Leaves of Words: Nemoto, Nakazawa and Yamamura at Ippodo Gallery

Ippodo Gallery in TriBeCa will present Leaves of Words from October 30 to December 5, 2026, a three-person exhibition devoted to kana, the phonetic script that grew out of abbreviated Chinese characters in ninth-century Japan. Calligrapher Satoshi Nemoto, iron artist Tsuneo Nakazawa and lacquer artist Shinya Yamamura each approach the script through a different material: ink, forged iron and mother-of-pearl inlay.

The title comes from Ki no Tsurayuki's preface to the Kokin Wakashū, compiled around 905, which describes poetry as growing from the human heart into a myriad leaves of words. Kana flourished at the Heian court as the language of poetry and love letters, and it remains Japan's everyday writing. Gallery director Shoko Aono suggests that for visitors who cannot read it, kana can be a doorway rather than a wall, since its rhythm and line register before meaning does.

Nemoto, born in 1984, works with traditional brushes and rare papers in the Heian manner. He shows twelve new works from his "Flow" series in white, brown and blue, built on two waka he composed himself. Some are inked on Echizen washi in layered tones; others use gofun, a white pigment made from powdered shell, on decorated paper. An accompanying essay by Sadako Ohki discusses three of them: Wisteria Trellis, Budding and Willow Waves.

Nakazawa, born in 1973, has forged nine iron works from classical waka centered on the moon and on yūgen, the profound beauty just beyond sight. The poems include verses by Saigyō, Fujiwara no Ietaka, Fujiwara no Yoshitsune and Ōe no Chisato, with texts written out by Nemoto. Using the calligraphic idea of inochige, the "life hair" at the brush's center that produces an unbroken line, he hammers iron into continuous kana that throws shadows onto the wall behind.

Yamamura, born in 1960 and now president of Kanazawa College of Art, contributes lidded boxes, including tea caddies and incense boxes, inlaid with hand-cut abalone and oyster shell shaped into kana characters. The raden technique sets mother-of-pearl into urushi lacquer, and the shell shifts color as the light changes.

The opening reception takes place on October 30 from 6 to 8 PM, and an artist talk with Nemoto and Nakazawa follows on October 31. Private viewings are by appointment.