This has been my favorite haiku for many years. However, I learned quite recently that this flower, hibiscus mutabilis, only blooms for one day and withers at sunset.

The man I put a curse on/

Is the one I love/

Scarlet flower of hibiscus mutabilis/

Translation and calligraphy by Chio

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Excellent luck!

Today I visited the shrine called Himukai-Daijingu for the first time in three months.  I got a written oracle there as I often do.  Its title said “excellent luck” which made me very happy, however, as I read the next part, I found a message in the form of the Japanese traditional poem, saying “You might feel as if you are walking on a rustic bridge over a swirling brook in a valley in the evening.”  And I wondered if this was really “Excellent luck”.

Then came an explanation that said as follows, “Although you at first have worries, you don’t need to dither.  Everything will be all right at the end.”

I just hope this divination comes true!

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I am now trying to sort out my works from the past.  And in doing so, I found this one, which I have completely forgotten.  The movement of the brush gives awkwardness from youth.  In fact, I don’t use this seal under my signature any more.

The letters mean poetic gracefulness.

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This wooden box cup for drinking sakéor Japanese wine was a souvenir for the hundreds of party participants that got together to celebrate longevity of my first calligraphy teacher, the late Mr. Akiyama Kodo （秋山公道）who enjoyed a long life.  He himself wrote two Chinese characters of good omen on each cup.

So, again, here’s to the art and culture of calligraphy!

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Elderly people sometimes say the spirits of the ancestors come back home from the afterworld guided by the red Chinese lantern fruits.  I hope they have already arrived here safely for the Bon Festival or the Buddhist Festival of the ancestral spirits.

Inside the Chinese lantern fruit/

Scarlet universe may exist/

Translation and calligraphy by Chio

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This is no “fancy” restaurant at all, but I was happy to chat with one of my good old friends who had been hospitalized for a considerable period because of a serious injury.  The truth is, however, she still has pain in the leg.  Despite this, I heard she resumed practicing ping-pong, her greatest pastime.  And I admire her positivity.

Cicadas are out (and noisy)/

My friend is also out of the hospital/

We celebrated with red wine/

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This was the task for today’s practice session.

It is a large-scale poem from the ancient Japan with motifs of sky, star, moon and cloud…

When remaking on my work, our teacher said to me something like, “If the ink goes blur, let it blur to the end.”  In other words, I was too timid and impatient.

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Holding a brush

Young children, elderly people, ailing people…practically anyone can hold a brush and write.  I am sure this is the wisdom of the Orient.

A longtime good friend of mine from high school days took the photo for me to post on my “shops” on eBay and Etsy.

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They say cicadas begin shrilling right after the rainy season is over.  How true that is!  And it makes you realize summer is about to reach its peak.

First shrilling of the cicadas of the year’s summer/

I wish that/

Wishing pays off/

Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko

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My first teacher (秋山公道the late Mr. Akiyama Kodo) was almost 60 years old when I started going to his school at age six.

When he got very sick and was hospitalized for the first time, I was really surprised and shocked simply because that was a rare happening in my life then.

I went to his hospital room with a towel hanger in the shape of a hippo face with a big mouth as a get-well present.

Apparently, he was inspired by my childish gift, he wrote this haiku and made it into a piece of calligraphy work and later, he gave this framed work to me.

Towel hanger/

Making a clattering sound/

In the sweaty hospital room/

Translation by Tomoko

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This is what I want to convey to myself in childhood blessed with great love from her parents, in very young days and in the bloom of her youth.  For, they don’t know how respected and pretty I am at present.

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Many years ago, at a language school I went to then, a teacher said to me, “You’re a strong woman.”  However, at that time, I didn’t believe him. I just couldn’t.  I am not very sure about that even now, but at present I am finally beginning to think he had an insight into true nature of me.

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What is beautiful?  Is the window itself beautiful?  Is the scenery through the window beautiful? Is the person looking out from the window beautiful?

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These are the tasks for today’s practice session. Learning the basics is the most important after all.

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These are my recent framed works.  Choosing a right frame maybe more difficult than writing letters.

And with some of these, I tried combining two kinds of paper, cloth and paper; and thin sheet of paper and thick cards.  In short, these are all at the experimental stage.

These are some of the results of today’s practice session.  The one with man’yōganawas the most difficult.

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This is the very first task that my first calligraphy teacher, the late Mr. Akiyama Kodo (秋山公道) gave me about 57 years ago.

Unfortunately, I can’t think of anything else when someone comes to me and asks me to teach them basic calligraphy and I always give my new students this same task in the first lesson.  I asked my senior calligrapher how I could teach the beginners differently, and her answer was, “That’s only natural and it can’t be helped.  People can teach only how they were taught, after all.”

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Recently, I was very happy to meet my old friend again after quite a long period. I put her name in a haiku to show my happiness.

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旧い友情が復活したので嬉しくて俳句にしました。彼女の名前を織り込んでいます、というだけのことですが。

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Although I have been telling the world that I love ancient letters, they are just difficult as a task in a practice session. It seems to be a one-sided love for me.

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古代文字が大好きと公言してきましたが、実際にお稽古の課題になると難しいです。片想いです。

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This is a passage from a poem by Bai Juyi.  I learned it roughly meant what the use of fighting in a narrow space like a tip of a snail’s horn was.  It must be the best, of course, if you get that kind of detachment.

Incidentally, I did this one with my left hand.

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白居易の詩の一節です。カタツムリの角の先のような狭いところで争ってどうするんだ？　というような意味らしいですが、そんなに達観できればそれはいいですけどね。

ついでながら、左手で書きました。

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I was given a written oracle of “Excellent luck” here before.  Maybe this shrine is a little indulgent with me.

Cherry blossoms/

Lots and lots of them/

Blooming out/

Breeze leisurely and softly blowing/

How the garden appears/

Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko

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ここでは、先日も『大吉』を授かりました。このお宮さんは私にちょっと甘いかもしれません。

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As the birthday of my valued friend for many years is drawing close, I wrote this instead of a common type of a birthday card.  Wishing for lots of future pleasures, I celebrate her birthday with one modern letter 楽meaning pleasure or fun and four of my favorite ancient letters of 楽.

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長年の大切な友人の誕生日が近いので、普通の誕生日カード代わりを書きました。楽しいことがこれからもたくさんあることを願って、現代の字の「楽」が一つ。大好きな古代文字の「楽」が四つ。

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I took this shot with a CD for comparison, that is, it is a pretty small piece.  However, I like both letters and what is more, combining them makes a cute phrase which I also love.

“Flower smiles” means “Flower blooms”.

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比較のためにC Dとともに写しています。つまり、小さな作品なのですが、二つとも好きな字なんです。更に、素敵な意味になります。

花が笑うは、花が咲く。

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I did the assignment our teacher gave us for the next practice session next week.

To practice copying the seals printed on the bank bills most commonly used at present.

It’s a little twisted task, isn’t it?

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来週の稽古日までの宿題。

お札に印刷されている印影の臨書。変な課題ですよね。

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I tried to write on a cloth several years ago and since then this one has been on the wall of my room.

When you pray (not “wish”) upon a star…

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布に書きました。数年前に。でその後ずっと自室の壁にはっています。

星に祈り（願いでなくて）を・・・

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The other day I wrote I saw a trained monkeyshow at Nagaoka Tenmangu Shrine.  On that day, I also got a written oracle of the shrine.

The comment roughly goes “even if no one is near you, you should behave nicely and should never tell lies as if knowing a hidden deity is watching you all the time.”

I totally agree with the comment.  Telling a lie is entirely pointless in the first place.  For, your lies are certainly bound to surface.  Moreover, if you tell one lie, you must keep on lying in order to protect your first lie.  It coincides what Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones said in an interview.  I totally agree with him, as well.

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先日長岡天満宮で猿回しを見たことを書きましたが、この日おみくじも授かってきていました。

他人が見ていないところでも、神様がどこかにいると思って行儀よくしていないといけないし、嘘など言ってはいけない、というようなことが書かれています。

その通りです。そもそも嘘ついたって仕方がありません。必ずバレるからです。それに嘘をついたら、その嘘を守るために嘘を重ね続けないといけないでしょう。これはあるインタビューでローリングストーンズのキースリチャーズが言っていたことでもありますが、まさにその通りだと思います。

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As I wrote before, ancient letters fascinate me very much.

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以前も書きましたが、古代文字がとても面白いのです。

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When I watered our little garden in the morning, they looked so beautiful.  And they vanished into nothing in no time.

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朝の水遣りのときには綺麗だったんですけどね。すぐに消えてなくなりました。

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The photo shows my work from several years back.  With my skill and technique I have at present, I am determined to develop the idea and create more deeply sophisticated pieces to show worldwide.

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ここに写っているのは数年前の作品です。このアイデアを発展させ、また現在持っている技術を使って、より深く洗練された作品を創作して、世界中の人たちに見てもらいたく思います。

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The other day, I visited Nagaoka Tenmangu Shrinewhere bright red azalea flowers were at their best.  Since it was in the middle of the early-May holiday season in Japan, I found so many visitors to the shrine.  And to my surprise, I also found a monkey trick show!  I was impressed with it and thought it was one of the Japanese traditional performing entertainment shows.

I am afraid this performing art of long tradition must be condemned by international animal welfare organizations, though.

Monkeys trained to do tricks/

So sad/

Look like humans/

Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko

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先日ゴールデンウィーク中のある日、躑躅満開の長岡天満宮にお詣りしたら、大勢の参拝客はもちろんいましたが、何と、猿回しがきていました。

これも日本の伝統芸能の一つだなとしみじみと見入りましたが、国際的な動物愛護団体から文句が来るんだろうなあ、とも思いました。

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I wrote all these with my left hand, which I have sometimes tried in order to seek for interesting and hot lines since long ago when I got stuck at my calligraphy work.  Therefore I have felt somewhat guilty for doing this.

However, on one occasion, someone told me that your left hand is connected to the universe.  And since then, I got to employ this method much more easily.

For instance, my work under my mother’s here, “smile” or “laugh” (笑) is my “left-hand” work.

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ここに写っているのは全部左手で書きました。昔から煮詰まるとこの方法を採りました。面白い線が書けるからです。

それでちょっと後ろめたかったのですが、ある時、ある方から左手は宇宙と繋がっているのだと教えてもらい、それからは堂々と左手で書けるようになりました。

例えば、この母の作品の下のも、左手で書いた「笑」です。

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Today we had the first lesson in the new era of Reiwa.

So, naturally, the task was also in the festive mood.

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今日は令和最初のお稽古。

という訳で、やはり祝賀モードです。

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As I wrote the other day, I haven’t written much about my first calligraphy teacher so far for some reason.

This stone monument shows the name of a Kyoto prefectural park located at the confluence of the Kamo and the Takano rivers.  The letters carved there were by my first teacher.

I think some people may recognize this and feel nostalgic.

I hear he wrote these vigorous letters when he was in his mid-fifties.

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先日書きましたように、何とはなしにこれまでは自分の恩師のことを書きませんでしたが、これも先生の字です。加茂川と高野川の合流地点の京都府立の公園名が書いてあります。これを見て、「ああ、あそこのアレ・・・。懐かしいな」と思う人たちもいらっしゃると思います。

先生が５０代半ばだったころの最も活力を感じさせる字だと聞いています。

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I was fortunate enough to practice calligraphy under a very distinguished calligrapher since early childhood.  However, as this “About me” sectionshows I have seldom specified his name.

As you are certainly aware, Japan has entered into a new era, I decided to change this policy.

By this, I mean so far I have been feeling too embarrassed to unveil the name of the teacher who enjoyed great fame as a calligrapher all through his life, and fully realizing my own inferiority as his disciple.

Now, as more than twenty years have passed since my teacher the late Akiyama Kodo （秋山公道）has passed away, I began to feel it is wasteful only to enjoy the wonderful works he kindly gave me for myself.

Certainly I displayed a few of them at the five exhibitions both solo- and group-exhibitions I ever held.  However, I began to think this is not enough and I must extensively show his remarkable pieces of calligraphic art.

And here is the first one I would like to show.  It is a Chinese character from my name.  When he wrote one letter from the name of each of his granddaughter, he kindly did the same thing for me because he treated me as one of his granddaughters.

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私は幼い頃から高名な書家に師事したのですが、この『自己紹介』にありますように、これまではその師のお名前は書いておりませんでした。

けれども、日本では元号も変わり新しい時代を迎えたのを機に、私も方針を変えようと思い立ちました。

というのは、これまでは、先生が偉すぎて自分が不肖の弟子過ぎて、恥ずかしくて大っぴらに言えなかったのですが、私の初めの師・秋山公道師が亡くなって２０年以上が経ち、いただいたお作品の数々も、これまで開いた５回の個展やグループ展で少しずつご紹介しましたが、そのような紹介の仕方ではもったいないと思うようになったからです。

孫娘のように可愛がってくださったので、お作品をたくさんいただきましたし、少しずつでもご紹介したいと思います。

と言うわけで、まずは、お孫さんたちのお名前の文字を書かれた際に私の名前の字もこのように書いてくださいましたので、ここに載せたいと思います。

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Japan entered into a new era of Reiwatoday.  Thus, this is “new”.  It may sound so typical, though.

As I definitely would like to go with the flow, I used three brushes at a time for this, hoping to obtain lots of good results.

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今日から令和なので、「新」を書きました。ありきたりですけど。

この流れに乗って、たくさんの成果をあげたく思い、筆は三本使いました。

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The task for today’s practice session;
“Focusing on the past and illuminating the present.”

I feel like I almost get it but, unfortunately, not quite.

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今日のお稽古の課題。

『古（いにしえ）を稽（かんがえ）、今を照らす』

分かったような、分からないような。

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