Singing (Utau)

The president of the Sankei calligraphic association Gaboku Ogawa (1911–2000) was a student of the famous calligrapher Sōkyū Ueda. His calligraphy of the “singing” (“song”) character executed in vermillion against a dark background represents a different kind of artistic medium than the classic ink on white paper works, one that emerged with the development of post-war avant-garde calligraphy in the 1950s. Japanese art theorist Den’ei Kaoru emphasizes the freedom of spirit that infuses Gaboku’s calligraphies and that gravitated towards a new form of expression, represented by the zen’eisho style.