Japanese Disabled Painter Eager for International Success

Jiji Press

1:00 JST, August 5, 2024

NEW YORK (Jiji Press) — Ryo Sato, a 44-year-old Japanese painter who paints with a pencil in his mouth due to a physical disability, is determined to achieve international success.

Sato, who is from the city of Aomori, showed off his drawing performance at a group exhibition in New York on Thursday.

“If you’re going to draw a picture by yourself [without support from others], it’s pencil” you should use, Sato said.

“I think there’s an infinite number of colors between white and black. It is more gorgeous if the picture has colors, but I want to leave it to the viewers and let them see the colors in each person,” he said.

Initially recognized for his paintings as an elementary school student, Sato temporarily abandoned drawing during junior high school due to the rigorous training involved. He resumed it when he was in his 20s after a friend acknowledged his talent.

Sato is often said to be “like Tomihiro Hoshino,” a late disabled Japanese poet and painter who used a brush in his mouth. “I respect him but my style is different,” he said.

Sato said he hopes to be recognized only by the quality of his paintings, not by how he draws them.