－  SHOHA HIDAI Official Site  －

In the center of the front row, Shokin Hidai in black kimono and at the upper left, Shoha. From the left of Shokin, Keikin Hori, Suikin Amano, Hokin Maekawa.

Yasuko had been interested in calligraphy since early childhood and studied calligraphy under Shoen Yoshida after her entrance into the elective course in Tokyo Furitu Dai-San Koto Jogakko (Third Girl's Highschool, Tokyo). However, in the circumstances that Shoen gave up calligraphic activity and she committed Yasuko's education to Shokin Hidai, Yasuko was apprenticed under Shokin at Shogakuin in Kamakura in 1937. From 1940, Yasuko served as an assistant to Shokin at the instruction course of Shogakuin. She learned Kana calligraphy under Shokin and received Kanji calligraphy training from Sokyu Ueda on Shokin's advice.

Yasuko exhibited at ‘Dai Nihon Shodoin-ten’ (Exhibition of Greater Japan Calligraphy Association, exclusive judgement by Tenrai) in 1937, and at ‘Koa Shodo Renmei-ten’ (Exhibition of Association for the Promotion of Asian Calligraphy) in 1939, and she was awarded the prize of Transportation Minister of Republic of China. The cruel war ended and in the middle of confusion of defeat, a variety of new activities in calligraphy rose in the leadership of Tenrai's disciples. Yasuko developed her activities remarkably, such as the recommendation and special prize award by ‘Dai Nikai Nihon Shodo Bijutsuin-ten’ (Second Japan Calligraphy Fine Art Association Exhibition) in 1947 (founded by Shunkei Iijima in 1945), the exhibition by an invitation and the special prize award at ‘Dai Ikkai Shodo Geijutsuin-ten’ (First Shodo Art Association Exhibition, founded in 1947), and so on. Yasuko got the artist name, “Shoha”, and opened up an original way of Sho Art.