Customer Judo Scrolls

These scrolls are a pairing for a dojo back East. Using the lighter cloth has a less ominous feel than many of the scrolls I have made for Dojos lately. Which is a good thing considering the meaning of the works.
These are the creeds for Judo. Jita Kyouei (Left) and Seiryoku Zenyou (Right). They mean Mutual Welfare and Benefit and Maximum Efficiency Minimum Effort.. Readers can learn more at this wikipedia link on Judo.

The calligraphy is written in the Gyousho style by Yoshimi Yamada Maples. (Ryugyoku 龍玉) The cloths are an off-white, almost eggshell coloring. The jikusaki are plastic ivory and the hanging string is the takuboku (White with Blue arrow)

Dimensions are as follows:

Name in Kanji	Name in English	Size in Bun	Size in Inches
天	Ten	103	12.29
上一文字	Ue Ichimonji	10	1.19
紙本の幅さ	Artwork Width	54	6.44
紙本の長さ	Artwork Length	220	26.24
柱	Pillars	19	2.27
下一文字	Shita Ichimonji	6	0.72
地	Chi	75	8.95
掛け軸の幅さ	Scroll Width	92	10.97
掛け軸の長さ	Scroll Length	414	49.39

If you have questions about designing a scroll for yourself, please contact to sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com or visit our webstore at www.shop.customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Turning Over a New Leaf Wallscroll (掛け軸）

 This was Yoshimi's Kakizome no Hi or New Years Day writing for 2012. It reads 心気一転 Shinki Itten which means to Turn Over a New Leaf. I thought it was very appropriate for New Years.

This is probably a new scroll style for some, but the two-tone has been around for many years in Japan. As a result of this phrase, I decided to try something a little different and put the cloths with the Hashira at a diaganol. This is turning over a new leaf for me in trying something new and being able to have it work. I did have a little bit of trouble with the mimiori on this scroll, but it still turned out OK. The upper cloth is a Teal and the lower is a goldenrod. It is in the Fukuro Hyougu style with no Ichimonji.

If you have a question about making scrolls, or would like to purchase this piece, please contact to sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com Also please feel free to visit my webstore at www.shop.customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Customer Comment

WoW! what a long and wild roller coaster ride this was, had been holding my breath from start to finish. But results are worth the wait, absolutely fantastic in every way. I will treasure this one for my life time, stunning success could not be happier...stonener

The customer could not post the comment for the cloudy moon below. Probably because I have such high security settings and monitoring for posting comments....

Bonsai Scroll Order

This scroll is my only bonsai order for the year so far....

I worked hard on a larger piece of artwork, but the scroll did not work out. It was ruined in the final process. But the lemons are lemonade, because I think this is a more appropriate scroll to use for a bonsai display. It is still a little on the big side, but with a larger tree should work in a display environment well.

The sumie artwork was done by very talented Polish artist Mariusz Szmerdt. He has done several works for me, and I hope he felt that he got his money's worth. The cloudy moon is detailed, yet faint at the same time. I used the silver cloth with the large flower Karakusa (arabesque) pattern for two reasons.
a. To provide a good contrast between the very dark painting and
b. To encourage the viewer to feel the moonlight is completely enveloping them as well.
The style of the scroll is a Nidan Hyougu which is a Semi-formal scroll, and it should go well with any type of plant with which it is displayed.
The Ten and Chi portion is a Golden to be neutral and allow for either a summer or fall themed display.

One thing viewers will notice missing is the Ichimonji (cloth) bordering the top and bottom of the artwork. I chose to do it in the Nidan Hyougu (Two Step) style, because it is the most informal of the Semi-formal scrolls, and would allow flexibility to be used with any type of tree or plant.

It is finished with a Nezumi (mouse color) kakehimo to go along with the silver Chuumawashi and an Enshu Kokutan 遠州黒檀 jikusaki. The Enshu Kokutan has a little flare and lip on the outer edge which provides a subtle, old feel to the scroll. 

Size of the scroll:
Name in Kanji Name in English Size in Bun (Inches)


天 Ten 116 (13.84)

上中廻し Ue Chuumawashi 45 (5.37)

紙本の幅さ Artwork Width 118 (14.08)

紙本の長さ Artwork Length 262 (31.25)

柱 Pillars 20 (2.39)

下中廻し Shita Chuumawashi 35 (4.18)

地 Chi 76 (9.07)

掛け軸の幅さ Scroll Width 158 (18.85)

掛け軸の長さ Scroll Length 534 (63.70)