About Me

Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. She moved to Atlanta in late 2009. She started to learn Japanese Calligraphy at the age of 6. She has achieved the level of Shihan (師範-Master of Japanese calligraphy). In Japan, when a calligraphist reaches the rank of First DAN, one gets also the GAGOU (雅号, pseudonym) or elegant name. Her GAGOU is “Rika” (梨華). Having a GAGOU means the calligraphist has the license of teaching. Having the honor of a GAGOU is determined by teachers who judge if we deserve one or not. Usually a teacher uses part of her/his name and give part of their for their students’ GAGOU. For my case, ”RI”(梨) is one of my name Yuri (友梨) and “ka”(華) is from her teacher’s GAGOU (松華）

She is on a mission to serve a bridge between Japan and The United States through elements of our modern life which are related to Japanese culture with Kanji utilizing brush and ink. She is good at incorporating the meaning of the words, concept and story into Kanji by using brush and ink. Her powerful brush strokes and techniques fascinate the audience.

 Japanese calligraphy is beautiful, and one of the traditional cultural arts in Japan. It also known as Shodo, which translates to “the way of writing,”. The tradition of calligraphy was first brought to Japan by China in the 6th century A.D. Since its inception Japanese have formed their own style to create a technique unique to Japan. 

    It has been practiced by samurai, nobility, and ordinary people.  It has long been highly esteemed in Japan. There is no definite record of when the Japanese began to use Chinese words—called Kanji in Japanese. Learning Japanese Calligraphy is a great opportunity for your child(ren) to learn not only Hiragana, but also Japanese and Japanese culture! (She teach in Japanese and English.) Japanese Calligraphy improves the power of concentration and practice of meditation/mindfulness. Which will help to improve attention and behavior problems, and reduce anxiety of your kids.

Meditation has been thought to benefit overall mental health in kids, as it’s been shown to help adults as well.