The Writing Life with Shizu Usami
By Bruce Rutledge
NAP General Manager
Deputy Counsel General Junichi Sumi gets instruction from calligraphy sensei Shizu Usami.
When Shizu Usami came to the Consulate-General of Japan office in Seattle, Washington, in late 2024 to give Deputy Consul General Junichi Sumi a calligraphy lesson, she brought sheets of paper she had acquired in grade school.
“So, you got them just recently, right?” quipped Sumi. The Izumo paper was actually 40 years old. Usami explained that every element of sumi-e, or East Asian calligraphy, is important. Great care and thought are given to the paper, ink stick, ink stone and brush.
Usami began learning calligraphy when she was 3 years old. Her mother taught her from that young age, which helped her feel at one with the brush. She encourages others to start their children early.
Usami pursued a career in calligraphy after graduating from University of Teacher Education Fukuoka, one of only four programs in Japan sanctioned to train high school calligraphy teachers.
When her mother fell ill, Usami left teaching to tend to her. Eventually, she returned to give lectures on the history of kanji characters. You can see some of those on her YouTube channel, Vignettes Kanji Stories.
Sumi and Usami show their work in front of the Consulate General of Japan Seattle office.
Today, Usami continues as an educator and artist. Her home is in Kitakyushu City, Japan, where her family has a soy sauce and miso wholesale business. She once lived in Seattle and is pondering a return to the city.
That is how she found herself in the Consul General’s office. After giving a short talk on the history of calligraphy and the elements involved, she began her lesson.
“When I am writing, my heart releases,” she says, but that ability to release comes through practice. “I’m 47 now and I started when I was three. Throughout my student years, I copied the masters and kept practicing. I experienced many frustrations while practicing. Why can’t I do this? There was joy in the practice, but it was tough. And that is true of most of my practice. But after practicing for 20 years or so, I realized that it was up to me to find that release in my heart.”
“I began to imagine a blank sheet of paper in my mind’s eye,” she continues. “And then I would take my brush to it. I would hear the sounds of calligraphy as I imagined the process, and my heart would release.”
As she taught Deputy Consul General Sumi how to approach the blank page with his brush, she encouraged him to make confident brushstrokes.
For over an hour, we watched as Sumi wrote his name on sheet after sheet of paper. Over time, his brushstrokes went from hesitant to bold thanks to Usami’s constant coaxing and encouragement.
Sumi’s writing improved dramatically within the session. Before (left) and aftr practice (right).
At one point, Usami switched seats with him to show everyone how she would write his name. The few spectators in the room oohed and aahed as she expertly wrote his name with thick, dramatic strokes.
By the end of the lesson, Sumi was writing his name with flair. “That’s it!” Usami exclaimed. She placed the 40-year-old paper in front of him. The time had come. Sumi inked the brush and wrote his name one last time. The paper that was held onto since grade school was finally put to good use.
