#japanesecalligraphy

葉Tシャツ Leaf T-shirt

葉Tシャツ　Leaf T-shirt

Yin is dark, cold, receptive, magnetic.

Yang is light, hot, giving, active.

Both are present in everything. Day is Yang, Night is Yin. But during a Yang day, one will have periods of Yin rest.

Yin-Yang is also an important concept in Japanese art. In the calligraphy above, outward brush-strokes are Yang and should be painted freely. Inward brush-strokes are Yin, and should be painted tightly.

Even in as mundane an activity as cooking, one finds Yin-Yang. In Japanese cooking, there are Yang knives which are used blade-outwards, and Yin knives which are used blade-inwards. Yin-Yang also applies to the ingredients. The leaves of a plant are Yin, but the roots of a plant are Yang. As with everything, a good balance is necessary.

In the image above I intended to make the “yang” round like the sun. It also resembles an “enso”, a hand-drawn circle which in Buddhism signifies the circle of life.

It is precisely the act of pushing against limits, stretching them, bending them, playing with them, which leads to interesting artistic expression.

In other words, in order to push boundaries, there have to be boundaries there in the first place.

This is very true of Japanese calligraphy. As an artform it is incredibly restrictive. The boundaries are clear and unequivocal… so it’s all the more impressive when a calligraphy artist successfully transcends the boundaries, expressing Japanese characters in a unique and moving way.

The second and fourth character in this famous 4-character idiom are both 心, which means “heart”. This idiom refers to heart-to-heart communication; speaking without words.

Bushido is the ancient moral code of the samurai. It includes: Righteousness, Courage, Compassion, Respect, Honesty, Honour, Duty, Self-Control.

Its influence on Japanese society continues today in areas such as the Japanese military, and in business communication.

The first character 猪 means “wild boar”, so the image is of a wild boar stampeding, not stopping until it has reached its destination.

My Japanese teacher taught me this “yo-ji-juku-go” (Japanese 4-character idiom) because both me and her were born in the year of the wild boar. 

This yo-ji-juku-go (4-character idiom) comes from an ancient Chinese poem and refers to a situation in which people have hidden talents.

In Japan, Spring Equinox is a national holiday.

Happy Spring Equinox!

“the bittersweet realization of the ephemeral nature of all things”