Japanese calligraphy exhibition at San Francisco State University

San Francisco State University

Campus view of San Francisco State University.

Main gate of the university.		Humanities Building, site of the Exhibit.

Exhibition Hall

The twenty works by master calligraphers were displayed in the entrance hall to the Office of the Dean of Humanities.		Many visitors studied the pieces seriously

Mr. Onodera gives a lecture

A lecture on calligraphy was delivered in the Seminar Room.		More than 70 visitors gathered for the lecture, so many that come had to stand.Among the visitors was the Japanese Consul General in San Francisco.



After the lecture, some students wrote a paper on Japanese calligraphy; they deeply appreciated the exhibition.		Midori Mackeon, on the right, was an important sponsor of the event.

Interview

A writer from Hokubei Newspaper, an English - Japanese journal in San Francisco, interviews Mr. Onodera.		A writer from the Nichibei Times, an English – Japanese journal in San Francisco, interviews Mr. Onodera

Newspaper article

Article published in the Hokubei Newspaper		Article published in the Nichibei Times

Important Sponsor
	s
Planner and interpreter San Francisco State University, Professor and chair. Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. Professor Midori McKeon.

The American tour of Contemporary Japanese Calligraphy was initiated through the cooperation of San Francisco State University and the Japanese Consul General in San Francisco, California. It was held in the Humanities Building of SFSU. The setting was the entrance hall to the Office of the Dean, and the exhibit was composed of 20 original works by artists from the ages of 47 to 87. The works included Kana, Kanji, modern Japanese, engraving, and abstract.

This American Tour recognized the 150 years of friendly relations between Japan and the United States. The SFSU exhibit lasted two weeks and included one lecture by Keiji Onodera. This lecture, on Wednesday, May 5, 2004, was held at the Dean’s Seminar Room, 4th floor of the Humanities Building. The title was “Particular Characteristics of Contemporary Japanese Calligraphy.” Mr. Onodera spoke about the charming points of Japanese culture that can be read through the words of calligraphy, about the world of the Japanese mentality, and then directed his listeners to the world of art through the word. This lecture was enjoyed by a standing-room-only crowd of more than 70 people.

During the lecture Mr. Onodero introduced the history of the development of calligraphy as he pointed out that in both ancient China and Japan the purpose of the practice of calligraphy had been to write the word very beautifully. But now, calligraphers think about the feeling they hope to express and this new purpose changes the way they write the word. The particular characteristic of contemporary calligraphy after World War II is the treatment of space by writing large characters or by the arrangement of the word on the paper. He showed how calligraphy reflects the Japanese feelings about nature and culture.

Questions from the visitors enlightened the presentation; it became apparent that there are aspects that only a foreign observer can notice. For example, “What is the difference between contemporary calligraphy and Zen calligraphy?” He answered that in contemporary calligraphy the artist tries to express his or her inner self; on the other hand in Zen calligraphy, the artist tries to lose self.

Finally, we offer deep thanks to Dr. Midori Mckeon for her help in arranging this exhibition.

San Francisco State University	University of California at Berkeley	University of Utah	Wittenberg University	University of Colorado at Boulder
Colorado State University	University of Denver	Thomas Center Gallery	University of Michigan Dearborn	International Exhibition