Sakura, and Words of Cherish and Love
The faint, pale feelings of the distant past
Calligraphy and Photography and Exhibition by Rekitei Harada and Akinobu Oguchi
Exhibition: March 31 - April 27, 2018
This art is a photo collection printed on the Japanese "Washi" paper, brushed over by the Japanese art of Shodo (Calligraphy). Focusing on the Sakura (Cherry Tree) which is the soul of every Japanese person, the words of cherish and love from the past are integrated. We live and suffer by naturally falling into love, being tormented between the feelings of hope and despair. This "law of nature" which also existed during the times of Man-you (around the 8th century), left the words and thoughts of the people expressing their commitment to love at that time. When these words and thoughts are expressed through Shodo, the ever-slight, and ever-pale memories may be revived.
Rekitei Harada
Born 1940 in Sasebo of Nagasaki Prefecture, Harada began Shodo at the age of 17.
His work was selected by The Japan Fine Arts Exhibition in 1978. He received the Grand-Prix Prize in the 36th Mainichi Shodo Exhibition, and became one of the judges in 1984, the same year when he exhibited his work "Yousetsu" in the Nihon Kokuji Exhibition in Seattle, Washington. In 1989, he was the first foreign national to be selected as one of the "Eight Students" of Soui Oh in the Yu Zhao Shan Fang in Taiwan. In 2010, Harada's works such as his calligraphy "Dankin" and his screen art "Kyougakusouchou" have been stored as a collection in the Taiwan National Art University. Harada currently resides in Shiki, Saitama Prefecture, and still a judges for the Mainichi Shodo Exhibition, is also a part of the Print Coterie of Taiwan, and is a permanent steering committee member as well as a judge for the Tokyo Shosakuten.
Akinobu Oguchi
Born in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1956, Oguchi made his professional debut as a photographer in 1973. He signed a contract with a famous magazine as a mountaineering photographer in 1988, and in 2007 became a member of the Japan Professional Photographers Society. He held his "Tibet Kamu Shoujo Junrei" gallery in 2009, and was televised in the special feature program of photographers for NHK in 2013. The Art Museum of Shizuoka Prefecture held a section featuring the works of Oguchi in 2016. Still living in Shizuoka prefecture, Oguchi's most recent accomplishments were in Taiwan and China, where he held his own exhibitions.
Exhibition Committee