Shōko Kanazawa
Shōko Kanazawa (金澤翔子 Kanazawa Shōko, born 1985[1]) is a Japanese calligrapher.
Biography[edit]
Kanazawa was born in Tokyo and diagnosed with Down syndrome.[1] Her mother, Yasuko Kanazawa, had studied calligraphy under Taiun Yanagida.[2] When Shōko was five years old, Yasuko opened a calligraphy school at her home in Ōta, Tokyo where she began teaching her daughter calligraphy as well.[2]
At the age of ten, Shōko Kanazawa had, according to her mother, learned the basics of calligraphy, and was able to write a sutra consisting of 276 characters.[1] In 2001, she won her first award at a calligraphy student exhibition.[1] In December 2005, Kanazawa had her first solo exhibition in Ginza, Tokyo.[1]
Her calligraphy is characterized by its large scale, her largest work to date being 15 meters long.[3] She frequently performs her calligraphy in public, including at temples and shrines such as Kenchō-ji in Kamakura, Tōdai-ji in Nara, Kennin-ji in Kyoto, Chūson-ji in Iwate Prefecture, and Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima Prefecture.[1]
Several exhibition spaces are dedicated specifically to her calligraphy works: the Shōko Kanazawa Art Museum in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, opened in 2012,[4] the Sinary Shōko Kanazawa Museum in Kyoto, opened in 2015,[5] and the Shoko Kanazawa Museums in Ginza, Tokyo and Izu, Shizuoka Prefecture.[6]
In 2012, Kanazawa designed the titles of the NHK television drama series Taira no Kiyomori.[2]
Outside of Japan, Kanazawa has had exhibitions in New York,[7] Pilsen and Prague,[8] all in 2015, and in Singapore in 2016.[9]
On May 20, 2015, she gave a speech at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on the occasion of World Down Syndrome Day.[7] For the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Kanazawa designed one of the official art posters;[2] she and Kōji Kakinuma were the only calligraphers among the participating poster artists.
Kanazawa became the subject of a documentary film titled Tomo ni ikiru: Shoka Kanazawa Shōko (Living Together: Calligrapher Shōko Kanazawa), which was directed by Masaaki Miyazawa and released in Japan on June 2, 2023.[10]
Japan Forward called her the most famous living calligrapher in Japan, and perhaps the most famous calligrapher in the world.[11] The newspaper also said she may be the world's most famous person with Down syndrome.[11]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f Chiaki Katō (October 18, 2016). "Kanazawa Shōko: Woman with Down Syndrome Becomes Top Calligrapher". nippon.com. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Soaring High: Talk and Calligraphy Demonstration with Kanazawa Shōko and Kanazawa Yasuko". Japan House London. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ Johnny (December 22, 2021). "Artist Shoko Kanazawa's Large-Scale Calligraphy Shines Bright Like the Moon". Spoon & Tamago. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ "金澤翔子美術館" [Shoko Kanazawa Art Museum]. Guidoor (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ "シナリー金澤翔子美術館" [Sinary Shoko Kanazawa Museum]. 京都で遊ぼう (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ "銀座金澤翔子美術館" [Ginza Kanazawa Shoko Museum] (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ a b "Shoko Kanazawa: the World of Calligraphy -A Letter for You". Kyoto Culture Association. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ "Shōko Kanazawa and Her World of Ink". Czech-Japanese Association. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ "Eurokars Group Celebrates 50 Years of Excellent Diplomatic Relations between Singapore and Japan with Mazda as the Official Car of the SJ50 Event". Eurokars Group. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ Arielle Busetto (May 12, 2023). "The Shoko Kanazawa Story: Moving Documentary of a Remarkable Calligrapher". Japan Forward. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ a b "'Shine Brightly': Calligrapher Shoko Kanazawa Writes New Year Kanji for 'JAPAN Forward' Readers". Japan Forward. January 3, 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2023.