Waking up mother/
Little, pleasant time/
Reflected in the fall sunshine/
Chio
Today, the third Monday of September, is designated as the Respect-for-Senior-Citizen Day in Japan.
When I wake up my 91-year-old mother and help her get ready and have breakfast is my happiest time these days.
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I had my fortune forecast by tarot reading today, and at a shrine, that was! A number of encouraging cards gave me lots of happy inspiration.
Moreover, as a written oracle lover, I got the shrine’s written oracle, as well.
In the lonely, inactive, withering, deep mountains in winter/
Trees are waiting for the spring to bloom/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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Autumn moon/
Bower has darkness/
In tow/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
We will be enjoying the Harvest moon tonight.
This haiku isn’t necessarily about the Harvest moon, however, it is about the moon in the fall season, anyway.
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Today, September 11th, was the birthday of my first calligraphy teacher, the late Mr. Akiyama Kodo (秋山公道) who passed away around 25 years ago at age 92. The photo shows his writing of his own poem about how he felt when he turned ninety years old. A man of letters in those days could compose Chinese style poems adequately following the rules, as well as Japanese style poems, such as haiku’s, tanka’s and what not.
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When I was trying to clean up my terribly cluttered room, I found another piecefrom my young days. I have completely forgotten about this one, either, and I have no idea how many years ago I did this.
The only thing I found from these two pieces is that I like the phrase, “poetic gracefulness”.
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My greatest pastime lately is practicing calligraphy with my mother who turned 91 in July.
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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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This was the task for today’s lesson.
It is one of the Zen phrases meaning that just watching clouds, you are having the upmost pleasure because clouds tell you many things; the season, the weather, the direction of the wind; and they transform pretty frequently and engrossingly. Moreover, they are visible anywhere you are; indoors, on the beach, in the mountains….
This tanzaku or a strip of paper is pasted with very thin bark of Japanese cypress noted for its pleasant aroma.
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I remember it was definitely the most popular piece at the Third Exhibition of Yushokaiin held in 2015. It is a quite heavy Western style framed work and that is the point I don’t like about it.
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The poet says she leaves the last one petal as is. I thought if only one petal was left, the result was simply obvious. The poet must be enjoying the feeling of afterglow of the girlish taste fortunetelling.
Why did I choose this haiku? Of course, it is because I like fortunetelling. And fortunetelling of all kinds, that is.
When pulling petals off a flower/
Daringly l leave the last one/
Undisturbed/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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This was one of the main items for my solo exhibition in 2008, which is a pretty big work of about 136cm x 70cm.
Here I wrote a passage from an ancient Chinese history book of 14thcentury. I chose this passage because it briefly touches the origin of mathematics. As I used to work with mathematicians, I feel warm attachment to mathematics and mathematicians.
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I thought I would practice a lot today. However, seeing my mother nodding off sitting beside me, I myself became sleepy as well….
Drowsiness turns/
Ink slab/
Into late summer sea/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio.
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I did this one several years ago. My hair is quite short (and pink) and I think women with long hair would chime in with this haiku more.
Just like spilling out awkwardness/
I shampoo my hair/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio.
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I showed this to someone today, and she liked it very much! However, I am not sure what she liked was my calligraphy or the colored paper I chose.
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And
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This is one of the works by my first calligraphy teacher, the late Mr. Akiyama Kodo (秋山公道師) that I possess now. I just can’t remember if I had to pay for it or he gave it to me as a gift, though.
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This is the only calligraphy my late father left. I asked him to write it for my first solo exhibitionin 2009. I have been thinking about him for a couple of days after emailing to a good friend of mine about how he was.
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This is my work from around ten years ago. The phrase is from the Analects of Confucius. Its interpretation differs among each person.
I chose this one just because it has characters meaning “beauty” and “intellect”, the first letter of my name. On top of that I wanted to see how the brush of a long sheaf of hair would work.
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It has been unbearably hot! Still, somehow, when a nip of fall is beginning to be felt, loneliness also comes in.
Playing with handheld fireworks/
Each has/
Own story/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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I wrote this one about four years ago after visiting the facility for the elderly my mother then belonged to for the first time for a fun event for both the elderly and their families, a little concert of reed pipes.
In every household/
Is a good-hearted oldster/
Gourd flowers/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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My mother wrote these on postcards for her important friends. Both of them are from other countries. My mother is much more cosmopolitan than people would normally think.
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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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As a little, humble present for the temple we follow and support, I asked my mother to write one letter on a paper fan, a hiragana (Japanese syllabary character). The letter is the first one of the temple’s name. As my mother turned 91 years old last month and is rapidly forgetting various things, I showed her what to write.
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Looking after an old parent is no easy task, even if you are dealing with your own mother.
According to the old lunar calendar, today marks the first day of autumn.
Unleashing love-hate/
To mom/
Autumn begins/
Translation and calligraphy by Chio
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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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As my first calligraphy teacher (秋山公道the late Mr. Akiyama Kodo) and my mother were both born in the year of dragon, I like visiting shrines associated with dragons.
Yesterday, I went to Shinsenen Shrine. It was a beautiful place full of agreeable atmosphere. I felt pleasant breeze blowing but unfortunately, I didn’t feel existence of dragons around, which some people with supernatural power may feel.
The photo shows my work of the letter 龍or dragon and a passage on the written oracle I got there.
Just outside your eaves/
It maybe storming/
But/
Inside your house/
Is springlike warmth/
Translation 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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Today is my mother’s 91stbirthday. She hasn’t been very well for some time. But now she seems to be recovering her health. It is thanks, I think, to all the well-wishes and help from the people around her.
Even the rainy season feels nice and sweet/
When I cook the millet seeds/
My dear friend sent us for her/
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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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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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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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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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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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I like the month of June just because, I think, I was born in this month.
What a sweet breeze/
Blows over/
June/
Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko
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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For this single-leaf screen, I chose my favorite haiku about my favorite flower, hydrangeas. I remembered about this screen when a kind-hearted neighbor gave us these flowers from her garden yesterday evening. This screen is an old work of mine from about ten years ago. It welcomed visitors at the entrance to my first solo exhibition. I am now flooded with many good memories of the exhibition.
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Turning a flash into eternity is a task of a calligrapher: my understanding of the art.
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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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I have a dear friend who says she always thinks of my mother and me.
I suppose to think is to pray.
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いつも母と私のことを考えていると言ってくださるありがたい友人がいます。
考えるというのは、祈りなのだなと思います。
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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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