An exhibition of calligraphy works by intellectually disabled children and adults that describe the world of animated film "Kaiju no Kodomo" (Children of the Sea) is being held in Tokyo's Akihabara district.
Reiko Iharada, a calligraphy instructor, organized the exhibition in collaboration with the animation studio that created the film, which will open in theaters later this week. She hopes to make the event an opportunity "for the public to enjoy the uniquely beautiful calligraphy" of people with disabilities.
Iharada started teaching calligraphy at a workshop for disabled people in Yokohama in 1996. Currently, she holds four different classes in the city for more than 40 disabled children and adults. Her students include those of elementary school age through those in their 40s, some of whom have studied calligraphy for more than 20 years. About one-third of them cannot speak because of the severity of their disabilities.
In her early days of teaching disabled students, Iharada said she was just stunned by the reality: Most of them could not sit down to write or hold a brush properly. She tried all kinds of ways to continue the lessons, and found that writing long sentences was more effective to maintain their concentration than writing short words. So she started creating poems for each of them in accordance with their personality and the number of letters they could write.
The exhibition project began last year through a personal connection between Iharada and an official of the animation studio. The award-winning original manga by Daisuke Igarashi tells the story of a junior high school girl and two mysterious brothers who were raised by a dugong.
Iharada read all five volumes of the manga and found the theme had something in common with her students. She picked out lines that had characters suitable for each of her students.
A total of 41 pieces are on display, depicting such lines as, "What can be seen does not necessarily show the entire world," and "Have you ever been able to express just half of what you think?"
The film is scheduled to open June 7, while the exhibition is being held on the fourth floor of Craft Lab by YKK through June 15. The venue is a three-minute walk from JR Akihabara Station's Showadori exit. Admission is free. The venue is closed on Sundays.
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