〜Copying practice 6 第6弾〜
〜Seasonal phrase 筍の季節〜
The seasonal phrase for this time of the year is this, 竹笋生, which means bamboo shoots grow. You don’t necessarily go to a bamboo forest to find bamboo shoots. You can find them in the backyards of houses or near the plow-fields in rural areas at times. I remember digging out bamboo shoots and eating them at relative’s houses when I was a child. Uncared bamboo shoots never tasted good, though.
.
この時期の七十二候の名称は、『竹笋生』つまり竹の子が生えてくる、のようです。筍は竹林でなくても、田舎の家の裏庭や畑の端の方でも生えていて、子どもの頃には親戚の家などで、掘り出して食べた思い出があります。放ったらかしの筍なんか美味しくはありませんでしたが。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Book of poems 文人とは〜
My first calligraphy teacher was a kind of person called 文人, that is, someone who enjoys elegance and good taste; and is good at artistic hobbies like calligraphy and painting. And like many other of this kind of people, he loved writing traditional kind of poems and published a book of his poetry collection. Looking into this book for materials of my calligraphy, I only ended up practicing to copy his calligraphy on the cover of the book.
.
書の師は文人と呼ばれる人でした。書も画もこなし、風雅の道に心をよせている、というような。短歌の作歌もお好きだったようで、短歌集を出版されています。その中から選んで書きたいと思ってみてみましたが、選びきれず、結局その本の表紙の先生の字を臨書してみただけでした。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Southerly wind 芽を育てる〜
“The balmy, warm southern wind blows over every bud equally, so all the small shoots grow to be large and beautiful.” I thought the phrase well matches this time of year. However, in fact, it is too hot today and there is information of a record-early beginning of the rainy season.
.
凱風とは柔らかで暖かい風。『南から吹く風がどの芽にも分け隔てなく平等に吹くので、全ての小さな芽は大きく美しく育った。』この時期に相応わしい言葉だと思って書きました。ところが今日はとても暑いし、今年は記録的に梅雨入りが早いかもしれないという情報もあります。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Sarasvati 心願成就〜
At the occasion for the annual big ritual at a temple that enshrines Sarasvati, I wrote “earnest prayers be answered”. Then I was asked if that was all and I answered if this one line covers all my wishes, I think the simplest would be the best.
.
近所の弁天さんで、年に一度の大祭で願いごととして『心願成就』と書きました。それだけ？ と聞かれましたが、これで全部を済ませればシンプルでいいと思うので、と答えました。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜What stars imply 純粋な吉祥〜
According to Ms. Ishii Yukari, an astrologist, the arrangement of the stars at present implies “pure auspiciousness”. I found the phrase very delightful.
.
西洋占星術の石井ゆかりさんによると、今の星の配置は純粋な吉祥を示しているそうです。とても嬉しい言葉だと思いました。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Strong scent of the lilies 白いのは無かったのです〜
The photo shows one of the many collaborated works with my late mother. The two big letters “lily” were by my mother and I added my haiku about white lilies. The flower shop I went to today didn’t carry white ones. My entrance is filled with the strong, sweet fragrance characteristic of the flowers now.
.
写真は数多く遺っている母との合作の一つで、母の大きな字「百合」と私の句です。お花屋さんには白百合がありませんでしたが、百合特有の強く甘い香りが玄関に溢れています。
.
O, white lilies/
You forcefully bore/
Blue sky/
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Seasonal phrase ミミズ〜
The seasonal phrase for this time of the year is this, “earthworms crawl out of the ground”. I don’t really care for this kind of chore, but now I am thinking of taking care of my garden trees and flowers.
.
この時期の七十二候の名称は、「蚯蚓出」。ミミズが地上に這い出るという意味だそうで、あまり気が向かないのですが、ちょっと庭木や花壇の手入れでもしようかしらと考えています。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Memories of my mom 母の日に〜
On these fans, I wrote the initial letter of my late mother’s name, a passage from an old children’s song and my favorite phrase, “breaking into a broad smile” for my mother. She used to use a fan quite noisily before falling asleep on the bed on summer evenings. Thus, these all are worn-looking but somehow, I feel like keeping them.
.
亡母のために書いた団扇です。母の名前の字と童歌の一節と「破顔一笑」。母は夏の夜、寝る少し前ベッドで団扇をバタバタと使っていました。それでぼろぼろですが何となく置いています。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Copying practice 5 第5弾〜
As getting older, I often become reminiscent about many old things. At the moment, I am trying very hard to be positive and look into the future. However, at times, I end up taking short breaks because of small troubles.
.
年を取るといろいろのことを思い出します。今は何とか前を向こうとしています。が、細かいところで躓いてしまって、ときに小休止を重ねています。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Difference in male and female 神社の境内に〜
It was just by a chance that I got to know there are peacocks in a nearby shrine. Then, I searched for a haiku and a poem from ancient China with a “peacock” motif. I soon found both but they both are poems on spring season, which means I was a little late to do this.
.
ふとしたことから、近くのお宮さんに孔雀がいることを知りました。そこで、孔雀を題材にした俳句と漢詩を探したところ、両方ともすぐに見つかりましたが、両方とも春の詩で、少々遅かったです。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜This is May カエルの歌〜
This is the first seasonal phrase for the month of May. The sentence is: Frogs begin croaking in plow-land, which imply summer season begins and farm activities also start in earnest.
.
5月最初の七十二候の名称です。田畑で蛙が鳴き始める。つまり、夏が始まり、農作業も本格的に始まるということでしょうか。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Start of summer 先生からのプレゼント〜
Today falls on the first day of summer on the old calendar. Unfortunately, though, it is rainy now and the weather forecast says it will be rainy all day. The photo shows two little works my teacher gave me that I asked to be arranged on a panel board. The right one is his own haiku on this day, the first day of summer.
.
今日は立夏に当たります。雨模様が残念です。写真は、先生からいただいた短冊２作品をパネルにまとめてもらったものです。右側が先生自詠の立夏の句です。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Interesting story 仙人〜
Apparently, this is the original story for the reason people attach much importance to irises on the occasion of Boys festival on Mary 5th: A strange old man said he would obtain immortality by eating irises. But right after he said that he disappeared into thin air. Stories from ancient China about mountain hermits with psychic powers are very interesting. Now I remember that decades ago my teacher wrote a passage as a model for me to practice from an ancient Chinese poem that features an old man with green hair. At that time, I instantly thought I would write the whole poem. But a long, long time has passed since then without my performance.
.
菖蒲は縁起がいいとして端午の節句で重宝される風習の元のお話だとか：おじいさんが菖蒲を食して不老長寿になるとか、でもそのことを言うと即、露のように消えてしまったとか。仙人が出てくる中国の古いお話はとても面白いです。何十年も前のこと、先生が緑色の髪の翁が出てくる詩の一節をお手本に書いてくださいました。そのときすぐ、全文を書こうと思い立ち、それから、実現しないまま随分と年月が経ちました。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Iris festival 初節句〜
This is a part of an old children’s song about carp streamers that people fly to celebrate and wish for boys’ healthy growth and bright future. An acquaintance of mine will be celebrating his son’s first boys festival with his wife. I did this wishing for the baby’s bright, prosperous future.
.
知り合いの坊ちゃんが初節句を迎えるので書きました。明るく豊かな未来を願って。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Comparison to nature 拘りのない心〜
I chose this phrase as a motif for my calligraphy work from a website about Zen words. I learned the passage says that falling flowers, flowing water, moving clouds and sound of flutes don’t adhere to anything; they just come and disappear without leaving any traces.
.
禅語を紹介するサイトから選びました。散る花も水も雲も笛の音も、拘りの心は持っていない。ただ現れては流れ去り、跡を残さない、というようなことらしいです。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Copying practice 4 第4弾〜
I did this part being rather depressed because even if I looked at the models very intensely, somehow or other I couldn’t reproduce the works. However, I was beginning to feel again my teacher’s breathing and his movement of the arm holding the brush.
.
見ても、見ても、見た通りに書けなくて、落ち込みながら書きました。けれども、先生の息遣いや筆を動かされる腕の動きなどの記憶が蘇ってきます。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜April’s last seasonal phrase 牡丹華〜
“Peony flowers open” is the April’s last seasonal phrase. I hope it suggests the arrival of a gorgeous season.
.
4月の最後の七十二候の名称です。華やかな季節の到来ということでしょうか。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Phrase for spring season 雨は降っていますが〜
.
春らしい一節の禅語を探しました。梨の花さく一枝が春の雨に濡れているという穏やかな描写です。雨は確かに降っています。昨日からずっとかなり強い雨が。でも、花咲く梨の木は近くにないんですよね。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Happiness only 今思うこと〜
What I am certain at the moment, without much ground though, is only happiness will come to me and stay with me in the days ahead.
.
今、大した根拠もなく思うのは、これからは私には幸せしかやって来ないということです。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Copying practice and some words 思〜
I practiced copying a work by my teacher and wrote a passage printed under the photo of the work.
.
Thoughts
Many kinds of thoughts are there
At times, a thought you have kept warm
Must change into a sad, pitiable, wistful thought
And then, a new warm thought is born again
That is because we are alive
.
先生のお作品を臨し、その写真の下に印刷されている言葉を書きました。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Making a wish to deity おみくじ〜
Conclusively speaking, this is asking for help to deity. To sum up, it apparently means that things will be getting better.
.
最終的には神頼みになってしまいますが、要約すると、これから良い方向に向かうということのようです。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Offbeat haiku 春の日〜
I chose this haiku as a motif of my calligraphy because I found
something interesting and peculiar in it. However, it may just describe a peacefulness spring day.
.
少し風変わりな気がしたのでこれを選んで書きましたが、ただのどかな春の風景だということかもしれません。
.
Tall pregnant woman/
Going/
Into a spring day/
Calligraphy and translation by Chio
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Seasonal phrase 霜止出苗〜
The seasonal phrase around this time is this, “It is frostless season, so rice seedlings grow”. I remember seeing rice seedlings in father’s natal home. I found them neat and beautiful, for they were almost precisely the same length.
.
この時期の七十二候の名称です。もう霜が降りることもなく、稲の苗が成長する、という意味だそうです。稲の苗は父の実家で見たことがあります。しっかりと長さが揃って成長していて、綺麗なものだと思いました。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Flowering trees 花水木〜
When I was a college student, I took courses in modern American literature, where I read many novels and stories and saw “dogwood trees” so often. In those days, this kind of trees were quite rare, however, they are now found almost everywhere.
.
学生の頃、現代アメリカ文学の講座で、小説も短編小説もたくさん読んで『dogwood trees』を頻繁に見ました。当時はこの木は滅多に見かけませんでしたが、今では至る所にあります。
.
O dogwood trees/
I see you turned completely into/
Japanese trees/
Calligraphy and translation by Chio
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Budding reeds この時期の七十二候〜
The seasonal phrase for this time of the year is this, “Reeds start budding”. I wonder if people living in a watery environment know as much about this phenomenon in nature.
.
『葭始生』この時期の七十二候の名称で、葦が芽吹き出すという意味だそうです。水辺に住んでいる人なら実感があるのでしょうか。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Copying practice 3 第3弾〜
〜Copying practice 3 第3弾〜
.
The photo shows my third practice of the book of models my teacher gave me decades ago. I am afraid the vertical lines don’t extend sufficiently. That is because I can’t be bold enough. Next time, I think I will focus on this.
.
昔いただいた折り手本の復習の3回目です。縦線の下への伸び具合が十分ではありません。思い切れないのです。次回はここを重点的に頑張ります。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Laughing and running 明るい日〜
It invokes a bright, spring day. I think it is a joyful haiku. The “Hometown” here, however, may change its image, that is, whether “something joyful“ or “something sad” depending on each person.
.
春の明るい日を思い浮かべます。楽しい俳句だと思います。ここにある『故郷』は、楽しいか悲しいか、人によって捉え方が変わるでしょうけれど。
.
Breaking down laughing/
Spring breeze comes/
To my hometown/
Calligraphy and translation by Chio
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Spring wind 白居易の詩〜
It is a passage from a poem titled “Spring Wind” by Bai Juyi. You find “plum (ume)”, “cherry”, “apricot”, “peach” and “pear” in it. I chose this passage because it hints both beauty and good taste.
.
白居易の「春風」という詩の一節です。梅に桜に杏に桃に梨が出てきます。綺麗で美味しそうなのでこれを選びました。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Steady rain all day よく降りましたよ
It rained really heavily and steadily all day yesterday. And so, what you see here is a symbol of water, “rain” and “water”, quite a simple idea, though.
.
昨日は一日中しっかりと降りました。そこで、水の象徴と、「雨」と「水」です。単純ですが。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Convenient way of displaying 思う、思い〜
This is a simple and convenient way of displaying a small work of calligraphy, such as form of postcards. I was very happy to find this frame. The character is “to think” or “thoughts”.
.
ハガキ作品のような小さな書作品を飾る手軽な額です。これを見つけたときは、とても嬉しく思いました。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜First rainbows 見たいですよ、それは！〜
.
この時期の七十二候の名称、「虹始見」です。雨の後に虹が見え始めるということらしいです。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Pleasant spring day 光がいっぱい〜
“Light, splendor, radiance”. It is warm and bright today and there is so much light around.
.
『光輝燦然』今日は暖かくて、明るい光をいっぱい感じられます。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Dolls Festival Day in the old calendar 今日まで飾れる〜
Today falls on March 3rd, the Dolls Festival day, in the old, lunar calendar. It is customary to stop displaying the hina dolls on this date. And many people in Japan follow this rule according to the new calendar, however, I always displayed them until March 3rd in the lunar calendar, so I can enjoy decorating them over a long period. These days, however, I don’t decorate the dolls but instead, every year I display this lovely designed paper scroll with a haiku of Dolls Festival day until March 3rd in the old calendar.
.
今日は旧暦の3月3日で上巳の節句。旧暦3月3日まで飾れば一番長い間飾れると考えて、私は毎年、このとても可愛い意匠に仕立ててもらったひな祭りの俳句の掛け軸をその期間、旧暦の上巳の節句まで飾ることにしています。
.
Gentle, lively conversation/
On the Dolls Festival Day/
Calligraphy and translation by Chio
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Practicing with an old book of models 第2弾です〜
.
先日の続きです。いい先生に巡り会えてラッキーだったと思います。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Seasonal phrase 確かに暖かい
The seasonal phrase for this time of the year is “Flight of geese travel back to north”. Surely, we have been having warm days, or rather, as it is so warm you could use the word “hot” at times. I, unfortunately, am ignorant about this bird’s behavior, though.
.
この時期の七十二候の名称は、「鴻雁北」で、雁が北方に戻っていくということだそうです。このところ暖かいというより、いきなりむしろ暑いと感じる日も増えてきました。けれども、この鳥の習性のことはわかりません。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Madwoman ある種の憧れとか〜
I can’t help feeling a strange attraction about a madwoman. I wonder if it is because I sometimes had dreams (nightmares) of that kind of women when I was a child. This is my image of a madwoman enjoying dressing up with cheap items.
.
気の触れた女って、何かしら妙に魅力的な気がしてなりません。子どもの頃に、ときどきそういう女の（悪）夢を見ていたからでしょうか。これは、安っぽいおしゃれをしている狂女のイメージです。
.
Woman she is/
Despite insane gone/
Wore a rice ear in hair/
Calligraphy and translation by Chio
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜My treasure 古いお手本〜
I think I will practice again a book of models my teacher gave me when I was twenty. “Age of twenty” means I was a student and the days when I was absorbed in what was happening at my college, anything about The Rolling Stones and how to look stylish. So, I only barely continued going to my teacher’s school and kept practicing calligraphy. In fact, I have now little memory about this book of models and just wonder if I could really work on these difficult tasks.
.
ちょうど二十歳の頃に先生にいただいた折り手本を全部同じように習ってみようと思います。二十歳と言えば、私は学生で、お稽古は細々と続けていましたが、それよりも、大学のこと、ローリングストーンズのこと、オシャレのこと・・・などが大事だった頃で、このお手本のことも覚えていません。今見ると、本当にこんな難しいことがちゃんと出来ていたのかしら？ と思うばかりです。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Cold days in spring 花冷えどころか〜
Many friends both domestic and abroad wrote to me, “It is cold!”. A friend of mine in Poland even sent me a video of strong wind and snow. These are two modern haiku’s about cold days in cherry blossom season.
.
国内外の友人たちから『寒い！』知らせが入っています。ポーランドの友人からは、強い風雪の風景の動画が送られてきました。花冷えの現代俳句を二つ書きました。
.
Coldness in the cherry-blossom season/
Got to talk with a friend/
First time in ages/
White is the moon/
Sky is getting cloudy/
Chill in cherry-blossom time/
Calligraphy and translation by Chio
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Satori in a sense ある理想形〜
〜Satori in a sense ある理想形〜
.
“Pleasant breeze flowing through sunshine and the moon floating in the sky after a rainfall.”
I learned this is an analogy of a state of mind with no disbelief or complaint.
.
『光風霽月』
心に不信や不満がなく、さっぱりと澄み切っていることのたとえだそうです。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Spring day 青空が・・・〜
I enjoyed a pleasant weather and beautiful blue sky all day today.
.
今日は一日中、気持ちのいい天気で、青空が綺麗でした。
.
Erasing complexion of the young/
Blue sky has come down/
Calligraphy and translation by Chio
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Contrast, comparison, counterpoint 古代文字〜
Now I think I haven’t written pieces of this favorite theme of mine for a while, that is, contrast of the letters used nowadays and
ancient letters. Putting them side by side will make an interesting work, I believe. The one written in dark ink is a modern form and the one in pale ink is ancient form of 楽.
.
この大好きなテーマの作品もしばらく書いていない気がします、つまり今使っている文字と古代文字。並べて書くと面白い。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Seasonal phrase 玄鳥至〜
The seasonal phrase for about a week starting today is this, namely, “swallows arrive” migrating from south. The characters in the phrase literally mean “black birds come”. Now, I remember swallows used to come and build nests every spring at the entrance of my mother’s natal home. I also remember people were happy to have them, believing the birds bring happiness.
.
今日から一週間ぐらいの七十二候の名称がこれです。玄鳥つまり黒い鳥は燕で、燕が南から渡ってくるという意味だそうです。そう言えば、母の実家の玄関先には毎年決まって燕が巣を作っていました。燕は幸運を運んでくると言って、皆が喜んでいたのを覚えています。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Special gifts and the ending season 頂きものと残桜〜
.
The photos show a pair of inksticks with dragon images my longtime good friend gave me and an inkstone from China my teacher and his wife gave me a long time ago as a remembrance token. Although my friend’s mother is a calligrapher, she gave away these inksticks because she thinks she won’t need them anymore. Using these tools, I wrote “remaining cherry blossoms”.
.
旧い友人から頂いた墨と先生ご夫妻からずいぶん前に形見に頂いた端渓硯。友人の母上は書家でいらっしゃるのに、『もう使わないから』と友人を介して龍の模様の墨をくださいました。これらを使って『殘櫻』を書きました。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Selfless love 親の愛〜
This is another small work of mine that I found while cleaning the house. It is “deep love, to foster, to learn”. In short, symbols of parents’ love toward their children, I heard.
.
これも家の掃除をしていたら出てきた私の古い小品です。深い愛、育てる、学ぶ。つまり親の愛のことだそうです。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜First roll of thunder 雷乃発声〜
“People begin hearing distant rolls of thunder.” In fact, this is the last seasonal phrase for March. The drumstick you see on the left is a custom-made item of the famous drummer whose sad news of death was officially announced some time ago. I am now remembering it was almost 20 years ago that I picked it up thrown to the audience by the drummer himself at the end of a concert.
.
「遠雷が聞こえ始める」実はこれは３月最後の七十二候の名称です。左側に写っているのは、先ごろ訃報が報じられた有名なドラマーの特注品のスティックです。コンサートの最後に彼が客席に投げたのを拾ってきたのは、20年近くも前だったかと思います。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Good-looking boy 別の側面〜
The other day, I went and enjoyed a film adaptation of a musical. It would be extremely hard to get its ticket in ordinary situation even if you belong to its fan club, however, as live performance on stage seems really hard to realize in these difficult days, they made it into a motion picture and so I could enjoy it to the fullest extent. Now I just wonder what is positive and what is negative.
.
先日、映画化されたミュージカルを楽しんで来ました。世の中が普通の状態だったらファンクラブに所属していてもチケットを取ることはまず出来ないらしいですが、このご時世ですので、劇場でのライブ上演が極めて難しいために、映画化されました。何がいいのか、悪いのか。
.
Beautiful is the big wide-open sky/
It certainly is/
Calligraphy and translation by Chio
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Cherry blossoms at their best さくら さくら〜
Cherry blossoms make me feel lonely. When they bloom and
when they fall, they make me feel lonely anyway.
.
桜は寂しい。咲いても、散っても桜は寂しい。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Healing songs of birds 当て字ですが〜
Songs of Japanese bush warblers seem to stand out among other birds these days. Here is another copying practice of my teacher’s work which I am sure expresses his mischievous side very well. This is a phonetic equivalence of a Japanese word for this bird. And I remember he loved this kind of game very much. We Japanese have a traditional belief in the spiritual power of words and here, it seemed he believed in that of each character and chose letters of positive, bright, auspicious attribute.
.
鶯の囀りが際立つように聞こえる頃となりました。そこで、これも先生の書の臨書なのですが、先生の茶目っ気が現れている当て字なので、これを取り上げてみました。先生はこのような遊びがお好きでした。言霊とよく言いますが、先生はそれぞれの字にも魂があると考えて、縁起のいい明るい感じがする字を選ばれたのだと思います。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
〜Tree 小さな色紙〜
The character is “tree”. It is a small piece of about 14 cm or 5 inches on a side. I hope someone would like it as a simple, little ornament on a kitchen wall, for instance.
.
一辺が13センチぐらいの小さな色紙です。キッチンの壁などにお気軽に飾ってもらえるかと思うのですが、如何でしょうか。
.
<To the homepage of this website>
