Takahashi Masami

In December 2005, on my third trip to Japan, I met and photographed shodo master Takahashi Masami, in Kitakata. It was a sunny and cold day, a great experience and really inspiring shooting. My personal research about Japan was at the beginning, and then I decided to call it "The Creative Gesture". Takahashi sensei was a very talented and creative calligrapher, his passion was to study and research ancient and archaic pictographs, from China, even before their adoption in the Japanese language. He had a personal style, as you can see from his site.
He was born in 1947 and died in November 2015.
Was elegant, with his own style, notable for a small town like Kitakata, his studio was close to mother's in love house, was kind to talk to me every time we meet in the street, in his awkward english and my japanese even worst. Not big conversation between us, but friendly and intelligent.
My mother in law asked him to draw and realise a rakkan for me, is the stone stamp, the personal seal every Japanese use on official documents and artist use to sign their works, you can see on all my pictures in yellow. To do this he used antique kanji for express the sound of my name and my profession.
I'm very sorry for his early departure, will be missed for his art and bright personality.
All photos were taken with natural light from a window, and the portrait with artificial ambient light.

Photo © Flavio Gallozzi - All rights reserved.

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