Japanese culture | Connect Japan and the world through Japanese spirituality｜ Japan Cross Bridge｜Tokyo

2020-10-072021-03-28

Sakura cherry blossom – Japanese beauty and sensitivity

Sakura cherry blossoms painting art Kimono silk kakejiku

Japanese painting calligraphy art hanging scroll Kakejiku wall decor landscape Sakura cherry tree

I am obsessed with Sakura cherry blossoms.

Sakura is Japanese symbol.

We admire Sakura cherry blossoms in many ways.

Sakura is connected to our Japanese culture deeply.

Since ancient time, Japanese people enjoyed watching Sakura, called “Ohanami” (meaning “watch flowers”)

Spring time, under Sakura trees were full of people, sitting and having picnic.

This “Ohanami” habit is still very popular in Japan.

We see “Sakura forecast” (when cherry blossom start to bloom) on the TV news.

When Sakura starts to bloom, people start going out to have picnic under the Sakura trees.

This is our major Spring event.

We also eat Sakura flowers and leaves.

Pickled Sakura flowers and leaves are used for sweets or tea.

Tea leaf container or other tools are made using Sakura trees.

We have music about Sakura, called “SAKURA”, and all Japanese should know this song.

We have color called “SAKURA color”, which is light sensitive pink.

Sakura is used as Japanese symbol in many situations.

Sakura is very familiar flower for Japanese people.

Sakura cherry blossom time is very short, about one week.

When it starts blooming, it goes very quick to be full bloom, and as soon as it becomes full bloom, leaves start to come out and flowers start falling.

So the short period in full bloom and the beauty of Sakura flowers are often likened to the fragility of human life.

That is why cherry blossoms are symbol of beauty and transience.

I love Sakura, and cherry blossom time makes me excited.

Painting Sakura makes me happy and this is a good meditation for me.

That is why I keep painting Sakura.

Japanese painting calligraphy art hanging scroll Kakejiku wall decor ZEN style SHIDARE Sakura

Japanese painting calligraphy art hanging scroll Kakejiku wall decor ZEN style Sakura cherry blossom art

Japanese painting calligraphy art hanging scroll Kakejiku wall decor landscape Sakura cherry blossom in full moon night

Japanese painting calligraphy art hanging scroll Kakejiku wall decor Sakura cherry tree in full bloom

Japanese painting calligraphy art hanging scroll Kakejiku wall decor Kimono style YOZAKURA night cherry blossom

Japanese painting calligraphy art hanging scroll Kakejiku wall decor Sakura cherry blossom

2020-10-012021-03-28

Crane bird – Japanese healthy long life good luck symbol

Japanese painting calligraphy art hanging scroll Kakejiku wall decor crane birds, Mt.Fuji, Japanese pine tree

Crane bird － Japanese healthy long life symbol

Crane birds are beautiful big white birds with a little bit of black color on wings and necks.

Even though we don’t get to see them often, crane birds are very familiar for many of Japanese people.

Crane birds are often used as a symbol of good luck and healthy long life.

Especially at the cerebration occasions, we see crane bird pictures and decorations.

On new year day, we use items with crane bird pictures, such as kimono, special black box for special new year food called “osechi”, new year cards called “nengajo”.

We turn on TV on a new year day, we see many CMs using crane birds fling toward Mt. Fuji.

On wedding, brides wear special wedding kimono with beautiful crane bird embroidery.

Crane birds are often be seen with Mt. Fuji on these occasions, as Mt. Fuji is also another good luck symbol.

It is funny that I have never seen actual crane birds, but they have been very familiar birds to me since I was small.

They are beautiful and my favorite birds.

Japanese special good luck necklace -crane bird ORIZURU, Sensu, Sakura, pinetree

Japanese painting calligraphy art hanging scroll Kakejiku wall decor -landscape Mt. Fuji, crane birds, Sakura

Japanese painting calligraphy art hanging scroll Kakejiku wall decor crane bird, Mt. Fuji, Sakura

Crystal dome Japanese good luck crane bird ORIZURU, Sakura cherry blossom, pine tree necklace

Japanese style good luck necklace - crane birds ORIZURU, Mt.Fuji, Sakura cherry blossom, pine tree — Japanese style good luck necklace – crane birds ORIZURU, Mt.Fuji, Sakura cherry blossom, pine tree

2020-09-272021-03-28

Drawing Japanese Koi pond

Japanese calligraphy painting of Koi pond Kakejiku hanging scroll

Most of Japanese gardens have Koi pond.

Koi pond is the symbol of Japanese garden.

There are stones around Koi pond, sometimes there is even a stone bridge over the koi pond.

Pine trees, bamboo trees and other trees are around the pond.

In the water, usually colorful koi fish called “Nishiki goi” are swimming.

The color is gold, white, silver, red, orange, black, etc.

And especially red & white combination koi fish is highly valued.

We consider Koi fish as a good luck symbol.

Koi fish is believed to bring us a good luck as well as prosperity.

Just looking at those koi fish swimming in the water is very soothing.

Drawing koi fish has the same healing effect as meditation does to me.

They are beautiful and always give me the enthusiasm to draw them.

extra large Koi pond Japanese calligraphy painting Kakejiku hanging scroll

2020-09-242021-03-28

From calligraphy art to colored Japanese painting

Japanese ZEN style Sakura cherry blossom painting wall decor

I was making calligraphy artworks for a while, and soon after, I started using color in my paintings.

I love the simplicity of Ink art, just black and white and its gradation color.

However, Sakura cherry blossoms should also look great with Sakura pink color, and I began using Japanese pigment and whitewash, as well as watercolor.

Using color expanded my painting world.

I can even paint in jewelry, using acrylic paint.

I can also create imaginary things in my painting world.

I knew I liked making jewelry, as I like miniature things and like to make small things.

But I realized I love painting so much as well.

My creation is now from 3D painting jewelry to Japanese painting mixed with calligraphy art.

3D painting ZEN style Sakura cherry blossoms necklace

3D painting Sakura cherry blossom necklace

3D painting blue koi fish hanging scfroll — 3D ZEN style painting blue koi fish large hanging scroll

2020-09-232021-03-28

Sensitivity of Japanese painting, Ink painting art “墨絵(Sumie)”

Japanese painting calligraphy Ink art Kakejiku wall decor ZEN circle with Mt Fuji and bamboo

Japanese painting calligraphy art hanging scroll Kakejiku wall decor

When I started doing calligraphy again, I did not think about painting.

Ink painting (墨絵 Sumie) is well known in Japan, and my grandmother used to do Ink painting art, so it was familiar to me too.

Plus I liked painting since I was small.

But my experience was only oil painting, and no Ink painting art experience.

When I started painting using ink, I realized how deep and intricate Ink painting art was.

Only using water and ink, gradation of black color to thin grey color can create amazing picture.

I was amazed by its simplicity yet, beauty and sensitivity.

The smell of ink is relaxing too.

I started drawing bamboo first.

Bamboo is the Japanese symbolic trees and great theme for meditation.

Then I received the request from customers.

“Can you draw Koi fish?”

I started drawing Koi fish, and found out this was more fun.

Koi fish is the symbol of Japanese beauty, and is believed to bring us a good luck.

I really love painting Koi fish.

Now my drawing themes are more.

Mt. Fuji, Sakura cherry blossoms, Pine trees, crane birds, etc., all expressing Japanese beauty.

When I draw more of these themes, I find more of Japanese beauty.

And I realize how grateful I am, as being a Japanese, being connected with Japanese culture and beauty.

Japanese painting calligraphy art hanging scroll Kakejiku wall decor Koi fish and bamboo art

2020-09-202021-03-28

Doing calligraphy is meditation

Japanese calligraphy Ichigo Ichie One in a lifetime meeting 一期一会

After receiving calligraphy tools from our grandparents, I started doing calligraphy again.

Soon after, I realized doing calligraphy is a good meditation.

Calligraphy is one of the main Japanese culture, and related to our history.

In our Japanese history, calligraphy is always in our life, same as ZEN (禅), Buddhism, temples, and tea ceremony.

Tranquility, simplicity, mindfulness, humbleness, are very important elements in these Japanese culture.

Also purifying tools and taking care of each item, how you treat these tools are also an inevitable part of its culture.

When we do calligraphy, we need to pay attention to our posture.

(We used to sit on our knees on tatami mat room with our back straight, but relaxing our shoulders)

It is important to hold the calligraphy brush with three fingers properly.

Relaxing our arm, making our wrist flexible, and focus on our breathing.

We need to write in one-stroke, and we are not allowed to go back and fix the line again.

So First stroke is the last stroke.

That is why how much we soak our brush into black ink, how fast we write, how strong we put our brush onto paper, are all very important.

For example, I am not satisfied with one line, as it was not black enough and the color was little too thin, so I might want to go back and color on top with more ink.

However, if I do that, it will appear as a mark even after it gets dry, and it doesn’t look nice.

That means, we have to picture and simulate the writing in our mind, before we actually write on the white paper.

And once I start writing, there is no stopping, no going back, nor fixing.

First trial is the real performance.

This is “一期一会”(Ichigo-Ichie) “Once-in-a-lifetime-meeting”.

This one moment never repeat, everything we experience in every second, every minute is only one time.

So we have to treasure this one moment.

However if I think too much, probably I hold my brush too tight, that doesn’t give me a good result either.

So when we do calligraphy, we need to breathe deeply, empty our mind, listen to the sound of outside wind or birds(not car noise), relax our mind, and start writing.

This is the same procedure as meditation.

Of course, opening our eyes and keep writing our calligraphy is not exactly the same as meditation.

But while doing calligraphy, I find myself very calm.

Japanese culture is very sensitive.

We want to keep this sensitivity and beauty in our everyday life.

2020-09-192021-03-28

Japanese beauty – Japanese calligraphy

We have learned calligraphy since we were small kids. This is not unusual, as all kids learn calligraphy at elementary school. Calligraphy is a part of our culture. Calligraphy comes from China, same as Chinese characters “Kanji(漢字). Now we have not just “Kanji(漢字)”, but “Katakana(カタカナ)” and “Hiragana（平仮名)”. And learning calligraphy is to learn Japanese words and meaning. Our history is a little bit different and a little more. Our grandfather who lived next door, was a master of Calligrapher and both our grandfather and grandmother were calligraphy teachers. They used to have calligraphy class at home and so many kids came to learn calligraphy on weekends. We, of course, used to go to the next door every weekend, and learned calligraphy from our grandparents. When we grew up, we stopped writing calligraphy and almost forgot about calligraphy for long time. And this calligraphy came back into my life all of sudden 2 years ago. We received many calligraphy tools from our grandparents. They are almost 100 years old, and cannot do calligraphy anymore, and decided to give up all the tools they used for long long time. Very valuable calligraphy brushes, special paperweight, inkstones, came to our house. When I smelled the calligraphy ink, I had nostalgic feeling and remembered 40 years ago. I started enjoying calligraphy again. Calligraphy became a part of my life again. This is the great way to express Japanese culture. That was the beginning of our calligraphy art. And I start realizing Japanese beauty from calligraphy.