To celebrate the beginning of 2023, the Dokuritsu Shojindan Foundation is holding its annual sho (Japanese calligraphy) exhibition in the National Art Center, Tokyo, in Minato Ward this month.

The 71st Dokuritsu Sho Exhibition will showcase some 1,900 expressive works in the spacious venue, offering visitors an unusual ambience of only black and white. The organization’s works are characterized by free expression and creativity, making them look more like works of contemporary art than calligraphy. Works of different sizes, some as large as an entire wall in an exhibition room, emanate such dynamics as rising and easing tensions, heaviness and lightness, wetness and dryness, and softness and hardness, allowing viewers to feel various emotions.

The foundation has about 2,200 members who are independent sho artists and enthusiasts from Hokkaido to Okinawa. The openness and freedom of the foundation, with an emphasis on individuality and creativity, pose a stark contrast to many other schools of sho that value distinct styles. This characteristic is based on the philosophy of the founder, Teshima Yuhkei, a highly distinguished calligrapher in Japan who made great contributions in promoting sho worldwide. He established the foundation as a nonprofit organization in 1952 with a mission to create a new form of sho that can be appreciated internationally based on uniquely eastern traditions.