Shōko Kanazawa (金澤翔子 Kanazawa Shōko, born 1985 [1]) is a Japanese calligrapher.
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]
Shōko Kanazawa (金澤翔子 Kanazawa Shōko, born 1985 [1]) is a Japanese calligrapher.
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]