Today is referred to as the coldest day in winter. It has been a really cold winter. However, the sunlight is becoming brighter and brighter.
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今日が大寒に当たるようです。この冬は本当に寒いです。けれども、日差しは明るくなってきました。
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Large drops of stars/
Remembering/
It is the coldest season/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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I feel that I have a dream almost every night lately, but almost every morning I can’t recall what it was. Anyhow, this is “auspicious dream”.
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このところほぼ毎晩のように夢を見ているようですが、ほぼ毎朝覚えていません。でも、とりあえず『瑞夢』です。
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This is the seasonal phrase for mid-January, which means male Japanese pheasants begin singing. However, again, I don’t think I have seen pheasants in my life, so I have no idea what their voices are. As I have no clear pictures of them, I tried two versions. I wonder if they live nearby, in Tadasunomori forest for instance.
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1月半ばの七十二候の名称で、雄の雉が鳴き始めるという意味らしいですが、残念ながら、またも、雉を見たことがありませんし、どういう声で鳴くのかも分かりません。それでイメージも湧きませんし、二通り書いてみました。雉は近くに生息しているのでしょうか、例えば糺の森などに。
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In our lives, there had been so much sorrow. And it seems sorrows never stop to occur.
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これまでたくさんの悲しみがありました。これからも悲しみは無くならない。
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Even sorrow be/
Rainbow in winter/
If thrown into the sky/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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My friend who figured out this new idea gave me more materials to write on. However, for some reason or other, the new ones don’t look as good. I can’t pinpoint the cause for this now, however, I think it maybe because of the quality of both the wood and the ink I used. I will try other kinds of ink to find the best one for this.
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このアイデアをくださった友人がもっと書くようにと新しいものをくれましたが、何故か以前のものほどいい感じではありません。理由はきちんと分からないのですが、木材と私が使った墨の材質によるのかしらと考えています。これに最適のものを見つけるためにいろんな墨を試そうと思います。
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When cleaning my house, things old and forgotten come out one after another. The inkstick has a Chinese zodiac symbolic animal and it happens to be the one for this year (the Ox, out of the 12). However, I have no idea when it was made, or how many cycles ago. On the thick paper for calligraphy is a phrase 明 (bright) 珠(beads) 在(exists) 掌(palm); which as a whole, means the treasure is (already) in your palm. Again, I have no idea how old it is.
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家の中を片付けていると、古くて、全く忘れていたものが出てきます。まず、干支をあしらった墨で、ちょうど今年の丑年のものですが、何周り前のものか分かりません。色紙もずいぶん古いもので、「明るい珠（つまり宝物）は掌に在る」、つまり宝物は既に手の中にあるという意味。もう何年前のものだったか全く分かりません。
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An important friend of mine I got acquainted at a calligraphy exhibit held in November, 2017 in Poland asked me to write some words related to music and learning for her three good friends. Unfortunately, I only came up with words and characters about music and wrote the six ones at the top. I hope all the ladies will like one or two out of these works.
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2017年11月にポーランドで開かれた書展で知り合った彼の地の大事な友人から、自分の3人の友人たちのために音楽や勉学についての言葉を書いてほしいと頼まれました。
残念ながら音楽に関する言葉しか思いつきませんでした。皆さんがこのうちの1点か2点を気に入ってくださればいいのですが。
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The photo shows small but attractive article for calligraphy-loving people. An amazing idea of a very long-time, good friend of mine realized this. I hope to see many of these used by many people.
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小さいけれども、書の好きな人には魅力的な小物だと思います。長年の大事な友人の素晴らしいアイデアによるものです。たくさんの人たちがこれを使うのを見てみたい。
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It is a sleety morning. However, the weather forecast says the temperature will go down and will be snowy. I hope this phrase for this season that suggests “frozen fountain under the soil begins to move” holds true.
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今はみぞれが降っていますが、これから更に気温が下がって雪になるそうです。この時期を表す「地中の凍った泉が動き始める」というこの語句が本当でありますように。
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This is a beautiful character, I believe, with both beautiful form and meaning. I am thinking I will develop the one I posted the other day into a big piece; while I feel like making this one into a postcard piece.
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姿も意味も美しい漢字だと思います。以前のものはそこから大きな作品にもっていきたいと考えていますが、これは逆にいずれポストカード作品にしたいと思います。
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People almost automatically want to go to Shinto shrines in the New Year. Their purpose of paying a visit to shrines, of course, is to make wishes to gods.
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お正月になるとほとんど無意識に初詣に行こうとします。それはもちろん神頼みのためです。
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First visit to the shrine/
Tons of wishes/
Swirling at the dwelling of deity/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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“Write your own poems” said my second calligraphy teacher. Then immediately I thought I could never write haiku’s or tanka’s. Later, however, I had a second thought that copyright issues will never bother me as far as I choose my own poems as motifs for my calligraphic works.
The first half of the piece is my tanka about my mother’s joy and gratitude when she saw the beauty of the Venus and the moon shining close to each other that we saw while taking a wheel chair walk in one evening; the latter half is my haiku which I wrote about my fancy afterward that we flew in the evening sky together.
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「自分で作った歌を書きなさい」と今の先生がおっしゃったのですが、初めはそんなこと出来ないと思いました。けれども、自作の句や歌なら著作権の心配をしなくて済むからいいと思うようになりました。
作品の前半は、夜の車椅子散歩のときに月と金星が接近しているときの美しさを母が喜び、感謝さえしたという短歌で、後半はそのまま空想の中で二人で夜空を跳んだという俳句です。
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“A person of virtue does not stand alone. They always have others around.” For the first time in a while, I brought out an old model by my first teacher. I felt nervous.
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『徳は孤ならず 必ず隣り 在り』久しぶりに先生のお手本を出してきました。ちょっと緊張してしまいます。
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Following the very old custom, today, January 7th, I cooked rice porridge with seven kinds of herbs of spring time. As many of you may know, one of the herbs is Japanese parsley that appears in the article I posted yesterday. When cooking the porridge, I used packed herbs I bought at a nearby grocery store and some long-forgotten sticky rice for pounding “mochi”, which fortunately caused no problems.
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やはりそれが習慣だからと思い、七種粥を作りました。そのうちの１種の芹は、昨日の投稿に出てきます。スーパーで買ってきたパック入り七種と長い間放置していた餅米で作りましたが、問題なかったです。
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Sat at the table alone/
To celebrate the New Year/
With porridge with seven herbs/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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This seasonal phrase is for around the second week of January. It means “Japanese parsleys grow smoothly”. I like this leaf vegetable in hot pot cuisine.
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１月1週目辺りの七十二候の名称で、芹がよく育つということらしいです。私はお鍋に入っているのが好きです。
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In the New Year, people pay a formal visit to a shrine, where many of them draw their first written oracles of the year.
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お正月には初詣。初詣には初御籤。
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Looks like love magic/
Old kana orthography/
Year’s first written fortune/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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“Surge, pulse”. I am hoping to create some kind of art piece starting from this point. One of the translations of “energy”. I think this phrase has a larger dimension than it simply looks.
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これからこのモチーフで何枚か書いて、作品のレベルまでもっていきたいと考えています。『波動』です。世界が拡がる言葉だと思います。
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〜Collaboration 道徳経〜
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I found this one, the very first collaboration with my late mother and myself while I was putting her calligraphy in order. I asked her to write an Ensō and then I wrote a passage from Tao Te Ching on it. It was for my first solo exhibition in 2009.
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亡母の書を整理していて、この母との共作の第一作目を見つけました。2009年に開いた初めての個展用に母に円相を書いてもらって、私が老子の道徳経から一節を重ねました。
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The first seasonal phrase of the year is this, “under the coverage of snow, wheat sprouts”. It has been very cold these days, however, this morning, the dazzling sunshine is making it a very bright morning. This joyful phrase sounds exciting.
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年の初めの七十二候の名称はこれです。とても寒い日が続いていますが、今朝は眩しい陽射しの明るい朝です。麦がもう芽吹いているなら嬉しいことです。
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〜Chinese phoenix 鳳鳴朝陽〜
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I thought I would write the letter “陽”, the initial of an important friend’s name and found this phrase, bright morning the sacred Chinese phoenix sings, that means “a person with an excellent ability gains an opportunity to exert his or her motive. I thought it was perfect for him.
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大切な友人の名前の頭文字『陽』を書きたくて探した熟語です。意味は、『すぐれた能力のある人が大きな志を発揮する機会を得ること』。彼にぴったりだと思います。
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This year, the whole world went through difficulties and many things happened to me, as well. However, I enjoyed a lot showing my calligraphy in new scenes like I never did before. Some people I met had beautiful, profound understanding on calligraphy, despite the fact that they themselves don’t actually practice it. While some people just left me wondering how and where they got such absurd ideas about calligraphy. And yet it could be summed up that everything that happened to me this year, I am certain, will stay in myself as precious input for further development as a calligrapher.
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今年は世界中が大変なことでしたし、私にもたくさんのことが起こりました。けれどもそんな中、これまで知らなかった場で私の字を見てもらう機会に多く恵まれて楽しい一年でした。ご自分では筆は執らないけれど書に対して深く理解している人たちもいれば、どうやったら書に対してそんな突拍子もない考えを思いつくの？ と尋ねたくなる人たちもいました。それでも要約すれば、今年私に起こったことは全て書家としての私にとって意義深い糧として私の中に残っていくことと思われるのです。
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This motto meaning “to accomplish a remarkable feat with a high aspiration” comes to my mind as the time is heading towards the end of the year.
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「立派な志をもって、偉大な仕事を為す」という言葉が年末に向かって、頭に浮かんでくるのです。
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I wrote the Heart Sutra on a large linen cloth originally for making a store curtain to exhibit in my first solo exhibition in the beginning of 2009. It was such a long time ago, and it is missing now. Does this mean I have to try again, I wonder?
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2009年の初めに開いた初めての個展のために、大きな暖簾用の麻布に般若心経を書きました。随分と昔のことで・・・この大きな布がどこに行ってしまったのか分からなくなっています。もう一度書かないといけないかな？
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I learned this phrase, the last one for the year means “antlers of elks fall out”. However, again and to my regret, I have no idea about that animal’s biology.
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麋角解。年末最後の七十二候の名称がこれです。「大鹿がツノを落とす」のだそうです。けれども、またまたピンと来ません。残念ですが。
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It was a task at one of the lessons by my second calligraphy teacher. The phrase means “to give deep thoughts to ancient heritage and shed lights to the present”, exactly what we must do when working on this culture and art called calligraphy that takes prides in thousands of years of history and tradition.
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これは今の先生のお稽古での課題でした。意味としては、古に思いを馳せ現在を照らすということで、まさに書という何千年の歴史・伝統を誇るこの文化であり芸術であるものに取り組む際になすべきことです。
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I learned this phrase means some kind of plants, prunella spikes, sprout around this time. However, I have no idea what kind of plants this is and I have no idea what connotation this phrase carries, either. One more thing I learned was this was a kind of medical herb.
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この時期には夏枯草という植物（草）が芽吹くという意味らしいですが、これのことを全く知りませんので、だからどういうことなの？ ということも分かりません。薬草の一種らしいですが。
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This is just another busy day in the end of the year for many of the neighborhood ladies.
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年末だからご近所さんたち、みんな忙しそう。
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On Christmas cards/
You will refrain from/
Writing vertically/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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My father passed away on Christmas Eve seven years ago. A lot of flowers were blooming on the little sasanqua tree in my garden. Until then, it was just one of the little trees in my little garden, however, it is now something special.
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父が亡くなったのは、7年前のクリスマスイブでした。庭の山茶花が満開でした。それまでその木は何ということもない庭木でしたが、今では何かしら特別のもののように思えます。
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Sasanqua blossoms deepen their color/
Year after year/
I think of my father/
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From the viewpoint of astrology, the time has shifted from the time of earth energy that lasted more than 200 years to that of air energy.
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And thus, it is “wind or air”, my favorite letter but very difficult.
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西洋占星術の観点からすると、200年以上続いた地の時代から風の時代へと移ったところです。
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それで『風』です。好きな字ですが、難しい。
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Lots of things happened to my life this year. I was fortunate to participate in a couple of marchés where I was even more fortunate to meet with other exhibitors and visitors with luxuriant sensitivity toward the art of calligraphy and had a good talk with them.
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今年はたくさんのことがありました。いくつかのマルシェに初めて参加させてもらいました。そして、書に対する豊かな感性を持つ他の出展者や来場者などとお話出来て良かったです。
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Today falls on the Winter Solstice. This is my own haiku on this occasion. I have been trying hard to write my own haiku for calligraphic activity.
Tender steam/
Should be the leading character/
Bath on the winter solstice/
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今日は冬至ですが、冬至をネタにした自作の俳句です。この数年、書の作品用に俳句を作ろうとしています。
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柔らかき湯気こそ主役冬至の湯
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First of all, I would like to extend my warm, sincere thanks to all those who came by my booth during these two days.
The organizer of this event says there are nearly 700 booths. I walked around the venue and found out many of the booths carried accessories of some kind. And the one that had calligraphic works was only my booth, in other words, I literally was the unique exhibitor in this vast venue. However, that means at the same time, that there is little demand for such goods. Thus I renewed my resolution to spread this amazing culture and art with thousands of years of history to the whole world.
Very good things about this event was：
(1) a very important friend of mine said my way of settling up the booth improved a little；
(2) my posts on social media about this event resulted in many positive reactions and encouraging comments.
https://handmade-marche.kyoto/c/2224
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まずは私のブースに立ち寄ってくださった皆さまに厚くお礼を申し上げます。
この催しの事務局によると、全部で700近いブースが出ているそうです。会場を歩き回って分かったことは、その多くが何かのアクセサリーのためのものだということです。また、書作品に特化しているのは私だけ、つまり私はこの大きな会場で文字通り唯一の存在だということです。けれども、それはまたそういったグッズに対する需要がない、ということにもなります。そこで、この何千年もの歴史を持つ素晴らしい文化・芸術を世界に広める、という決意を新たにしたのでした。
今回この催しで良かったことは、
(1) 大切な友人が、ブースの設営が少し上手になったと褒めてくれたことと
(2) 催しの様子をSNS に投稿したら、好意的な反応や励ましのコメントなどをたくさんもらえたことです。
https://handmade-marche.kyoto/c/2224
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It was my first time to take part in this event. I must say I enjoyed every minute of it. It really was an exciting experience, seeing other booths, talking with other exhibitors and above all, talking with the visitors who looked they were enjoying the event themselves. You can come and enjoy it tomorrow. My booth is D-03.
https://handmade-marche.kyoto/c/2224
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この催しに参加させてもらったのは初めてでした。とても楽しかったです。他のブースを見たり、他の出典者さんたちとお話しするのは実に楽しい経験でしたし、そして、彼ら自身が楽しんでいる来場者たちとお話し出来たのは何よりの経験でした。明日もあります。私のブースはD-03です。
https://handmade-marche.kyoto/c/2224
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This is a new and last announcement about the large-scaled event to be held this weekend at Miyako Messse <https://www.miyakomesse.jp/english/> that I am going to participate in. I hope many people will come to the venue and see what kind of calligraphy mine is. My booth is D-03.
https://handmade-marche.kyoto/c/2224
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いよいよ明日、あさってです。みやこめっせ <https://www.miyakomesse.jp/> で開かれる大きなイベントに参加します。たくさんの人に来てもらって、私の書を見て欲しいと思います。私のブースはD-03です。
https://handmade-marche.kyoto/c/2224
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The seasonal phrase for around this time is “Salmons crowd together and migrate up the rivers.” However, just like the last one, I actually have no idea about salmons’ behavior. I simply can’t be sure if this phrase matches their biology.
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鱖魚群：今ぐらいの時節の七十二候の名称がこれです、つまり、「鮭が群がり川を上る」だそうです。けれども前回同様、私は鮭の生態とかよく知りません。なので、これがこの時節にピッタリかどうか分かりません。
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I practiced copying the calligraphy by my first teacher, the late Mr. Akiyama Kodo (秋山公道), together with the note by his daughter, my present teacher, I found on the same page of an old textbook I used when I was very young.
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久しぶりに先生の書の臨書。それから、昔、若い頃に使っていた本の同じページに載せておられた今の先生の言葉も書きました。
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When your body is empty/
When your heart is empty/
That is the best time for you to look inward/
Just as you realize how precious the water of life is/
When your mouth is dry and hard/
You realize how fortunate to have water of heart from the warmth of the people around you/
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Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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This is the second announcement of a large-scaled event to be held on 19th and 20th, this month at Miyako Messse that I am going to participate in. I hope many people will come to the venue and see what kind of calligraphy mine is. My booth is D-03.
https://handmade-marche.kyoto/c/2224
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先日も書きましたが、今月19、20日にみやこめっせで開かれる大きなイベントのお知らせです。たくさんの人に来てもらって、私の書を見て欲しいと思います。私のブースはD-03です。
https://handmade-marche.kyoto/c/2224
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These days, it is very difficult to meet with someone abroad. I have long been wishing to give these to my precious long-time friend. I wish the world be just like it used to be.
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今度会ったらこれをもらってもらおうと思っている海外在住の古い友人になかなか会えません。早く元通りの世の中に戻って欲しいです。
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My humble writing may not be able to realize this language power, however, I am certain it will never backfire.
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おめでたい兆しが門に集まる。私の字では目的達成は出来ないかも知れませんが、少なくとも逆効果にはならないと思うのです。
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Seasonal phrase around this time is this, “bears hole up for hibernation”. However, actually and luckily, wild bears don’t inhabit where I live, and I am not sure if this phrase fits the season.
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この時期の七十二候の名称は、「熊蟄穴」で、熊が冬眠のために穴に隠れる、という意味だそうですが、幸いなことに実際にはこの辺りに野生の熊はいないので、これがこの時期に合っているのかどうか分かりません。
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Only a small amount of flowing water could pierce a stone if it continues flowing for long, I learned the phrase means. I have been posting on https://yushokai.com on WordPress for a long time. And now, I am very happy to see the numbers of followers and likes are increasing little by little.
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少しの水でも流れ続ければ石も突き通すとか。Wordpressのhttps://yushokai.comももう随分と書き続けていますが、何と、ここへきてフォロワーもいいねも少しずつ増えてきています。嬉しい！
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Below is the URL of the page of my booth at a large-scaled event to be held on 19th and 20th, this month at Miyako Messse. I hope many people will come to the venue and see what kind of calligraphy mine is.
https://handmade-marche.kyoto/c/2224
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次に書きますのは、今月19、20日にみやこめっせで開かれる大きなイベントの私のブースのページのURLです。たくさんの人に来てもらって、私の書を見て欲しいと思います。
https://handmade-marche.kyoto/c/2224
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I got a schedule book for 2021 by my favorite astrologer, Ishii Yukari with her brief prophecy card. It says if the year 2021 for me is liken to a kind of fruits, it would be mandarin orange, which indicates the year will be “abundant”. Surely, the name makes me imagine a tree loaded with lots of fruits. However, it also indicates unpretentious manner, I think.
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大好きな西洋占星術の石井ゆかりさんの一言おみくじ付き来年の手帳を買いました。「一言」は、私の来年は果物に例えると蜜柑だそうです。その心は・・・豊かだ、ということらしいです。確かに、木いっぱいに実る蜜柑が想像されて、豊かでしょうけれど、庶民的だとも考えられますよね。
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The seasonal phrase for around the second week of December is “chi, or life energy of heaven and earth clogs up and the winter season arrives and stays”.
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12月の2週目あたりの七十二候の名称は、「閉塞成冬、つまり天地の気が塞がり冬となる」です。
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It is difficult to compose a good layout when writing a haiku. It is very natural that you want to divide the work into three parts according to the poem’s composition. However, doing so will just make a pretty lame and poor-taste piece. Because as a general rule, haiku’s have only seventeen syllables, it is very difficult to figure out a good layout.
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俳句を書くのは難しいです。つい三つのパートごとに三行に書きたくなってしまいますが、それではダサくて良くありません。普通は十七音しかないので散らしが難しいのです。
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More sasanqua blossoms/
Are falling than/
Blooming/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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It was this reddish paper that I picked up when I thought I would write “Stream of water”. Somehow, I almost always do perverse things. This photo is meant to be on the work list of a marché. Would anyone like it, I wonder?
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『水の流れ』と書きたいと思って手に取ったのが、この赤っぽい紙。どうしても普通の考え方とは逆のことをしてしまいます。あるマルシェ用の作品リストに載せるために撮った写真ですが、誰か気に入ってくれるかしら？
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On my way home after spending delightful time, the bleak lake’s surface held my attention.
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楽しく過ごした後で、帰り途で見た湖面は寒々しい気がしました。
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Shaky shadows of pine trees/
On the surface of the lake/
Rugged in winter/
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Translation and calligraphy by Chio
The phrase for this season, around the first week of December is “Leaves of Citrus tachibana trees begin to turn yellow”. Only, where can I find the trees, I wonder in the Old Imperial Palace or in the botanical garden?
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12月の初めの七十二候の名称は「橘始黄」ですが、どこに行ったら確かめられるのでしょう。御所かな、植物園かな？
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I am trying to sort out my works by their sizes and types for the record. The photo shows a big hanging scroll of a dreamy poem by Li He, a translunary poet of mid-Tang dynasty. This one was for a group exhibition I presided over in 2013.
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たくさん溜まっている作品をサイズや種類で整理しようとしています。この大きな軸は2013年に主宰したグループ展のために書いた、李賀という唐代中期の幻想詩人の詩です。
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While cleaning, I found my work at least 10 years back on a strip of paper. I can’t help noticing poor parts.
As yesterday was the first day of the month, I paid a formal visit to Shimogamo Shrine. The autumn foliage on the shrine grounds were already like the photo shows.
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掃除をしていたら軽く10年以上前に書いた短冊が出てきましたが、拙いところばかりが目につきます。
昨日はお一日だったので、下鴨神社に参詣しました。境内の紅葉はもうこんな感じです。
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Its headstream goes up to the/
Galaxy/
Valley of autumn colored leaves/
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Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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