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Member Profiles
Calligrapher
Byakko Kashiwagi
Byakko Kashiwagi embarked on the journey of calligraphy at the age of five, the third generation in a household of calligraphers.
She became the youngest calligrapher ever to receive the Grand Prize at the Mainichi Women’s Exhibit in 1988 and subsequently served as a judge for the event. She has studied the spirituality and religiosity of the world's writing systems through research overseas. She travels to sacred places in Japan and abroad to create works while experiencing the unique energy of each location.
She also hosts “Show mu,” a calligraphy exhibition designed to promote international exchange among children.
Additionally, she’s involved with volunteering for causes such as the Great East Japan Earthquake Reconstruction Support Project. Since 2009, she has visited sacred sites in Wakayama Prefecture while creating a series of works expressing Japanese tradition and spirituality, with a focus on the Kumano Kodo.
A calligraphic pilgrimage to the sacred site of Kumano
The Kumano Kodo is a pilgrimage route that connects Koyasan, the esoteric Buddhist temple founded by Kukai, as well as ascetic Shugendo sites of Yoshino and Mt. Omine and Ise and Kumano, which are inhabited by ancient Japanese gods, with the secular world that we inhabit, carrying the prayers of generations. The Kii Peninsula is a place that connects sacred sites in mountains seen as heaven with the secular world below. I’ve spent the last 10 years walking on roads used by those who came before us to access the sacred world while investigating the traditions associated with each place; studying the philosophy, religious belief, history, and cultural traditions created by our predecessors; and creating works as I go. I look forward to continuing my journey in Kumano, a holy and awe-inspiring place that has captured the imagination of Japanese people as a sacred place where Shinto and Buddhism come together from ancient times until the present
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