This is my third post about the fantastic exhibition of bamboo craftworks.
“Flower Mind, Bamboo Capacity”
The term apparently means “flowers are attractive and fascinate people; while bamboo has flexibility since it won’t go against winds’ flows and yet it has an accommodating mind. Bamboo seems to possess some primordial appeal to Japanese people.
I often think of yellow flowers when I hear the name of the flower, “portulaca” or “rose moss”. One of my longtime good friends kindly gave me an image of red and white flowers of that kind. So, I searched for their flower languages and found “innocence” and “perseverance”, respectively.
A very good friend of mine who always rushes to me and gives great help with a variety of troubles is now immensely into making bamboo crafts. Her house is near the producing area of bamboo shoots in a vast bamboo forest. She told me this wonderful art started with the effort to improve the forest’s condition there.
Although she still seems to belong to the beginners’ category, I found her work amazing and felt her warm feelings.
Thus, this old Chinese poem I found describes a poet playing the harp and singing in the deep forest without being noticed, with only the moon illuminating the scene.
Today is the birthday of my longtime, perfect friend since our high school days. She has always been so kind to the most degree and has helped me many times when I needed help.
Sweet wind blows/
Over the month of June/
Calligraphy and translation by Chio
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A long and very good friend of mine contacted me recently and yesterday we had lunch together for the first time in many years. Unlike the modern haiku below, I very much enjoyed this happy luncheon.
Some people just condescendingly judge my calligraphy as “incomprehensible”. However, others celebrate it as “Good as gold!” and express their love for it.
I am now extremely happy to know one of my good friends said she liked my calligraphy very much and told me her favorite word was “moon light”.
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If you have a favorite character or phrase that you would like Calligrapher Chio to write, please let her know by sending it (them) to her address, chio_art@yushokai.com.
A very good friend of mine for many years invited me to enjoy Bunraku puppet showtogether the other day. The moment she offered me the ticket to this traditional form of performing art, I told her that my late mother was very fond of it.
Session by Japanese traditional puppet show/
And rock music/
O blue roses/
Calligraphy and translation by Chio
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If you have a favorite character or phrase that you would like Calligrapher Chio to write, please let her know by sending it (them) to her address, chio_art@yushokai.com.
These are my calligraphic works I would like to give to my long-time valued friend. She had always been good to me and was really good to my late mother in her last days. Thus, I would like to give these to her as a token my great thankfulness but it is too difficult for us to meet in person at the moment.
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If you have a favorite character or phrase that you would like Calligrapher Chio to write, please let her know by sending it (them) to her address, chio_art@yushokai.com.
On my birthday last month, friends gave me variety of sweets, including some western confectioneries. The choice by one of my long-time friends never misses “bingo!”.
Secretly moist cookies/
Birds are disappearing/
Far into the clouds/
Calligraphy and translation by Chio
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If you have a favorite character or phrase that you would like Calligrapher Chio to write, please let her know by sending it (them) to her address, chio_art@yushokai.com.
A very good friend of mine in Poland who is a super-experienced and respectable teacher kindly displayed my calligraphic pieces at a culinary event she planned for her students. They have fled from their own countries to seek safety.
One day, she asked me to write with a brush some words meaning “enjoy your meal” and what not. Obviously, she thought she would try to please her students and their family who have been having terrible, hard experiences by giving them delightful hours with foods. And responding to her request, I wrote a few pieces and sent them via email.
Now, I am deeply moved to see my calligraphy displayed at the event. Moreover, I was so happy to hear this lovely girl made the panda she is holding and painted the national flag of Japan for me.
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If you have a favorite character or phrase that you would like Calligrapher Chio to write, please let her know by sending it (them) to her address, chio_art@yushokai.com.
