Another Aikidou Wallscroll

This custom wallscroll is about 3 feet in length and one foot wide. It is a beautiful rendering of Aikidou in the Kaisho (block print) Japanese calligraphy
style by Yoshimi Yamada Maples.


I chose the brown ichimonji to be a soft transition to the gold in the cloth. It is completed with a black lacquer wood jikusaki and a light gold hanging string. If you are interested in having a custom Japanese calligraphy scroll made for you, contact to sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Dimensions as follows:

Name in Kanji	Name in English	Size in Bun	Size in Inches
天	Ten	90	10.74
上一文字	Ue Ichimonji	9	1.07
紙本の幅さ	Artwork Width	55	6.56
紙本の長さ	Artwork Length	135	16.10
柱	Pillars	20	2.39
下一文字	Shita Ichimonji	5.5	0.66
地	Chi	67.5	8.05
掛け軸の幅さ	Scroll Width	95	11.33
掛け軸の長さ	Scroll Length	307	36.62

Martial Art Scroll Order

This customer is serving in the US military and studies Martial Arts. When studying with a Japanese teacher in their discipline, he gave a lesson on the writing Johakyuu. Now this is a term often used in Japanese theater. It describes the slow buildup, to the climax breaking that tempo in the play and then the acceleration to the finish. This martial arts master used the same principles in his training sessions, and this became a defining moment in his understanding of training. In remembrance of this experience, he wanted to have a scroll made which provided that information.

If you would like a custom handmade scroll made for you, contact to Jonathan Maples at sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com or call to 801-254-6842.

This writing is in the Kaisho style, and is brushed by Yoshimi Yamada Maples. The scroll is in the Yamato Hyougu style (note the strips of cloth hanging from the top). The ichimonji is gold on brown, the Chuumawashi is a pure silk with a flower arabesque, the ten and chi are benberugu khaki. It is completed with the Shitan Enshu jikusaki and Kodai Saniro hanging string.
Dimensions of the scroll as follows:

Name in Kanji	Name in English	Size in Bun	Size in Inches
天	Ten	108	12.88
上中廻し	Ue Chuumawashi	44	5.25
上一文字	Ue Ichimonji	12	1.43
紙本の幅さ	Artwork Width	106	12.64
紙本の長さ	Artwork Length	185	22.07
柱	Pillars	20	2.39
下一文字	Shita Ichimonji	7	0.84
下中廻し	Shita Chuumawashi	23	2.74
地	Chi	70	8.35
掛け軸の幅さ	Scroll Width	146	17.42
掛け軸の長さ	Scroll Length	437	52.13

Ichizoku Sankan wo Yaburu

This scroll was made for a suiseki artist's display. I hope to have a picture of it paired with the suiseki at some point in the future. The suiseki is a horse, and the year of the horse is to be a strong spirit and full of life. So I was searching for phrases in the Zen book that exemplified those principles. This is what came up.

It is written by Yoshimi Yamada Maples in Gyousou (mix full and semi-cursive) style. The scroll is made in a Nidan Hyougu styling. The top dark green cloth is a Shike, the Chuumawashi is a yellow and green with a wave pattern in it. Both are benberugu cloths. The jikusaki is the First Order Gold Ring (non-lacquer) wood, and the kakehimo is the Kodai San Iro. It think it turned out simple, yet elegant, which will melt into the background of the stone.

Dimensions as follows along with an expanded translation of the meaning of the phrase.

Name in Kanji	Name in English	Size in Bun	Size in Inches
天	Ten	102	12.17
上中廻し	Ue Chuumawashi	34	4.06
紙本の幅さ	Artwork Width	109	13.00
紙本の長さ	Artwork Length	295	35.19
柱	Pillars	20	2.39
下中廻し	Shita Chuumawashi	20	2.39
地	Chi	65	7.75
掛け軸の幅さ	Scroll Width	149	17.77
掛け軸の長さ	Scroll Length	516	61.55

Within One’s Own Heart:

Is it possible to shoot an entire herd of deer with one arrow? Of course that idea is unfathomable, to reasonable person. However, in Zen, this type of feat is said to be possible. The key is to understand how it could be done.

The answer to that thought is this phrase “Ichizoku Sankan wo Yaburu「一鏃破三関」Like the characters imply the meaning is with a single arrow onoe can shoot through three barriers. Well now one asks, but what does this really mean?

People seek out the true way something should be done, and no matter how one suffers like a hungry ghost, this is the Sankan or three barriers. In other words, the many heavy worldly desires that we take upon and surround ourselves with do not help us go to our true thoughts. In order to break these three barriers, just look to let the arrow fly will not hit any target. What if we make the target face our own heart. Those hungry souls lost in their own desires have been able to remove these worldly burdens by aiming at their own soul.

As people, we think that our own problems are the things that surround us, but in reality it is the many things our heart tells us that decide what are problems really are. This phrase teaches us that if we look upon our own heart, we will be able to completely overcome the obstacles that confront us.

 

Ki Ga Tsuku Wallscroll for School

My wife works for and my children attend American Preparatory Academy at their Draper 2 Campus. Every month this school has a theme to try and help students develop certain values and virtues. The December theme happened to be the Japanese word Ki ga Tsuku 気が付く. The first character is Ki. Many of you have heard the Chinese term Chi, which is life force or energy. In Japanese we call this word Ki. Tsuku means to attach something to. So if we attach life force or energy, it means we are aware of our surroundings and can react quickly to serve or help others. I noticed back in August when the school year started that this was the theme and thought that Yoshimi and I could create something special for the students to learn. So I had Yoshimi write this back in August and have been making the scroll since then.

It is written in the Sousho (Full Cursive) style. The scroll is in the Sandan Hyougu (Three step style). The Ichimonji is a beautiful Gold Karakusa with some aqua in the flower arabesque. The Chuumawashi cloth is a benberugu with a white ivy design on a pale blue color. The Ten/Chi is a light blue shike cloth, with a light gold Hanging String. The Jikusaki are machined ebony wood with a very decorative pattern.

Dimensions as follows:

Name in Kanji	Name in English	Size in Bun	Size in Inches
天	Ten	95	11.33
上中廻し	Ue Chuumawashi	45	5.37
上一文字	Ue Ichimonji	12	1.43
紙本の幅さ	Artwork Width	105	12.53
紙本の長さ	Artwork Length	220	26.24
柱	Pillars	3	0.36
下一文字	Shita Ichimonji	8	0.95
下中廻し	Shita Chuumawashi	28	3.34
地	Chi	50	5.96
掛け軸の幅さ	Scroll Width	111	13.24
掛け軸の長さ	Scroll Length	446	53.20

Scroll with Last Name Translated into Japanese

This scroll is a Christmas present for a son who studies Japanese. Delving into the translation was difficult because of the limitation to four characters. But I feel that it was a successful idea. The idea for the scroll from the characters is The Possibility to Climb a Different Way or Path.

The scroll is done in a simple navy cloth in the Maru Hyougu style. It was written by Yoshimi Yamada Maples. It is in the Kaisho Block Print style. The Ichimonji is a large Karakusa (arbesque) that is gold on cream, a plastic ivory jikusaki and a light gold hanging string.

The dimensions are as follows:

Name in Kanji	Name in English	Size in Bun	Size in Inches
天	Ten	95	11.33
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	224	26.72
柱	Pillars	20	2.39
下一文字	Shita Ichimonji	6	0.72
地	Chi	55	6.56
掛け軸の幅さ	Scroll Width	94	11.21
掛け軸の長さ	Scroll Length	390	46.52