Category: Art

by Michael Gillan Peckitt June 25, 2026 Number of comments0
Art Disability Imperial Family Japan

Princess Kiko and Princess Kako Visit Exhibition of Artists with Disabilities

On the morning of June 24th, Princess Kiko of Akishino and her second daughter, Princess Kako of Akishino, viewed an exhibition featuring works by artists with disabilities from around the world. The exhibition displays 62 selected works chosen from submissions by more than 1,300 artists from around the world. The two princesses viewed, among other pieces, a work by a Japanese artist who used ironing beads (fused beads) to depict memorable dishes from their life.

by Michael Gillan Peckitt December 16, 2025 Number of comments0
Art Disability Japan Writing

Debut author Saou Ichikawa enters global spotlight with “Hunchback”

“Hunchback,” a novel by Japanese author Saou Ichikawa, is rapidly gaining international recognition, earning nominations for several major Western literary awards despite being the writer’s first published book. Ichikawa, who relies on a ventilator and electric wheelchair due to an incurable congenital muscle disorder, has drawn praise from critics who describe the novel’s global rise as an “unprecedented achievement.”

by Michael Gillan Peckitt September 29, 2025 Number of comments0
Art Disability Japan Podcast

The First Paragraphs of a New Story by Akutagawa Prize Winning Author with Disabilities, Saou Ichikawa [Podcast Episode]

Saou Ichikawa was born in 1979. Diagnosed in childhood with congenital myopathy, a rare disease that causes muscle weakness, and has used a ventilator since age 14. Ichikawa graduated in March 2023 from Waseda University’s School of Human Sciences correspondence program. Her thesis “The Reciprocal Influence Between the Representation of Disabled People and Real Society” won the Ono Azusa Memorial Academic Prize. Her debut novel “Hunchback” won the 169th Akutagawa Prize in July 2023. Her most recent book, to be published in September 2025 is “A Girl’s Spine”.