A soul in
every stroke.
Calligraphy meant to reach the heart — from fine works to signboards, titles and certificates, every stroke brushed with soul.
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Selected Works
Performance
Four brushes in two hands, and a dragon brushed in a single breath — no striving for perfection, only an empty mind. Calligraphy that is a joy to watch, from first stroke to last.
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Sayumi Matsubara
Holding advanced teaching certifications in Japanese calligraphy, Sayumi Matsubara has received numerous special awards at Japan's four major exhibitions and national competitions. Rather than calligraphy that is merely formal, she pursues sho that is approachable and a joy to watch — brushing with both hands, wielding four brushes at once, and writing on roof tiles, lanterns and even T-shirts. From the origin inscriptions of Important Cultural Property shrines to shop signboards, certificates and naming scrolls, she takes on a wide range of commissions in search of characters that reach and move the heart. Certified also in kado, sado and kitsuke, she hopes, in her own modest way, to pass Japanese culture on to the next generation.
In hard times, it was calligraphy that saved me. Writing let me empty my mind. Write on with a rich heart, and you can rise again as many times as it takes, and let the flowers of expression bloom. Put your soul into the brush.
From her poem “Nyūkon”
- —Advanced calligraphy teaching licences (4 types)
- —Jury-exempt (mukansa) status
- —Directs her own calligraphy classroom
- —Special awards at Japan's four major & national exhibitions
- —A Special Award at every entry to the Ise Jingū World Heritage Calligraphy Exhibition
- —Certified in shojo, kado, sado (Omotesenke) & kitsuke
- —Commissioned by Important Cultural Property facilities
- 2025Special Awards, Ise Jingū World Heritage Calligraphy Exhibition — Exhibition Chair’s Award and Ise Mayor’s Award
- 2025Special Award (Nanzan Award), Kōyasan Calligraphy Competition; elevated to jury-exempt mukansa status at the Sankei International Calligraphy Exhibition
- 2024Special Award (Kaiyū Award), Sankei International Calligraphy Exhibition
- 2024Special Award (Sūkeikai Chairman’s Award), Ise Jingū World Heritage Calligraphy Exhibition; Special Award (Kōyasan Head Administrator’s Award), Kōyasan Calligraphy Competition
- 2023Special Selection (Tokusen), Sankei International Calligraphy Exhibition, for the second consecutive year; Special Selection, Kumano National Calligraphy Exhibition; Special Award, Kōyasan Calligraphy Competition
- 2022Special Selection (Tokusen) at her first entry to the Sankei International Calligraphy Exhibition; Special Award (Nanzan Award), Kōyasan Calligraphy Competition
- —Japan Educational Calligraphy Research Association Award and Encouragement Award at the Seichō Calligraphy Association National Exhibition, leading to mukansa status
- —Governor’s, Mayor’s and City Council Chair’s Awards at the Kainan City Art Exhibition, leading to mukansa status, among many other awards
- —Sankei International Calligraphy Exhibition — main and New Year exhibitions at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts, Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art and the National Art Center, Tokyo
- —Yomiuri Shohō Exhibition; Nihon Shogeiin National Exhibition
- —Seichō Calligraphy Association National Exhibition; NHK Gakuen National Exhibition
- —Kōyasan Calligraphy Competition (Kongōbu-ji); Ise Jingū World Heritage Calligraphy Exhibition; Kumano National Calligraphy Exhibition
- —International Exchange Art Exhibition (Xi'an, China, 2023)
- —Wakayama Prefectural and City Exhibitions, the Kainan City Exhibition, the Tōzai Exhibition, and more
- —Brushed the title and poster calligraphy for Meiboku Sendai Hagi, the 390th-anniversary production (2026, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre) of Yūki-za, the marionette theatre founded in 1635 under the official sanction of the Edo shogunate
- —Commissioned by Daikaku-ji temple and the Important Cultural Property shrines Jūsan-jinja and Niu-jinja — signboards, historical inscriptions and offering boxes
- —Performs live calligraphy regularly at Wakayama Castle — beneath the keep and in the Nishinomaru square — brushing visitors’ names on request and introducing overseas travellers to the art of sho
- —Brushed the stage title for the Japan Wakayama International Music Festival (Wakayama Castle Hall) on two sheets of paper roughly nine metres wide
- —Brushed the title of the film Colour in the Rain — Dragon Beyond the Clouds, a collaboration with sumi-e artist Shū Arakawa
- —Featured four times in the Japan–US–Russia art magazine 365 Art+ Magazine (including a cover credit), and in LUMINA magazine
- —Works displayed on a digital billboard in Los Angeles; overseas commissions include the title calligraphy for a poetry collection from Peru
- —Supervised the collaborative product line Maihime — perfume, hand soap, shampoo & treatment and hair oil — from the calligraphy to the fragrance and bottle design, sold in limited runs at Daimaru Tokyo
- —Logos and titles for venues and festivals across Japan — a long-established live-music house in Nakameguro, Tokyo, the Yamada Festival in Yamada, Iwate, and a 220-year-old doll shop in Tochigi, among others
From stylish modern lettering to classical forms. Not only on paper, but on wooden signboards, noren, roof tiles, lanterns and glass. Shop logos, titles, certificates, naming scrolls — even overseas names rendered in kanji — each brushed after thinking together about what kind of characters will reach the heart.
I used to think it was enough to write things that would last long after me — the inscriptions commissioned by Important Cultural Properties and shrines. Lately I would rather be remembered not for the things, but for my words, my heart, and the care I take.
From her Instagram
Signboards, Noren & Logos
Characters brushed on paper for a woodcarver to cut, or brushed directly onto a 1.5-metre board. From the signboard and noren to business cards, staff uniforms and flyers — the whole face of a shop or company, as one set.
Titles — Stage, Film, Events, Books & Products
Posters for anniversary productions, film titles, the stage banner of a music festival, picture-book and poetry covers, product labels. I ask what kind of characters would make you want to look, then search for the ones that belong to that world.
Certificates, Diplomas & Programs
As a licensed certificate calligrapher I have brushed diplomas for kindergartens through junior high schools and commendations for a fire department — several hundred at a time when needed. Ceremony programs and lecture titles as well.
Naming Scrolls, Nameplates, Envelopes & Addressing
A naming scroll for a newborn, on hanging-scroll paper, in gold ink, or on shikishi board. Nameplates, gift envelopes and registers, wedding addressing, roof-raising calligraphy and family trees — the characters that mark the turning points of a life.
Shrines, Temples & Cultural Properties
The origin inscription of an Important Cultural Property on a 20-kilogram board; shrine offices and offering boxes; donor lists running past 800 names. Things meant to remain long after us, brushed with all my heart.
Your Name in Kanji
Names written in the Roman alphabet, rendered into kanji and brushed. At Wakayama Castle I write visitors’ names from overseas on the spot, and a poetry collection from Peru carries my title calligraphy. Commissions from abroad are welcome by e-mail.
Live Calligraphy (Performance)
Brushes in both hands, a ten-metre sheet, a single breath. At Wakayama Castle I perform regularly, writing visitors’ names as part of the show. For festivals, events, ceremonies and openings — sho written without trying to write well, only with an empty mind.
Calligraphy Classes
I run a calligraphy class for children up to elementary-school age. Every year my students win at school competitions and the central exhibitions. Calligraphy that is not stiff but approachable and a joy to watch — together with the children.
- Paper
- Wood
- Roof tiles
- Lanterns
- Noren
- T-shirts
- Glass & bottles
- Sliding doors
- Bamboo
- Stone
- Important Cultural Property facilities
- Graduation certificates
- Official certificates
- Ceremony programs
- Shop & company signboards and logos
- Roofing-ceremony calligraphy
- Family trees
- Noren curtains
- Business-card names
- Wedding addressing
- Election victory & thanks
- Temple & shrine signboards
- Shrine origins & donation lists
- Offering boxes
- Film, stage & anniversary titles
- Naming works, nameplates & banners
- Event & festival titles
- Picture-book, poetry & exhibition titles
- Product & label calligraphy
- Gift envelopes & registers
- YouTube & music-festival titles, and more
Enquiry
Tell me the purpose, the words you have in mind, the size or surface, and when you need it — by the form below or by e-mail. It is fine if some of this is still undecided.
Consultation
We think through the style together — stylish, powerful, design or classical — and the surface, and I send you an estimate.
Brushing
Brushed with a soul in every stroke. For naming scrolls and the like, you can choose among several treatments — scroll paper, gold ink or shikishi board.
Delivery
The original is handed over or shipped. For signboards and products, I can also prepare the work for carving or printing.
Fees are quoted according to the content, size, surface and number of pieces. Consultation and estimates are free of charge.
Ichigo Ichie
One encounter, once in a lifetime — entrusted to ink. However small the request, you are warmly welcome to get in touch.