「Look at the Picture and Talk about the Painting」Morita Shiryū: The Boundary-Breaker of Traditional Calligraphy

A reformer rooted in the calligraphy of the “Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi”, Morita Shiryū’s creations possess the powerful and vigorous bone strength of Yan Zhenqing and the lively brushwork of Wang Xizhi. These traditional elements from China are the foundation for his breakthroughs.

Like his fellow disciple of Ueda Sōkyū’s “Kei Sei Kai”, Yuichi Inoue, Morita Shiryū has always aimed to innovate calligraphy. The two once co-founded the “Bokujinkai” and explored new possibilities for modern calligraphy through mutual inspiration. Morita Shiryū’s “Dragon” character is a testament to this exploration. It was once used as the cover of a German publication in the 1970s, bringing the avant-garde nature of Eastern ink and brushwork to the international stage.

Early works such as “Circle” deconstructed the form of characters through “discrete writing”, borrowing the concept of “circle”, and sketched with simple white lines on a black background. Although seemingly abstract and casual, they actually concealed the rhythm of Yan-style calligraphy’s pauses and stops, embodying the spirit of Chinese calligraphy that “penetrates the paper” through an extremely minimalist form.

In the mid-term, attempts were made with gold lacquer and black lacquer screens. The golden lines meandered on the black lacquer background, blurring the boundaries between calligraphy and painting, yet still revealing the flowing spirit of the character of Wang Xizhi, continuing the aesthetic core of “the interplay of the real and the illusory” carried by Chinese calligraphy.
In his later years, he returned to literary creation, confining his avant-garde explorations within the boundaries of traditional brush and ink techniques, thus interpreting the “upholding the essence while innovating” of the Eastern spirit.

Behind this evolution lies a clear artistic consciousness, which is reflected in his founding of the “Ink Beauty” magazine to introduce Western abstract art, and his performance of “body writing” in Europe, combining the rhythm of the body with ink and brush, essentially embodying the Eastern creative philosophy of “the unity of body and mind”.Morita Shiryū’s innovation has a systematic context, neither deviating from the traditions of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, nor hesitating to expand the boundaries of calligraphy.

Looking back now, his true value lies in proving that the modernization of calligraphy is not a betrayal of tradition. The spirit of brush and ink that has taken root in China for thousands of years is the nourishment most needed for the exploration of calligraphy.

The tea for today is all gone. Next time, I’ll brew a fresh pot and enjoy art with you again.