Long Time Expat In Japan
Like a lot of people these days, I am working from home for a little bit. Apropos of nothing, or perhaps just to pass the early morning hours (I get a little more time in the day sans-commute), I decided to start recording my dreams. For a long time, it seems, I haven't been remembering … Continue reading Passing Time
Sometimes, more often than I’m willing to admit, I don’t really know what I’m writing when I practice Shodo. For me it’s art. Art for the sake of art. I fell in love with it so long ago I don’t know exactly when. Words are art in a way that seems different from western calligraphy. … Continue reading Shodo – Polaris Aligned
The strangest thing happened to me while reading a book in my apartment at the end of a long day at work and perhaps one too many glasses of wine. I was listening to Spotify, a song I'd never heard before. It felt both new and vintage, not old enough to fit in the memory … Continue reading The Strangest Thing
Working on another waka for kana practice. It goes kumo nakute, oboronari tomo, miurukana, kasumi kakareru, haruno yonotsuki 雲なくておぼろなりとも見ゆるかな霞かかれる春の夜の月 Which I think means Despite the cloudless sky, it’s still obscured, can one see, the haze covered moon on this spring evening
A short poem by Mantaro Kubota, who I’d never heard of till I tried to write his poem in my Shodo class. Pretty cool though. It reads: shiragikuno yuukage fukumi someshi kana しらぎくの夕影ふくみそめしかな -久保田万太郎の句 Do the white chrysanthemums, in the evening shadow, seem tinged red
Happy Year of the Mouse! Apparently in China, they call it the year of the rat, but I'm in Japan... and I like mouse better. Every year, I do a Hatsumode (pronounced hah-tsu moe-day ) , a little pilgrimage to the local shrine. Literally, pilgrimage is what the "mode" part of Hatsumode means. I think … Continue reading Japan is Awesome – Hatsumode
My kanji for the month is part of an 8 kanji phrase, like many are. See below for the whole thing. I wrote the last four. 天地玄黄 宇宙洪荒 But I’ll start with the first two. Tenchi means sky and ground, or for the poets out there, heaven and earth. It basically means everything and everywhere. Then … Continue reading Shodo – Universal truth (not a fortune cookie)
My Shodo Sensei is too cool. She’s a master of the craft, of course. Her specialty is modern style. You have a lot more freedom, and has a lot more “meri-hari” which means curves and bumps, sort of. She’s creating a piece for a museum exhibition, and rather than just go for the traditional stuff, … Continue reading Ride the Wind of Flowers
There was a fire drill last Wednesday. I was in a different building from where I usually work. And I had no idea they were going to have the drill. All of my meetings for like 3 hours got cancelled and I’d have zero access to the network. You see where this is going, straight … Continue reading Fire Drill
As I learn more shodo I find I understand not only the art of the lettering, but also the poetry. Truth be told, I don't really concentrate on the meaning of the words as I'm writing; I focus on the lines and the composition. But lately, the poems themselves are hitting me in the heart … Continue reading Shodo – Test up Kana
B.S. Donovan 