Meitokai

Greetings and welcome to the Meito Shodo-Kai website. Meito Shodo-Kai (Meito Japanese Calligraphy Association) – established in 1996 as a non-profit organization by students of the Akashi USA calligraphy schools – is the largest Japanese calligraphy association in the United States with over one hundred members, many of whom have received top awards at prestigious calligraphy competitions in Japan and the US. Its main purpose is to promote the tradition of Japanese calligraphy in the US through education and exhibition, and the Association received the Best Calligraphy Association in U.S. Award in 1996 and 1997 from Japan Calligraphic Art Academy.	Yoshiyasu Fujii New Blog Fushou-ki Start!	Meito Shodo-Kai President and Founder Akashi USA President Yoshiyasu Fujii
The Association celebrated its 10th Anniversary in 2006 with an exhibition at the Seattle Center. The exhibition’s theme, “Kishin – Returning to one’s true self,” explored the idea of looking back on one’s history and returning to the unclouded purity of one’s origins. Meito Shodo-Kai looks to also promote the joy of studying calligraphy and welcomes calligraphy enthusiasts of all levels to join – the association has just started group classes taught by members for anyone wanting to get a taste of calligraphy (1 hour/week for 3 weeks). The Association takes part in various events in the Seattle area including Sakura Matsuri (Seattle Center) and the Eastside Japan Festival (Bellevue Community College). This year will be the first time Meito Shodo-Kai will participate as an exhibitor at Sakura-Con (Washington State Trade and Convention Center).		Master Calligrapher Yoshiyasu Fujii (b. 1963, Fukuoka, Japan) began calligraphy studies at the age of five, in his childhood home of Saga, Japan. He attended Daito Bunka University and studied under Master Calligrapher Shumpo Akashi, with whom he would continue to study until Akashi’s death in 1995. While studying with Akashi, Fujii studied sumie painting and pursued his interest in the history, not only of Japanese calligraphy, but of Chinese classical calligraphy in addition to all of the traditional calligraphy writing styles. Fujii is the recipient of many honors, including top award at Mainichi Calligraphy Competition, Japan’s oldest, largest, and most prestigious calligraphy competition, in 1990 and 1992. He has served as assistant judge at the Mainichi Calligraphy Competition and is the only calligraphy instructor in the U.S. licensed by the Japanese Ministry of Education.
Akashi USA was originally founded by Shumpo Akashi, one of the great calligraphy masters of the late twentieth century, whose goal was to make Japanese calligraphy better known throughout the United States. In addition to the main school located in Redmond, WA near the Microsoft campus, Akashi USA calligraphy schools are also located in the west coast cities of Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, and in Kyushu, Japan. All levels of calligraphy are taught at Akashi USA, from beginners to the very advanced, and students are welcome to join Meito Shodo-Kai (separate annual fee applies). Akashi USA Founder Shumpo Akashi (b. 1929, d. 1995)		Fujii was a guest lecturer at Whitman College (Walla Walla, WA) as well as the Japan America Community Culture Center (Los Angeles, CA). Fujii’s profound knowledge and mastery of the technique and history of calligraphy are the key to his freedom in creativity. Though he devotes a great deal of his time and efforts in continuing his teacher's legacy to promote the cultural and academic education of Japanese calligraphy - Fujii succeeded Akashi as president of Akashi USA after Akashi's untimely death in 1995 - Fujii is also passionate about expanding the art of calligraphy as a legitimate art form in the Western world.
Career Highlights 1958: Winner of the Shodanin Calligraphy Exhibit Prime Ministerial Cabinet Prize 1960: Begins study under Otei Kaneko 1983: Becomes judge at Nitten Calligraphy Exhibition 1988: Becomes calligraphy instructor for Japan Sumo Federation 1990: Becomes professor of literature at Toyo University 1991: Establishes Akashi USA in Redmond, WA. It becomes the first officially accredited calligraphy school in the United States. 1993: Calligraphy demonstration at Bumbershoot Arts Festival, Seattle, WA		He has been involved in many artistic ventures outside of the traditional calligraphy arena, and has worked on projects with fashion designer Shu Uemura (body painting for fashion show), Microsoft Game Studios (calligraphy work for the Jade Empire Xbox game), and non-profit organization Voice Library in Japanese (title calligraphy for audio books). Fujii is currently experimenting further and has been working on pieces that combine calligraphy with his other passion, photography.