Ryoka Kawauchi

An introduction to Ryoka Kawauchi, an artist featured in the “Zero Exhibition.”

Ryoka Kawauchi

A calligrapher and seal-engraving (tenkoku) artist active at the heart of Japan’s calligraphy world.

Born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture.
She began studying calligraphy at the age of six under a director of the Yomiuri Calligraphy Association, and currently studies under Nantei Okano, a member of the Nitten.
Her husband holds a doctorate in calligraphy studies; alongside assisting his research she also pursues the study of calligraphic theory, the history of calligraphy, and paleography.

She studied oil painting from childhood and, after graduating from university, went to study in Germany.
Living abroad made her keenly aware of her own East Asian identity; after returning to Japan she devoted herself to the path of Eastern art, which she continues to this day.
She is captivated by the sculptural beauty of jinwen—inscriptions cast into the bronze vessels of ancient China—and of the seal scripts used in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods,
and she creates her works based on these characters.

Drawing on a proven talent recognized through selection for the Nitten (the Japan Fine Arts Exhibition)—Japan’s foremost exhibition and heir to the official government salons—and through awards at numerous prestigious exhibitions, together with her deep insight into the written character, she pursues new work guided by a sensibility all her own.
Her motto is, “So long as it remains a ‘character,’ it must never stray from the very history and essence of the kanji, nor from the beauty of the quality of the line.” Within a world of white, black, and vermilion she pursues a new beauty, and alongside running her studio she holds workshops and other activities, contributing to her local community and devoting herself to nurturing the next generation.

▽Ryoka Kawauchi Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/ryoka_kawauchi/