Souun TakedaJapanese calligraphy artist

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S o u u d an T a k e

I N T E R V I E W

KIZUNA – The Human Bond Bonding and Bonded　1

No human can live alone.Every individual is supported by many other people and everyindividual supports many others. We are all intertwined by humanbonds and we live our lives laughing at times, and crying at times.What is it that is born out of these many human bonds that arenurtured by the people raising us?

Text:Akira YokotaPhotograph:Yukio Yoshinari

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A style of calligraphy born out of the yearning to convey has gained popularity

　There is a calligraphy school in

a residential area of Fujisawa city,

Kanagawa Prefecture, close to the

Enoshima coast. The classroom has a

capacity of 250 students and is almost

always packed to the brim with boys,

girls, men, and women of all ages, from

various walks of life, eager to learn the

art of Japanese calligraphy. The teaching

in these classes is conducted four times

a week and is very different from the

teaching in the usual calligraphy schools.

　Here people put their happy or sad

experiences into words. They write those

words in calligraphy, or write the Kanji

characters almost like pictures so that

the meanings of those characters can

be understood even by foreigners. In

some classes they do ‘relay calligraphy'

in which a few people form a team and

each member of the team writes one

stroke of a letter. Several teams compete

against each other as to which team has

written the most beautiful letter. In other

classes the students leave the classroom

to feel the wind or sunshine, and then

express their emotions on the spot using

calligraphy.

　The head master of that calligraphy

school is Mr. Souun Takeda, who is a

popular and well-known calligrapher.

He is known for many of his artistic

creations among which is the logo mark

“K”, of the supercomputer K, which

made headlines for achieving the world's

fastest computing speed.

　His ingenious method of teaching

calligraphy completely discards the

traditional methods that train the

students to sit in front of the writing

paper with a quiet mind, write neat

letters according to a writing model, and

acquire titles. His original method has

been praised even on the TV program

“the most wanted lesson in the world”

which top personalities from different

fields give lectures that can be enjoyed

even by adults. These days, not a day

goes by without us seeing one of his

creations in the titles of movies or TV

dramas, on logos of products, or in

collaborative performances with rock

musicians, Kyogen performers, or the

like. Mr. Takeda explains his own driving

force as a calligraphy artist is this: “From

long ago, I have been far more easily

thrilled than other people. For example,

if I found a shop selling very tasty

ramen noodles I was so overwhelmingly

excited that I desperately wanted to go

around telling everybody that the ramen

noodles in that shop were great and that

they should certainly go there and try

them. I have found that the best way

of conveying my message to people is

Making somebody happy is also happiness itself.Being thanked for making somebody's heart move becomes a drivingforce for one's own growth. The happiness of communication with the hearts of the viewers iswhat supports the calligraphy of a popular calligraphy artist.

The Great Power of Just a Single Letter WrittenTriggered by the Thoughts of the Joy of MovingPeople's Hearts

through calligraphy.”

　“Even the ‘K’logo was born out of my

eagerness to convey my feeling that a

large number of scientists and engineers

had worked very hard to become

number one in the world. Although I

do not understand anything technical

about computers, behind achieving the

number one performance in the world is

the culture and history of Japan as well

as the nature of the Japanese people. I

put my eagerness into conveying these

factors of greatness into my creation of

this logo.”

　The cheerful words coming from

this husky man standing over 180

centimeters tall are full of what he

calls his easily thrilled nature and his

extraordinary eagerness to convey this

thrill to others. But he feels that his

calligraphy expresses his feelings more

It is very easy if one only wants to write neat letters and get a title. But the process of reaching there is in itself interesting, says Mr. Takeda. The happy lessons that do not necessarily follow the preset model are a means of conveying this fact to the students. There is never ending laughter in the classroom every day.

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strongly and more deeply than the words

themselves. Even his singularly unique

lessons at the calligraphy school are

mediums for conveying to the students his

feeling that calligraphy is for conveying

one's own feelings to others.

　However, he says that this success has

not been achieved by his strength alone.

　He says, “I did not become what I

am by thinking I want to be this or that.

While I was struggling hard to find out

what I can do and what only I can do, the

present Souun Takeda is what he is now

thanks to a large number of people.”

His original style of calligraphy was pursued because he wanted to see the people surrounding him happy

　During his childhood Mr. Takeda

had been trained thoroughly in the

fundamentals of Japanese calligraphy by

his mother. But he did not actually think

of a life as a calligrapher right from the

beginning. After learning information

science in the university he joined a large

telecommunications company.

　“When I was very young I had taken

various individual enhancement lessons

including calligraphy. I did not even select

my first job with any serious intentions,

but just happened to join that job by

chance,” he says. But in that place of

work one day he met with a very fateful

incident that led to the blossoming of his

own latent talent.

　“By chance my boss happened to

see my calligraphic writing and liked it

so much that he asked me to write his

name because he wanted to use it on

his personal business card. Saying that it

is an easy thing to do, I wrote it and gave

it to him. Very much to my surprise he

was extremely happy and immediately

my calligraphy became so popular that

one by one all the people there started

asking me to write their names.”

　At that point, Mr. Takeda took a bold

step. After working there for three years,

he suddenly left his job and started a

shop on the internet making business

cards. People around him were shocked

at the boldness of throwing away his

stable and secure life in a big company.

Some of his colleagues and superiors

tried to stop him from making such a

risky decision.

　Yet he smilingly looks back, “I was

happy because everybody else was

happy to see my calligraphy, and I

wanted more and more people to feel

that same happiness. At that time, I

imagined in my head all people in the

world feeling happy about the business

cards I had written.” That was just what

an easily thrilled person would do.

　Not that he had any big grouse against

his life in that job at the large company.

He did not even have any confidence that

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he could make a living as a calligrapher.

But he says once the thought came to

him, he could not help acting accordingly.

“Looking back, perhaps at that time

I had selected my own way of life for

the first time in my life. It was possible

because I was young. While I had gone

to many individual development classes

long ago, I had been making selections

according to what my mother and other

people surrounding me said. When there

was something that I was interested in I

could not see anything else once I made

up my mind.”

　As other people had worried, the

internet shop selling business cards did not

take off for some time. He then started a

calligraphy school at home and distributed

pamphlets about it, but it was not possible

for an unknown young man to attract any

students.

　On one of those days, Mr. Takeda had a

chance meeting that would later prove to

be another turning point in his life. He was

enchanted by a street musician playing

his music in the street, and he thought

of writing calligraphy on the street and

wanted to make people happy.

　“In the beginning I was very shy, and

would pack up and run away when

people walked past while I was spreading

my tools on the footpath. I may appear

different but I am extremely timid and

full of various complexes.”

　While being resolute in definitely doing

things that he has decided to do, being

shy and afraid when actually doing it is

perhaps common to all young people.

However, that timidity was also one of Mr.

Takeda's weapons.

　“Actually, even my present method of

teaching calligraphy classes was born out

of the apprehension that I would not be

able to compete with other calligraphy

schools if I followed the conventional

methods of teaching, and the result of

my thinking was to search for something

that only I could do. I had this strange

conviction that I would definitely not

succeed if I followed the method of

teaching that everybody else was using.

My decision to go ahead with a teaching

method that only I can do is the another

side of my complexes.”

　Anyway, the street performance of

calligraphy that he courageously started

made him rediscover the great power

that calligraphy can have.

　“A young boy who was looking from

afar came forward to buy a calligraphic

rendering of “Hitamuki' (meaning

‘dedicated’ or “single-minded’) clasping

a tiny coin in his hand. A young lady who

asked me to write “Ai” (meaning ‘Love’),

burst into tears when I finished writing

it. Through such experiences I realized

that my calligraphy could move people's

hearts, and that in turn made me happy.

I was struck to know what great power

calligraphy had.”

　Even now he says he feels great

happiness when he receives letters or

emails from fans saying his calligraphy gave

them courage, or that a person decided

against suicide because of one of his

writings. It means more than a creation

of his getting a prize or being praised in

the mass media. It is a great feeling of

happiness for him to know that he has

contributed to someone through his

thinking or actions.

　And finally, the young man who pursued

his own way was in the limelight.

It would be great if calligraphybrings world peace

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　“One day a magazine reporter wrote

an article saying that there is a unique

internet shop selling calligraphic business

cards produced by a young ex-employee

of a large telecommunications company.

That triggered a number of media people

to come and write articles about me.”

　As desired, something only he could do

had attracted people to him. His unique

calligraphy lessons were shown on TV

programs and his popularity soared,

putting him in a permanent position as a

calligraphy artist. The overflowing energy

he was born with touched the hearts of

people through his calligraphy.

The power of feelings embedded in calligraphy now spreads ‘the human bond’ throughout the world

　Mr. Takeda who has become a popular

calligrapher of the times insists that he is

still a pack of complexes.

　“Even now when I appear on a TV

program, I feel dejected because I feel that

I can never beat the talents or speaking

skills of the TV artists on the program. After

all, my thought processes are negative.

I can never equal these people. Then

again I feel that they let me make them

happy through the calligraphy that only I

can do.”

　His words are strongly forward-looking,

but he says that they are the result of

his conscious effort to push himself

away from his natural tendency to look

backwards.

　“Because I am a person who tends to

think negatively, I am always trying to

correct myself into living positively.”

　However, that is probably why he can

understand the feelings of people who

have lost hope or who are in the depths of

darkness. Surely, that is why his calligraphy

can give courage to people, can save

them, and can soothe them.

　He is able today to wield his brush only

because of his ex-colleagues who made

him aware of that power, because of the

support he received from the people he

met on the streets and from the fans that

send him letters or emails. He says, “That

is why I am what I am now is thanks to

the feelings of a large number of people

and the human bond with them.”

　Even the plan for “World thankfulness

day 69” being promoted by him now

is a project that started rolling because

of chance meetings with a number of

people and their support.

　“Peace and thankfulness are things

that do not create a mental image when

merely said with words. Therefore, I feel

things may change if one day the world

celebrates a thankfulness festival even if

it not real. I wish to make June 9th 2020 a

thankfulness day. Even wars should stop

for at least that day. Initially I was talking

about this jokingly with my friends, and

one day this reached the ears of people

in the government, and now this concept

is being taken to the United Nations.”

Many a truth said in humor.

　“To realize such a day, the harmonic

force uniquely present in the Japanese

people is necessary and is something

I think that only Japanese can do.

Calligraphy is also one of those forces.

I think it can be a tool for conveying a

strong message of harmony.”

　In this context, it appears that

talk is under way to have his solo

exhibitions abroad. The bond that has

spread through his calligraphy, is now

attempting to cross borders. It would

be a wonderful thing if Mr. Takeda's

calligraphy of “Thankfulness” is hung in

the UN Headquarters on June 9, 2020.

P R O F I L E

He has published more than 20 books including collections of his art, and guidelines on the way of life that makes one's heart lighter. There are many fans of the contents that make people happy by just looking at them.

Mr. Takeda wrote this year's theme “Kizuna” (the human bond) during his lecture in the head office of FUJITSU SEMICONDUCTORS. When he faced the writing paper with a quiet heart, he wrote it with a sudden burst of energy.

Souun Takeda was born in Kumamoto city in 1975. He was trained in calligraphy by his mother, Souyou Takeda, from the age 3. He worked at NTT after graduating from the faculty of science and engineering of the Tokyo University of Science, and left his job in 2001 and started his activities as a calligraphy artist. He received the Longhuacui Art Award from the Shanghai Museum of Art and the Costanza Medicci Family Art Award in Florence, Italy. He has written the titles of TV dramas and movies such as the NHK serial drama “Tenchijin”, the movie “Kita no reinen”, and the logos of many products. He writes regular essays and columns in many magazines about living every day in a forward looking manner.

I N T E R V I E W

KIZUNA – The Human Bond Bonding and Bonded　1