221A Interview Series: Kisyuu

I can’t even really remember when I started. I was maybe six or seven? There was a calligraphy school beside my house in Japan, run by a grandma. Kids in Japan do lots of afterschool activities, and calligraphy was one of them. I didn’t think I would keep practicing for the next thirty years, but clearly I did. 

At the first school, my first teacher, or master, taught me from the age of 6-8. I learned the traditional style of Japanese calligraphy from her. She was amazing. My goal at that stage was to learn and polish the basic styles. When I was in high school, I started attending another calligraphy school, which was run by a calligrapher that was teaching more of the modern, or expressive style. 

In traditional calligraphy, we’re studying and copying the historical masters, learning their techniques. These are the basics, the rules to follow. The modern style of calligraphy depends more on each individual artist and how they want to express themselves. 

I’m interested in how art can be used to make peace, both inside and outside yourself. When I first came to Canada, I had the dream of working with the United Nations or other international organizations to support people in need. Japan is a small island where most people are Japanese, and I wanted to get to know the rest of the world. At that time, I wasn’t thinking about working as a calligrapher or a calligraphy teacher. But throughout my studies, I thought that there was something else I could be doing. I actually started working at a non-profit and learned so much about how to develop a sense of community. I was being asked if I could share anything from my culture, and since I’ve been practicing calligraphy since I was young, I had the opportunity to share my art with other people. I didn’t know how people would react, but they seemed to enjoy trying calligraphy out, as well as watching me showcase my art. The experience made me think that I could maybe do something with art. It was my entry point. I started offering workshops, and I got lots of good feedback; people were telling me that calligraphy made them feel calm, helped with stress, and let them express their feelings. It was really rewarding for me to be able to help create some inner peace for whoever needs it. 

I think being an artist and a teacher or instructor are completely different things. When I first started teaching, I really didn’t know how to do it, because when I would practice calligraphy, I would do it without thinking. So with teaching, I had to tell people to do things that I didn’t think about, and answer questions about it. I realized that people actually wonder about this stuff. Just offering the class taught me a lot of skills. My goal as a teacher is for people in my workshops to enjoy calligraphy. I know some people come here to improve their writing, but my ultimate goal is to offer a space and opportunity for them to enjoy the experience of practicing calligraphy. That’s something that’s never changed on my part. When I first started, I was renting a small space in the Japanese community centre and offering one-off workshops. I noticed that some people returned every month, even though the content was the same. So I thought that for those who are coming back, I should start an ongoing class.

I was looking for something that was more suitable for what I do; a calligraphy class is very meditative, and this place was the perfect environment. Everyone else on this floor is an artist, and it’s a great way of connecting with other artists in Vancouver and getting to know each other. When I’m out in the shared space or the kitchen washing my brushes, I can catch up with what my peers are working on. 

In Japan, where everyone or almost everyone speaks the language, people look at calligraphy and immediately know what the art says, because it’s written in Japanese. But here, when people look at my art, I think more than half don’t know what it means. I want to use that as an opportunity to grow my art. It’s helped me be more expressive, because I’m speaking to people who might not understand what I’m writing. For example, if I write the character for “flowers,” I add some leaves to the piece, or maybe use a different color, so that non-Japanese speakers might be able to figure it out.

Yes. But also, I don’t want to completely leave the traditional style of calligraphy behind. We can break the rules, but we need to learn them first. Being in Canada has also helped me collaborate with a diverse group of artists, like dancers and musicians. I just recently worked with an Indigenous woodcarver, which I wouldn’t have been able to do in Japan. I do live calligraphy performances, which I don’t think anyone else is doing here. One of my teachers in Japan started performing non-traditional calligraphy for audiences, and that was very inspiring. I knew that was something I could experiment with and develop, and being in Canada helped grow that. People really enjoy watching the process of art. 

Compared to Japan, there’s very few places to access the tools I need for calligraphy, although I’m lucky to live in Vancouver, where there’s a large Asian population, and I can find what I need. Whenever I go back to Japan, I always bring a lot back. Other challenges are just what every artist faces: self-promotion. You need to be on social media and the internet so people know what you do. 

I’m learning every day. There are some written characters that I haven’t even met yet. In calligraphy, there are five styles of writing every character. People call me sensei or teacher or master, but I don’t know if I would call myself that. There’s always something new to learn.

When I was in Japan, it was the training stage. Calligraphy is not necessarily seen as art there, because it’s like a school subject. It’s part of the education system. When I came to Canada, I started seeing calligraphy as more of an art form. And I was able to make it my own; a little bit traditional and a little bit modern. So my work is always evolving. One day I looked at some work I had submitted for a competition ten years ago, and I thought, “That’s young art.” I can’t really say that it’s better or worse than what I”m doing now. It’s a reflection of that time in my life. 

I was actually in Toronto last week for a private event where I performed with Taiko drummers, which was very cool. I received a lot of great feedback. I have a few more performances coming up, like at the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. I’m also constantly working on commissioned art. Recently, I’ve been getting requests for calligraphy tattoos. That work makes me nervous, because it’s going to be permanent. I’ll also be visiting Galiano Island with a Japanese dancer, where we’ll be hosting a movement and calligraphy workshop for an Indigenous group.

Thank you!