In an age when written communication is lacking personality, is the time ripe for a calligraphy renaissance?
What can Japanese calligraphy teach us today?
Japanese calligraphy is an art where one’s skill improves over time, for one’s character, emotions, and even one’s life are evoked by the words written. Today, when our communication is almost entirely digital, how much of what we want to say truly comes through in our words? With the help of a few master calligraphers, we created SHODO ART: a UT collection inspired by Japanese calligraphy that conveys the importance of care and consideration.
Hakuju Kuiseko began calligraphy when he was a child, at the dawn of the Second World War. Today, the Nihon Shogei-in Honorary Advisor lives in Kyoto, where his works are prominently displayed at Kyoto University of Art and Design.
“All eight of my siblings were calligraphers as well," he says. “I went on to study calligraphy at the university level in Kyoto. When I was younger, I didn’t know what calligraphy was. I was pretentious and focused entirely on style, ignoring the basics. If I had not met my teacher, Santo Murakami, I wonder what would have happened. Thanks to him, I was able to create my first submission to the Nitten Japan Fine Arts Exhibition after only 50 tries—most people try 2,000 to 3,000 times before creating a work worth submitting. Back then, even calligraphy paper was a luxury."
Kuiseko has a daily routine. Every morning at 4:30, he begins writing and finishes all work for the day by breakfast.
“Nights are for research," he explains. “I look for words that stir me from ancient texts and other books. People tend to think calligraphy is a hand-based skill, but your third eye is equally important. If you don’t have the ability to read into the text and find its inner beauty, your hand will not be able to convey that beauty. It is also about lines. Every line conveys the writer’s life and gives the work its character. Just as no two lives are the same, no two works possess the same quality. Calligraphy, at its core, is about exploring what defines your line. I hope I can use calligraphy to bring a new energy to the cultural scene—one that inspires both myself and those I interact with."
©KUISEKO HAKUJU
PROFILE
Hakuju Kuiseko｜Born in 1934, Kuiseko studied under Santo Murakami before he made his first submission to the Nitten Japan Fine Arts Exhibition. He is currently Honorary and Special Member of Nitten and Honorary Advisor to the Nihon Shogei-in.
