About Us

Washu-Kai is an organization of Japanese brush painters officially formed in 2000 by Kazuko S. Reynolds, whose painting name was Washu. She was born in Tokyo in 1920 and came to the United States in 1958. She worked tirelessly to build connections through the teaching of Japanese culture and the arts. Her efforts were recognized in 1999 when the Japanese Consul General in Los Angeles presented her with a Distinguished Service Award for lifetime accomplishments in her field and forging better understanding and friendship between nations. Her work has been exhibited in China, Japan, and throughout the U.S. Although a master artist, she found joy in teaching others and seeing their success. Ms. Reynolds died at age 91 in 2011.

The purpose of Washu-Kai is to carry on the tradition and teaching of traditional Japanese brush painting, called sumi-e or suiboku-ga. It is a form of Asian painting that seeks to capture the essence or spirit of a subject with elegant, well formed brush strokes, each purposefully loaded to create multiple tones of ink or color within a single stroke. It requires only ink (pine soot and glue) or color, rice paper, brush, and water.

Washu-Kai is an affiliate member of the San Diego Botanical Garden Foundation and meets monthly on the first Wednesday at Balboa Park. The organization hosts an annual 2-day exhibition of members’ paintings each November in the Prado building at Balboa Park.

Washu Sensei is writing the word "peace".