HIGHLIGHT

Morita Shiryu (1912–1998) was one of Japan’s leading postwar avant-garde calligraphers. Born in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture, he founded the art journal Bokubi in 1951, through which he introduced Western abstract artists such as Jackson Pollock and Pierre Soulages to Japan at an early stage. In 1952, he established the avant-garde calligraphy group Bokujinkai with artists including Inoue Yuichi. While rooted in traditional calligraphic practice, Morita actively incorporated contemporary international artistic movements, serving as a pioneering figure who bridged Japanese avant-garde calligraphy and international abstract art, and positioned calligraphy within the context of modern art.

This work, Kanzan, was created in 1965. Throughout his career, Morita repeatedly explored the subject of “Kanzan,” and works bearing the same title can be found in the collection of the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, as well as among the works exhibited at the 5th São Paulo Biennale. This indicates that “Kanzan” was a significant and continuously explored theme within his artistic practice.

The two characters “Kanzan” are expressed through the powerful and bold forms created with an oversized brush, demonstrating an exploration of both the semantic meaning of the characters and their visual qualities as forms. Executed on a black ground using Morita’s distinctive “urushi-kin” technique, which combines aluminum powder and lacquer, the brushstrokes possess a unique luster and rich texture, revealing varied expressions depending on the angle of light. The incorporation of the materiality of the medium itself into the work is one of its defining characteristics.

Morita regarded characters not as limitations, but as the essential structure underlying the nature of calligraphy. Each character possesses an inherent order of strokes, and each individual stroke records an irreversible passage of time. He believed that this textual quality was the fundamental element that gives calligraphy its temporal and spatial dimensions, stating that “calligraphy is a place where the act of writing characters allows the vitality within to emerge outward and take form.”

This work, Kanzan, powerfully embodies Morita’s artistic philosophy. While emphasizing the traditional framework of “characters,” it transforms the inner vitality of the artist into form through a spontaneous and vigorous brush movement. It is a valuable work for understanding Morita Shiryu’s calligraphic art.