Welcome to our gallery, where the captivating art of Shimizu Japanese Calligraphy comes to life. This venture is not merely a business endeavor but a heartfelt homage to my grandmother, whose indelible influence ignited my passion for this profound art form.
Born to immigrant Japanese parents, Hiro and Toshiko, my upbringing in Vancouver, BC, primarily embraced Western culture. However, at the tender age of nine, our household welcomed an extraordinary guest – my paternal great-grandmother. With my father's parents having passed away when he completed high school, it was his grandmother and grandfather who tirelessly supported him through university, fueling his aspirations for higher education. Now widowed, my great-grandmother faced solitude in Japan, prompting my father's earnest efforts to persuade her to join us in Canada.
Despite the language barrier, I struggled to connect with this new addition to our family, grappling with her unfamiliar customs and mannerisms. Yet, amidst the cultural disparities, one peculiar ritual stood out – every Saturday, she would unfurl a fresh sheet of paper, delicately dip her finger into a cup of water, and begin sketching intricate characters that seemed to dance upon the page. With a gentle utterance of "Shodo," her soft voice introduced me to the enchanting world of Japanese Calligraphy.
As irony would have it, despite my heritage, I remained bereft of fluency in Japanese. Motivated by the prospects of a new life in a foreign land, my parents steadfastly communicated in English, inadvertently depriving me of the opportunity to embrace my native tongue. Yet, it is through this journey of cultural assimilation and discovery that my passion for Shimizu Japanese Calligraphy was born.
Stay tuned for more insights in the upcoming post, as we delve deeper into the transformative power of this ancient art form and its enduring impact on my life.
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