“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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Symbol of the solar term of this season
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As above, so below
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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Springtime
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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Start of the joyful season
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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Visiting shrines
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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Winter morning
Today falls on Dàxuě that is the 21st solar term out of 24 in the system.
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As I have lived very close to Shimogamo Shrine all my life and my house is almost inside the forest that surrounds the shrine, when I read this haiku for the first time, I thought it didn’t tell the truth.
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However, somehow I felt some moments of silence this morning.
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Oh, Dàxuě/
Even the crows don’t caw/
Shrine grove in the morning/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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Professional calligrapher?
This is one of my pieces exhibited at the first exhibition of Yushokai in July, 2011.
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I was very much inspired by a book about Zen phrases written by Ms. Yukari Ishii, a well-known and popular astrologist and writer and picked one item from the book as a motif for my calligraphy work. Being a great fan of hers, I sent her my best work.
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Then, to my ultimate delight, she posted its photo on her blog on November 11, 2010!!
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Regrettably, however, one day she stopped writing her blog quite suddenly.
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And more regrettable at this point is the fact that I had sent her the best one and so what the photo shows is my second best.
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White dew
Today marks 白露, one of the seasonal stages according to the traditional East Asian calendar. It literally means “white dew” and remarks that about this time, the atmosphere gets cooler and white dews begin to fall.
I practiced copying a work of a haiku on this season done by my first calligraphy teacher, the late Mr. Akiyama Kodo (秋山公道) many years ago.
Twisting bush clovers/
Won’t drop/
White dews/
Translation calligraphy by Chio
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Important factor in life
Important factor in life
I enjoyed an exciting reunion and a delightful conversation with people who led me to the greatest event in my life. It is so hard to put into words how grateful I am to them.
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To an old friend
I got an e-mail message from a good, old friend from our high school days. Incidentally, as the Mercury is retrograding, we may meet with each other for the first time in many years. The letter is the first one in her name.
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