Three powerful works by Daizo Kaneko and Daiyu Kawamoto, calligraphers representing the next generation, are now on view in the Mainichi Shodokai show window on the first floor of the Palaceside Building. The two are regarded as talents who will carry the future of the Mainichi Shodokai; their works are well worth seeing. The display runs through the 13th of next month.
Kaneko was born in Tokyo in 1973. His grandfather was Outei Kaneko, a pioneer of modern-poetry calligraphy and a recipient of the Order of Culture. He studied under his father, Takuyoshi Kaneko, a Mainichi Art Award winner. He is a jury member of the Mainichi Calligraphy Exhibition. At last year’s 75th Mainichi Calligraphy Exhibition he won the top honor, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award, as the youngest recipient in history. On display is one work from “Contemporary Calligraphy 2025 New Year Exhibition” this January.
Kawamoto was born in Nagoya in 1974. He studied under Yuyoku Nozaki. In 1993 he won the top honor, the Minister of Education Encouragement Award, at the first International High-School Calligraphy Exhibition, known as the “Koshien of calligraphy.” He now heads Yugen Calligraphy Society and is a jury member of the Mainichi Calligraphy Exhibition. Two works from past exhibitions are on view.
Last July the two held “Daizo Kaneko and Daiyu Kawamoto: A Two-Person Exhibition” at Keio Plaza Hotel in Nishi-Shinjuku, Tokyo, drawing attention as mid-career calligraphers of the same generation.