Black on white

What are words but mere letters put together, especially words in a foreign language that is impossible to decipher. The loquacious Slavic soul is rendered speechless by the laconic masterpieces of Japanese calligraphy. Some people are enchanted by the chimerical shapes of Japanese hieroglyphs. Others see in their restraint a reminder of the need to be more careful with words; a reminder that sometimes words are powerful. Works of contemporary Japanese calligraphy, or the art of Shodo, can now be viewed at the National Art Museum until the end of October.

Calligraphy in the sense of neat handwriting has nothing to do with this form of art. Splatters of ink may be left on the paper as long as the artist’s soul remains pure. The beauty of the art of Shodo lies in the contrast of pine coal ink and rice paper, and in the interplay of clearly defined and washed-out, seemingly distant, lines. The dark color of the ink seems to reverberate with the roar of sea waves and the rustling of pines.

The exhibit was organized by the Japanese Embassy in Ukraine and the Mainichi Shodo Association, which is run by the Mainichi Simbun Corporation, the publisher of Mainichi, one of Japan’s most popular newspapers. The 135-year-old newspaper has a press run of four million. “We’ve been promoting various cultural, sporting, social, and educational initiatives for a long time,” says Mainichi Simbun’s director Masato Kitamura. “Of course, this is a way to advertise the newspaper. But it is also part of our strategy to invest in the development of society and the world. The corporation has been supporting calligraphists since the early postwar years. At that time our newspaper had several calligraphy teams. Now the Mainichi Shodo Association holds regular exhibits throughout Japan.”

Since 1970 Shodo exhibits have been staged in 34 cities in 17 countries. The exhibit in Kyiv is the first of its kind in Ukraine and may be called unprecedented without exaggeration. Japanese Ambassador to Ukraine Kishichiro Amae says, “This is the first time that so many Japanese nationals have gathered in Ukraine.” A 320-member Japanese delegation has descended on Kyiv. “All the works of the 121 artists, which are now on display, will be presented to the National Art Museum,” says Ambassador Amae. “It is a unique collection the likes of which have not been seen even in Russia.” The museum’s director Anatoliy Melnyk promised that this generous gift will not be gathering dust in store rooms. “We will be displaying it in various cities across Ukraine,” he said.

There is much on which to feast one’s eyes. The work presented by the Japanese Embassy is especially eye-catching. Koki Taiho, sumo champion and winner of a record 32 imperial tournaments, calls his work Nin [Patience, endurance]. Surprisingly, Koki Taiho’s name at birth was Ivan Boryshko. He was born in 1940 in a Ukrainian-Japanese family in Sakhalin.

Shodo is a characteristically Japanese art that combines the artistic accomplishments of various nations. Its modern creators are eager to share its beauty with the world. The art of calligraphy migrated from China to Japan a millennium ago and has developed independently ever since. It evolved along with several types of Japanese scripts as well as Japanese society. Japan, which experienced a transition from aristocratic government to military rule by samurais, was closed to foreign influences for centuries before opening up to Europe and America in the mid-19th century. After World War II Japanese art, including Shodo, came under particularly strong influence from the West, which led to the emergence of the modern art of poetic Shodo and the Shodo of large symbols, carving, and avant-garde Shodo. Thus, some visitors may discern more than Eastern motifs in these works, especially since the Japanese artists have included Ukrainian texts in some of their works.