Making Friends
Many are familiar with the calligrapher responsible for the title calligraphy for the NHK drama “Tairano Kiyomori”. It was written by a female calligrapher, Shoko Kanazawa, born in 1985. Shoko was born with Down’s Syndrome. Her mother Yasuko, also a calligrapher, opened a calligraphy school in hopes that it would help Shoko make friends. Shoko began calligraphy with her friends, learning from her mother. This was when Shoko was 5. She has continued ever since.
She held her first exhibition when she was 20, and she became widely known as the media introduced her beautiful energetic letters.
Writing for People’s Happiness
According to Yasuko, Shoko began writing large letters and performing in front of people after her first exhibition.
“She seems to become motivated in front of a large crowd, because her desire is to make people happy.” Nakata asked upon hearing this,
“Calligraphy requires a lot of concentration, which Shoko is good at?”
“Yes, She prays for a while before she actually starts writing. 1 or 2 full minutes when people are watching. She seems to be able to concentrate more when there are people.”
Yasuko continues, “Shoko has Down’s Syndrome, so she cannot choose which letters to write. That is something that she lacks as a calligrapher. Shoko does not understand the logic. I guess it’s more like she senses it. For example, I have never tried writing large letters. So, I have never taught her. But Shoko naturally knows how to balance the letters. There are many good calligraphers. But many write the ideal script, nothing derived from deep in their soul.”
Collaboration Between Shoko Kanazawa and Nakata
We ask Shoko to write the word, “飛翔” (taking flight) for us. She holds the big brush with both hands. The paper is about the size of 1 tatami mat. She dips the brush in calligraphy ink and places the brush on the paper. She starts writing in large bold strokes, completing the amazing letters.
“OK. So can you write soccer?” Shoko asked Nakata.
“That’s impossible. I can’t write soccer. I’ve never tried this before!” Nakata said, as he picked up the brush.
Shoko, Yasuko, and the staff all joined in as they chatted. “That’s unbalanced.” “Seems somewhat lonely.” “It looks fine.” “Oh yeah, sure! (Laughter) “It’s difficult.” “No, it’s not!” As the conversation continues many completed “飛翔” letters appear.
Yasuko told us, “When Shoko was born, I was told that she has no intelligence and that she would never learn to walk. It brought great sorrow, and I cried every day while I raised her. I regret having brought her up that way. Since we’ve been able to meet a lot of people through calligraphy, now I’ve come to a point where I’m almost thankful that Shoko was born with Down’s Syndrome. I believe we give hope to other children and mothers in the same situation.”
