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I AM FEARLESS

Challenging traditions boldly
Traditions. Customs. Cultures.
Don’t we need evolution for some some common preconceptions?

At The Prisoner, we are constantly creating adventurous and unconventional wines by relentlessly pursuing the evolution and innovation of wines produced using traditional methods.

The ‘I am Fearless’ campaign is a collaboration with calligrapher Tomoko Kawao, an artist constantly challenging and reinventing traditional art through her calligraphy in a similar way.

Overturning tradition to find new light, unafraid of defying customs, and expressing an “I am Fearless” outlook with greater boldness, strength, and ambition.

ARTIST/CALLIGRAPHER

TOMOKO KAWAO

川尾朋子

Tomoko Kawao began Japanese calligraphy at the age of six and has won many domestic and international competitions. She began studying under renowned calligrapher Shoshu in 2004. While studying traditional calligraphy, she created her “Correlation” series focusing on the trajectory of her aerial brushstrokes. In recent years, she explored new possibilities for calligraphy such as her “Hitomoji” project —inserting herself into the written characters—and her “21st Century Renmen” series—writing English words vertically. Her work has appeared in the opening credits of NHK historical drama Yae no Sakura, on signs at JR Kyoto Station and Hankyu Arashiyama Station, in a performance at TEDxKyoto, on a stone monument at Ei’un-in Temple in Kyoto, and much more.

ARTIST/CALLIGRAPHER

TOMOKO KAWAO

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LOOK BOOK

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VIDEO

INTERVIEW

THE PRISONER RED BREND

“A different version of myself appears in that moment
when I become one with the brush to create a work.”

We spoke with Calligrapher Tomoko Kawao, who has impressed a wide array of audiences in Japan and around the world. With works that dramatically impact viewers and dynamic art performances that feature an enormous brush, her bold and energetic style is popular and her calligraphy is critically acclaimed in Japan and internationally. She is an artist that is constantly taking on new challenges and creating new works that go beyond traditional calligraphy concepts, such as her Hitomoji Project where she physically incorporates herself into the artwork as one stroke of a character — illustrating her thoughts on calligraphy and channeling her adventurous mindset.

THE PRISONER RED BREND

She realized that calligraphy was her identity

Q: How did you first start calligraphy?

When I was young, I was a tomboy and always played with boys outdoors in the mountains or the rivers. And when my mother saw that, she started taking me to calligraphy lessons. That’s how I started calligraphy.

Q: And how did calligraphy become your profession?

I started to look for a job in a company when I was in my fourth year of university, and I was happy when I received an offer, but I realized my fondness for calligraphy was also growing stronger at the time. I thought of pursuing calligraphy as a hobby going forward, when I really started to feel that calligraphy expresses my identity. So, I gave up on the job offer and decided to become a calligrapher.

I thought about how we only get one life, and I wondered what the rest of my life would be like if I didn’t do what I wanted to do. But, if someone close to me were in a similar situation now, I’d definitely tell them that taking up a normal job is better and stop them from following my path (laughs). But I also thought to myself at the time that if nothing comes out of it by the time I turn 35, then I should probably give up on my dream of being a calligrapher.

This is even in the words of Zeami. I thought that since I’d been doing calligraphy for such a long time, I’d better quit if my skills and career have no development when I turn 35. But I continued to pursue my passion as a calligrapher because I had a number of successes and completed pieces that I was content with by the time I was 30.

THE PRISONER RED BREND

She wants to better express women’s concerns through calligraphy

Q: Please tell me about your ongoing Hitomoji Project.

It’s been ten years now since I created the Hitomoji Project, incorporating myself into a written character to complete it. Calligraphy is an in-the-moment, spontaneous art. And we ourselves also only have right now; this present moment, as we’re constantly getting closer to death in reality. And so, the Hitomoji Project began with the idea of placing my physical self into the work of calligraphy as one of the strokes of a written character and photographing a momentary self-portrait.

Back then, I heard a lot of concerns and anxiety from women in their late 30s, women from my generation. They worried about so many different things — whether they could have a career and a marriage at the same time, whether they should quit their jobs or not, have children or not, and whether they should get married or not. Even Japanese women with many blessings in their lives still worry about these things. And so, as I thought about how women quitting their jobs and becoming homemakers after marriage is such a common phenomenon in Japanese culture today, I started wondering about how other women around the world lived.

And so, I began the “Hitomoji Project – Woman”, just from the idea that maybe since as a calligrapher I could create works with the people facing these concerns incorporated into a written character, and if more people could see my works, I could show the problems women are facing and inundated with nowadays in a more easily comprehensible way.

Much of what this project is requires me to go out to different locations and conduct interviews to understand the issues. I was surprised by just how poor Japan’s gender gap figures were, despite Japan being a wealthy country by global standards. Learning that women in other countries felt “incredibly happy” despite working hard every day in poverty opened my eyes to new values and philosophies. It motivated me to reconsider how I should live my life.

THE PRISONER RED BREND

The charm of calligraphy is that there are no do-overs

Q: What aspect of calligraphy is appealing to you?

That there are no do-overs. Once I start with my brush, I have to keep going until the end. I think that what appeals to me most about calligraphy is that, just like in life, you can’t start over, you can’t go back to the beginning, you can only move forward.

Q: What are your intentions when creating a piece?

I really think a lot about whether it’s a work that I, someone born in this age and living in this current moment, should create. I also think that the message my work will convey is very important, so I’m conscious of how I can express a sentiment about our surrounding environment, societal circumstances, and times with my calligraphy, as well as whether the work I create will make an impact.

Q: Where does your will to take on new challenges come from?

Once I have my mind set on creating a certain kind of work and there’s something I have to do to get it done, I will take on that challenge. When it comes to creating a new work, I’ll do whatever it takes. I feel a very strong sense of urge at times like that, and I’ll be sure to do it no matter what.

Q: Could you tell me how you feel when you’re creating a work?

I think that because there’s an energy that I only get when I’m creating a work, I want to make full use of it and embrace the challenge. When I’m creating calligraphy, I feel like I’m living my best life, I’m living in the present moment. And in those moments, I feel as though all kinds of physical particles are flying out from my body. I become one with the calligraphy brush and am at my best moments as I consider how much ink to absorb into the brush and I enjoy every moment of repeatedly painting up and down over the paper with my brush strokes. Although I am of course a calligrapher, I try to momentarily forget the fundamental concepts of calligraphy, think about how I could compose the work, and reconstruct everything as I create it.

Q: What do you mean by “the fundamental concepts of calligraphy”?

A brush, black ink, an ink stone and paper are said to be the four fundamental tools for calligraphy, but what if we cast away all of those and create something different? I often think about what would happen if I got rid of all the things that we “must” use in calligraphy.

THE PRISONER RED BREND

Just like in life, there are no do-overs

Q: Of all the challenges you’ve taken on so far, which one has been the most daunting?

First, I think that would have to be my decision to become a calligrapher [laughs]. And then, of course, the making of the “Hitomoji Project – Woman –”, where I interviewed women from around the world, worked with each woman to find a character that expressed her present state, and then have her actually insert herself physically into that written character in my art.

The project also involves traveling abroad alone, finding women that I can interview and then creating the work, so I think that’s rather challenging. When I stayed in France for a month creating the artworks, I approached women directly and asked if I could interview them as I tried to connect with them. They are people who made me wonder how they lived and what their day-to-day lives were like.

And then, there were other women that I wanted to talk to after learning more about their background and where they live etc. For example, because the Netherlands is said to be the country where children are the happiest, I looked for young women to interview there. I thought about the circumstances of each country and looked for the people there whom I wanted to hear from myself. It’s being fearless, you know, as I had to bother so many different people to create my works.

Q: What do you have in common with The Prisoner?

I think that wine and calligraphy both have incredibly long histories, and they’re both made from the wonders of nature. Roughly 2,000 years have passed since the very first calligraphy tools were used, but we’re still creating works using those same tools today. In this context, I’d like to create works unrestrained by tradition while still showing respect to that tradition. I think The Prisoner is similar in how it strives to build something new from traditional foundations.

THE PRISONER RED BREND

She becomes fearless in that moment when she picks up the brush

Q: What does being fearless mean to you?

Doing calligraphy means being unafraid of failure. I’m convinced that failing when being bold and not following convention simply can’t be avoided. Maybe I’ll feel like a failure in those moments. But I won’t be able to move on to whatever comes next without that step, and I’ll see the situation differently with time. I’ll never move forward if I just keep doing the same thing forever. And to do that, I have to go beyond typical expectations. I think that taking on a challenge means deciding to do something different. I won’t discover anything new if I’m always doing the same thing, so I keep trying to take on new challenges without any fear for failure.

Q: Is Tomoko Kawao the calligrapher different from the ordinary Tomoko Kawao?

People say I’m only serious when I’m creating calligraphy [laughs]. They say that I become a different person when I’m doing calligraphy, you know. A different version of myself appears in that moment when I become one with the brush to create a work. That’s when I become fearless.

Q: What is calligraphy to you?

It’s life. I feel like it’s what makes my heart beats.

Q: What challenges do you want to take on with calligraphy in the future?

I’d like to hold Hitomoji Project exhibitions around the world and complete the online content for it. I hope that people viewing my works will take on new perspectives from the different messages from them. Each viewer will feel and react differently, but I do hope that my works can awaken new possibilities within each viewer.

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LIMITED BOX

THE PRISONER RED BREND
THE PRISONER RED BREND

THE PRISONER WINE
I AM FEARLESS LIMITED GIFT BOX

Our limited edition “I am Fearless” gift box was created in partnership with Tomoko Kawao, a famous shodō artist in Japan today with internationally acclaimed calligraphy. Her modern sensibility of reinterpreting traditional Japanese calligraphy for the here-and-now features a “Fearless” approach; a will to challenge traditions and forge new paths.

OUR WINES

THE PRISONER
CHARDONNAY

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THE PRISONER
PINOT NOIR

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THE PRISONER
CABERNET SAUVIGNON

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THE PRISONER
RED BLEND

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