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Souun Takeda： A Japanese Calligrapher
~Create the wave of appreciation and happiness~

*Japanese calligraphy, Shodou, is a specialized art using a brush and black ink to write Japanese characters, Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana. It has some similarities to western calligraphy, but it is considered more of an art form.

Souun Takeda is one of the most famous calligraphers in Japan. His artwork is highly praised for his innovative but still traditional ways of expressing Japanese beauty.
People are attracted to his artwork which has the ability to reach people, and observers find the meanings of happiness and the importance of gratitude inside his work. Souun has a lifelong goal, “To sow seeds of joyful living and to create thankful cycle for whole human family.” He expresses his life goal ethically and logically through his artwork.


Born in 1975, Souun started calligraphy under his mother, Souyou Takeda, also a professional calligrapher.
After he graduated from Science and Research University, he worked for telephone company NTT.
Working for the company in three years, he determined to be a professional calligrapher realizing that there was a better path to live his life.

Souun’s goal is to create artwork, which inspires people to enjoy active lives and fills people with appreciation and happiness. He believes that if a person is filled with a sense of well-being and gratitude, she/he can return these feeling for others.
The wave of well-being and gratitude will spread exponentially through society, and eventually build a peaceful and better world. He creates his works and always seeks the best way to achieve this goal. While he respects traditional calligraphic ways, he does not hesitate to take new approaches creating calligraphic work.

Because of the quality of Souun’s work and the power to move people, Souun is asked to do a variety of projects.

Example of his representative projects
-Public places: Meijijinguu station
-Companies: NISSAN, Panasonic, and Mazda
-Famous Japanese films and TV programs: Spring Snow, Tenchijin
-Special events: Expo 2005 Aichi Japan, World Championships in athletics, and shrines (The Grand Shrine of Ise).
-Newspapers, magazines and commercials: YOMIURI Shimbun, Asahi Shinbun, Discovery Channel, etc.
-Collaborative work with other artists: B’z (J-Pop music group), Mansai Nomura (Japanese traditional Kyogen stage actor), Eitetsu Hayashi (Solo Taiko Drummer), -Yoshida Kyoudai (Tsugaru-Jamisen players).
He has been invited to teach on TV shows and at schools too.
His works have been exhibited in many Japanese famous museums, department stores, and hotels.

Souun has created many artworks and attracted a great deal of attention overseas as well.
Example of his representative projects overseas
-Performance calligraphy: in Moscow, Russia and Geneva, Switzerland.
-Prizes: Shanghai Art Museum in 2003 and Constanza de' Medici.
Publications
-“Karubona-ra bakari chuumonn suruna” 「カルボナーラばかり注文するな」
-“Shobonn in Hiragana” 「しょぼん　ひらがな」
-“Shobonn in Kanji” 「書本　漢字」
-“Hiraku kotoba” 「ひらく言葉」
-“Tanoshika” 「たのしか」comes with English translations.
-“Shoyoudou” 「書愉道」
-“Sho wo kaku tanoshimi” 「「書」を書く愉しみ」
-“Kokoro ni hibiku Rongo” 「心にひびく論語」
-“Ikiru tanoshimi wo ajiwau Zengo 50 wa ” 「生きる楽しみ」を味わう禅語５０話
-“Kanji Power” comes with English translations.