"Roar" Kaishin Makuta
This calligraphy piece inscribes "primitive prayers" in ancient characters from 3,000 years ago. On Saturday, January 31st and Sunday, February 1st, there will be a "live calligraphy performance" where the piece will be brought to life on the spot. You can see Kaishin Makuta's brushwork right before your eyes.
The 36th exhibition of Makuta Kaishin's Calligraphy – Beyond Tradition, renowned as one of Japan's leading calligraphers, will be held at the Ueno Royal Museum from January 30th (Friday) to February 5th (Thursday).
This exhibition will feature 200 new works by Kaishin, a recipient of the French Order of Merit, Second Class, and garnering enthusiastic support overseas. This time, a group of works based on the motif of "hieroglyphics (ancient writing)" from 3,000 years ago will be featured. These works express the "prayer" and "instinct" of the time before writing became mere symbols, using modern colors and brushstrokes. From 1:30 pm on both Saturday, January 31st and Sunday, February 1st during the exhibition, there will be live calligraphy performances (on-the-spot calligraphy) where visitors can experience the "energy" of the work.
[Highlights of this exhibition]
[Reimported Art] "KAISHIN" has been highly praised in Paris, New York, and Beijing. The former French ambassador to Australia also highly praised it for its "overwhelming power," and purchased it. This world-class "calligraphy" is a masterpiece.
[Live Performance] In the silent museum, you will experience "In-Situ Calligraphy" (1/31 & 2/1), where you will use your entire body to tackle a giant piece of paper. You can experience the sound of the brush, the ink splashing, and the artist's breathing up close.
[New appreciation style] Rather than interpreting the meaning, we advocate an appreciation method that involves "soaking up the energy without reading the words" in order to feel the energy emanating from the lines.
The rule for viewing the artwork is "don't read the words." You can feel the energy of the moment the words were born.
"Yugei YUGEI" Kaishin Makuta
"I want people to feel it without reading the words at first." That is Makuta Kaishin's wish. The main focus of this exhibition is works that use ancient characters (pictographs), the roots of kanji. These are engraved with the "awe," "prayer," and "praise for life" that ancient people had for nature and animals.
Kaishin reconstructs the primitive energy of these characters with a modern sensibility. "I would like you to spend about two to three minutes looking at each piece, if possible. Feel the energy that the work exudes from the movement of each line, its strength and weakness, and the overall balance." Freed from the shackles of meaning and understanding, Kaishin offers an experience where you can simply confront the overwhelming "life force."
■ Just looking at it will awaken your instincts
In modern society, we are constantly searching for "meaning" and "correct answers," and many people are unknowingly wearing down their minds. Exposing themselves to the raw yet warm, primitive energy of Makuta Kaishin's calligraphy is an experience that allows us to cast off the "armor of reason."
After confronting the artworks, many visitors say, "The noise in my head disappeared," or "I felt a warmth rising from deep within my body." Simply looking at the artworks stirs dormant instincts and charges you with pure vitality to get through tomorrow.
“Unryu Wind Tiger” Kaishin Makuta
Main exhibit: "Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger"
A dragon and a tiger face off on a stage swirling with heat, tension, and vitality across a fiery crimson earth. The dragon soars through the sky, and the tiger gallops across the earth. These two opposing forces are about to collide in a single moment.
What truly dominates this work is the overwhelming "line." Each stroke is released like an explosion, howling, roaring, breathing, and slamming into the work with a living "energy."
An "extreme moment" where heaven and earth are tense. A "beautiful balance" where power is balanced. And a form of pure life energy. "Unryu Fuuko" quietly asks: "What is true strength?" "Is your soul still burning?"
Profile of Kaishin Makuta
Makuta Kaishin, known overseas as "KAISHIN".
Born in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture in 1947. At the age of 17, he decided to become a calligrapher.
He held his first solo exhibition in Ginza in 1982. Since then, he has energetically held solo exhibitions in New York, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo Ginza Art Gallery, Kyukodo Gallery, Shibuya Hikarie, and other locations, receiving rave reviews both at home and abroad. He has particularly garnered enthusiastic support in France, where he was awarded the Order of Merit, Second Class. His works are housed in the Golden Hall of Chusonji Temple, the Madeleine Church in France, and the Consulate General of Japan in New York, among other places. He has written many books, including "An Entrance to the Narrow Road to the Deep North through Calligraphy," in which he actually walked the same path as Matsuo Basho and wrote down Basho's haiku.
Praise from all walks of life: Former French Ambassador to Australia, Stephan
Stephan, a former French ambassador to Australia who owns Kaishin's book, said:
"When I saw KAISHIN calligraphy, I felt a strong energy. I wasn't familiar with Japanese calligraphy, but I was shocked by its overwhelming power. It filled me with a sense of inner strength, so I wanted to buy a copy and hang it in my room so I could look at it every day. KAISHIN calligraphy continues to radiate emotional power even now, and it is a treasure to me."
"The dragon my father drew moved" – Son talks about his formative experience with art
Noriyuki Makuta, CEO of Smapla Inc., an affiliate of this exhibition that operates a gallery in Asakusa, is the son of calligrapher Kaishin Makuta. "I first became interested in art when I was taking photographs of my father's calligraphy. Suddenly, the character for 'dragon' in the writing seemed to start moving through the viewfinder, and I was moved by the experience of being engulfed in the emotional worldview. I hope that this exhibition will allow visitors to discover a new world they have never seen before, a rare, extraordinary experience that only art can create."
Exhibition Information
36th "Makuta Kaishin's Calligraphy – Beyond Tradition"
Date: January 30th (Friday) – February 5th (Thursday), 2026
10:00-17:00
*Closed at 13:00 on the last day
*Last admission 30 minutes before closing
Location: Ueno Royal Museum
Admission fee: 1,000 yen (free for high school students and younger)
Organized by: Kaishin Shohoin
Event Information
Kaishin Makuta Live Calligraphy Performance & Talk Show
Saturday, January 31, 2026, Sunday, February 1, 2026
13:30 each day
Venue: Ueno Royal Museum Special Venue
*Those with an exhibition ticket can view the exhibition for free.
<Exhibition information: Ueno Royal Museum website>
https://www.ueno-mori.org/exhibitions/article.cgi?id=12507486
<Makuta Kaishin Official Website>
https://www.kaishin-makuta.net/
[A permanent spot where you can enjoy the world of KAISHIN even after the event] An experiential gallery in Asakusa that combines "mochi and art"
Smapula Inc., an affiliate of this exhibition, operates Mochiya Hanbei Asakusa (HANBEI), a mochi specialty shop and gallery in Asakusa, Tokyo. Kaishin Makuta's calligraphy is on permanent display in the cafe space on the second floor, where you can spend time surrounded by art while enjoying freshly pounded mochi and matcha tea. Even after the exhibition at the Ueno Royal Museum has ended, you can continue to enjoy the world of KAISHIN calligraphy in the atmospheric space of Asakusa.
Store name: Mochiya Hanbei Asakusa (HANBEI)
Address: 1-15-3 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo (4 minutes walk from Kaminarimon Gate)
Business hours: 9:00-17:00 (closed on Wednesdays)
Official website: https://hanbei.ltd
Please note: As this is a rental gallery, you may not be able to view Kaishin Makuta's works during solo exhibitions or events by other artists. Please check the exhibition schedule on the official website.
Company Information
Company name: Sumapura Co., Ltd.
Address: 5-21-44 Kitakoyasu, Kimitsu City, Chiba Prefecture
Representative Director: Noriyuki Makuta
Phone number: 090-4730-3859
Smapla Inc. official website: https://smapla.co.jp/
[Smapla Inc.] Press Release
