Calligraton is a live performance that emerges from the collaboration of the duo Schnitt and Japanese calligrapher Aoi Yamaguchi. The project is developed on two apparently distant forms of expression, experimental sound composition and Japanese calligraphy "shodō".

Shodō: is the art of Japanese calligraphy, which literally means "way of writing". This ancient art form expressed with the creation of Japanese characters, a simple word, an aphorism, a short personal reflection, a poem, goes beyond the simple transmission of meaning by reflecting the spirit of the writer. With a brush on paper, a path is traced that flows from the writer’s inner self, where characters (kanji) and writer become one, representing the calligrapher’s state of mind at the moment of execution.

Schnitt and Aoi Yamaguchi explore in Calligraton the relationship between sound and writing, rhythms, balances, full and empty spaces, sounds and silences confront each other on stage, discovering a profound affinity between sound and sign. The electronic/digital compositional gesture relates to the calligraphic gesture in an intimate conversation that explores the interconnection between the human gesture and the technological element.

Body / Gesture / Action — Shodō as an Art of Movement

Shodō is an art of movement — a dance for both the one who practices it and the one who observes it: a dialogue of gesture, rhythm, speed and stillness, strength and grace.

“The line on the paper, which we see with our eyes, is only a part of the movement that is not seen.
But it is this invisible movement in the void that supports and brings to life the line that we can see.”
— J.K. Kadowaki

Japanese calligraphy requires complete coordination and mastery of the body, posture, breathing, and the brush (fude).
Each line and curve unfolds like a dance, with movements that involve the entire body and create a direct connection between body and paper.

Practicing shodō demands physical discipline that develops over time.
Beyond the repetition of strokes and refinement of technique, the calligrapher learns to control muscle tension, to find the delicate balance between relaxation and strength. Through this repetition, the connection between body and mind deepens, turning the practice into a kind of moving meditation.

The relationship between the body and shodō goes far beyond technical execution.
It becomes a dialogue between the artist’s inner world and the outer one — where the body becomes the medium through which the soul is expressed in brush and ink.

In this way, body, mind, and spirit merge in a creative act that is at once physical and profoundly spiritual.

Sound

In Calligraton, the electronic soundscapes created by Schnitt echo the ideas of Japanese composer Toshio Hosokawa:

“My music is calligraphy painted on the free margin of time and space.
Every single sound has a shape, like a line or a dot drawn with a brush.
These lines are painted on the canvas of silence — and this canvas, the silence itself, must be regarded as equally important as the sounds that emerge.”
— Toshio Hosokawa

In dialogue with an art form entirely free of technology, the rarefied, dense, and compact electronic sounds reveal analogies to the traces left by the brush — decisive or hesitant, fast or slow, thin or thick.

The rhythm of the sound composition intertwines with the rhythm of writing:
sound and gesture step back from the foreground, creating a shared space where silence and expression continuously exchange roles.
This delicate balance defines the pulse and evolution of the entire performance.