The photo shows my latest works on postcards.
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I tried again combination of ancient forms of Chinese characters and those used today, which has always been my favorite.
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I wish these small pieces would work to spread this art and culture to the world.
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I very much wish to see these unpretending works of arts affixed on the doors of refrigerators, on the walls of kitchens or living rooms in many homes in the world.
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Today marks the first day of the summer season according to the old calendar.
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The kana (Japanese alphabet) piece is a haiku.
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I hope this new season will give us energy.
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Transparent is/
The first star of the evening/
Summer begins/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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“A caterpillar changes into a butterfly.”
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Ordinarily, it should be the most exciting, delightful season. However, it has never been like that this year.
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I learned the phrase means what is happening above somewhat coincides with what is happening on the ground.
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一心万花 (one heart, ten thousand flowers) has been my favorite motif for my calligraphy for long. However, I now am certain this new phrase will be another favorite one for me.
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As today falls on Jingzhe, one of the solar terms, which is designated as the day of awakening of the hibernating insects, I searched and found this poem of springtime.
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Following is its rough meaning:
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“Spring breeze would not blow away my melancholy. Longer spring days only deepen the grief in my heart.”
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As for its style, I followed an orthodox way of layout.
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According to the old lunar calendar, yesterday marked the beginning of spring.
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“Start” “Spring” “Excellent” “Fortune”
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This phrase is a kind of a motto of that day and has been believed to work as a charm to drive away evils and bring in happiness. I have once heard that people in ancient times sensed something auspicious because all the letters are bilaterally symmetrical.
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For copying practice, I picked four characters from a book of collection of various letters written by my first teacher, the late Mr. Akiyama Kodo (秋山公道). That book was compiled in a dictionary format by my senior calligrapher at his school.
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For some years now, I have been interested in visiting shrines at various occasions.
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Today it is Setsubun, the end of the winter according to the old lunar calendar, so I went to Yoshida Shrine, the most famous shrine in Kyoto regarding this occasion, where people say most elderly people in Kyoto gather for the occasion.
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Oh, birds chirp/
Shrine gave me the oracle/
Written on a pale-green paper/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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People have long celebrated the day, January 15 as a kind of second New Year Day, because according to the lunar calendar, it marks the first full moon after the New Year Day.
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The well-known shrine in my neighborhood provides rice porridge cooked with azuki beans every year.
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I got some for my mother who will turn 92 in summer, because the porridge is supposed and expected to bring good luck to the elderly.
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I wrote “avoiding disaster”, “inviting happiness”, “health” and “longevity” for her.
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This is my New Year resolution this year in connection with the full moon.
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“Be full of eagerness and also pliability”
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This was exhibited in the First Exhibition of Yushokai held in July 2011.
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For this piece, I quoted a passage from Ms. Yukari Ishii’s blog, which unfortunately she erased completely some time ago. She is a super popular astrologist and writer and writes on many subjects other than horoscope reading.
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The passage can be roughly translated…
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“Misty kind of non-entity that might be going to be a river but forms nothing yet”
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In those days, I was into using very light colored ink.
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