Yoko
Arano
Arano
Calligraphy
Artist
Artist
Story ︎︎︎
A short walk from her new residence, there’s a long narrow snowy path to Yoko Arano’s calligraphy studio. There she writes through a career spanning 60 years; the only sound if not for us, a kettle whistling on the gas stove.
Yoko Arano has been named to be a “local legend” in Hokkaido, Japan. During our visit, we watched her write “雪炎” for a client, which translates to “snow flame”—relating to the snow-inspired ceramics he makes. “雪”, meaning “snow”, is also her signature word, which you’d see a few times in the photo series.
Despite consuming much of her energy, she invited us to sit for tea and sweets after, learning about our names and what they meant.
It was such an honour to watch Arano’s artistry in motion, made even more special by the little gestural exchanges and attempts to speak the other’s language, sharing as much as we can during our time together.
Yoko Arano has been named to be a “local legend” in Hokkaido, Japan. During our visit, we watched her write “雪炎” for a client, which translates to “snow flame”—relating to the snow-inspired ceramics he makes. “雪”, meaning “snow”, is also her signature word, which you’d see a few times in the photo series.
Despite consuming much of her energy, she invited us to sit for tea and sweets after, learning about our names and what they meant.
It was such an honour to watch Arano’s artistry in motion, made even more special by the little gestural exchanges and attempts to speak the other’s language, sharing as much as we can during our time together.