Closed Eyes II is a piano work commissioned and premiered by Peter Serkin in 1989. Like "Closed Eyes," composed ten years prior, it was inspired by the painting of the same name by 19th-century French painter Odilon Redon. Around this time, Takemitsu, whose name was becoming globally recognized, established his unique style characterized by the "Takemitsu Tone," an exquisite weaving of consonance and dissonance, and the sweet motifs floating within it. The charm of this style is fully demonstrated in this work.

The work utilizes all three pedals: damper, sostenuto, and soft. By skillfully employing the pedals according to the meticulously notated instructions, an ineffable resonance will be produced. The white diamond-shaped notes that appear occasionally represent sounds sustained by the pedal after the fingers are lifted. Close listening to the resonance is required. Furthermore, accurately rendering the two types of fermatas and the tempo changes indicated by arrows will bring out the structural divisions and the undulations of the phrases. The piece begins with a bell-like sound of a perfect fifth. Subsequently, a characteristic ascending motif, accompanied by fragmentary melodies in the middle register, gradually builds to a climax, after which the opening bell-like sounds gradually return, bringing the piece to a close.