KURASHIKI, Okayama Prefecture--Japanese calligrapher Keiichi Sato is 95 years old and on a mission. “My aim is to get all 100 million people in Japan to develop a splendid writing style,” he says.

Ma, the Met curator, was introduced to the artist in 2010, but she had admired her calligraphy since childhood. “I grew up in Taipei, and I remember that we had a catalog of hers,” Ma recalled. “At ...