The selected three works correspond to the Gallery Program List #2 Flow "Wisteria Trellis" (Fujidana), "「 藤棚」”; #7 Flow "Budding" (Hōga), "「 萌芽」",; and #8 Flow "Willow Waves" (Ryūrō), "「柳浪」". 

Nemoto brushed Flow "Wisteria Trellis" (Fujidana), "「 藤棚」” on Echizen washi paper made in Fukui prefecture. He repeated the poetic lines of his waka in his mind while he made the general design of the piece. The design of the descending left half is brushed in an orderly manner while the right side expresses irregularity in the length of the columns and the spatial arrangements of the characters. Nemoto explained that he first brushed the kana in light ink. He then viewed the piece from different angles, applying varieties of kana forms in a darker ink, creating irregular formations that adds power to the work. The finished work looks like a flock of birds about to 

take flight.

Flow "Budding" (Hōga), "「 萌芽」", witnesses the artist’s first experiment in applying a white pigment called gofun in place of black ink–traditionally made of ground sea shells mixed with glue–on a dyed sheet of paper. Applying gofun makes the paper less absorbent than ordinary washi. Thus, the gofun does not sink as deeply into the paper, leaving behind pools of white and dense marks. The artist revealed that he had a strong urge to draw from the lower to the upper sections of the page; however, it was impossible because brush lines are always painted from top to bottom. The tension beckons us into a wondrous adventure in a dark forest.

The calligraphic lines of Flow "Willow Waves" (Ryūrō), "「柳浪」" recall the long and sinewy branches of a willow tree blowing in the wind. Nemoto has included liquid spatters of white gofun on his work, enhancing the image of a strong wind blowing against the page. The piece evokes the imagery captured in Nemoto’s waka, suggesting the woven threads of love have begun swaying and taking flight after having gone through heavy entanglements in the forest. 

The contemporary calligrapher Nemoto has opened up a new possibility in the modern art of kana. Rather than drawing a clearly singled out form of kana, he orchestrates them to become a linear symphony. He himself is the composer, the musician, and the conductor, using the fluent and abbreviated forms of kana in his artistic endeavour to touch our hearts. 

How fortunate to have kana calligraphy that can represent a vital identity of unique Japanese written form! Creation of kana went through a messy process of conjuring through chaotic learning, adaptation, and abbreviation. We should not forget that women were at the forefront of  simplifying the kana forms in early history. And today the calligrapher Mr. Nemoto uplifted the kana to be a pattern of melodical traces.