “why?” in Japanese slang. Wide-eyed and sharp-toothed, Mr. DOB was created to highlight the superficiality and futility of consumer culture.

Following Mr. DOB are walls of iconic, colorful, smiling flowers: Murakami’s Flowers. A kaleidoscope of joy, hundreds of these lively flowers form murals, paintings and sculptures in the exhibition. Often coupled with skull motifs, the pieces embody the ephemeral nature of life, happiness and innocence, as well as the cycle of life and death. They symbolize the effects of World War II, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and the COVID-19 pandemic on Japan.

The exhibition culminates in the 32-feet-wide “100 Arhats” and 82-feet-wide “In the Land of the Dead, Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow.” Drawing on traditional Japanese culture, historical events and Murakami’s distinctive style, the paintings encapsulate the exhibition’s theme of healing after tragedy. The 100 arhats, each with their own personalities, set against a backdrop of hundreds of skulls evoke a feeling of hope, as do the Buddhist and Daoist figures intervening in a landscape of cascading, rainbow waves.

“Takashi Murakami: Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow” is a captivating, invigorating and truly once-in-a-lifetime experience. Grab a ticket and stop by the CMA—the exhibition ends on Sept. 7.