-About-
I was born in a rural town nestled in the mountains at the foot of Mount Tsukuba. In fact, like many people, I first encountered calligraphy as a hobby. I didn’t start with any particular intention.
However, unlike other lessons, calligraphy continued throughout my student days, and before I knew it, I was majoring in calligraphy at university and graduate school. This must be what they call “fate.”
I taught in Japan for a while, but then one day I received an invitation to teach in France. Although I couldn’t speak French, I thought, “I’ll give it a try,” and jumped in. It was then that I first began to consciously approach calligraphy.
I lived in Colmar in the Alsace region, on the Swiss border, for 10 years, and now I live a little south of there, near the town of Mulhouse.
Crossing Cultures, Weaving Lines
It’s been 17 years since I started teaching French people. Since there is no rule that “this character should be written like this,” the French are able to express themselves with astonishing freedom and from their heart. As a Japanese person, they have shown me how to beautifully and elegantly “go beyond” the indestructible shell and insurmountable boundaries that have formed within me.
Japan’s wabi-sabi culture stands out precisely because it is viewed from the outside. They don’t just write in red, but rather the base is black and white, with letters and a message. They also pay particular attention to the beauty of the lines. By combining color and space to highlight the calligraphy, it becomes even more refined. This is the “going beyond boundaries” that I arrived at while interacting with them.
When Calligraphy Becomes Design
At the same time, I have also taken on various challenges as an artist, such as being invited to perform calligraphy at events held by Japanese companies and government agencies, and providing calligraphy for a book by the great master of flower arrangement, Sakagawa Kikuhito.
Of all the projects, the one that had the biggest impact on me was my collaboration with Barisol in 2018. In Japan, calligraphy is learned in elementary school, and is familiar as a New Year’s calligraphy or seen as hanging scrolls in living rooms; it is something that carries a strong message and is closely tied to everyday life, but in the West, calligraphy is seen as a part of interior design. Rather than calligraphy, it is seen as a graphic art that combines tradition and modernity, Japanese and Western styles. Through my collaboration with Barisol, I was able to make my calligraphy popular in the West as an interior design tool.
The Next Chapter of Calligraphy
Winter 2023. As I was unsure of my future direction and deepening my self-exploration, I realized that I wanted to embody my own transcending boundaries through calligraphy, and that I wanted more people to have the same transcending-boundaries experience. Therefore, I would like to pursue my calligraphy further in two directions.
First, as a calligrapher who embodies “beauty that transcends boundaries,”
I want to collaborate with various artists, including pianists and photographers, to create a new realm of “fusion of two poles.”
The other is a group lesson where you can experience “going beyond the boundaries” by being confronted with the “freedom” of no rules and letting go of preconceived ideas, and a teacher training course where you can gain many surprises and realizations while teaching calligraphy to foreigners.
We will continue to strive to provide these services proactively. Please look forward to them.
Educational background:
Graduated from the Department of Japanese Literature, Faculty of Literature, Daito Bunka
University. Completed the Master’s course at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tsukuba, majoring in calligraphy (currently the Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences).
Hone his skills under the tutelage of the late Soin Furuya (member of the Japan Art Academy, Person of Cultural Merit).
