Dragon in Makimono style

This is a dragon sumie by polish artist Mariusz Szmerdt. It is not a true makimono, but in the makimono style.

This scroll is for sale, for inquiries contact to sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Scroll with Watercolor Flowers

This is a painting by an artist in Hawaii. It is a beautiful composition of flowers. This is a true Yokojiku, because the width is wider than it is long vertically. This is for sale for $5,000.00. It will come complete with a custom kiribako. Please contact to sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Custom Wall Scroll

 This custom dojo wallscroll is in the Maru Hyougu style. It reads 
心身鍛解放First two characters are shinmi which means mind and body.Third character is Kitaeru which is the verb to forge, train or disciplineLast two characters are Kaihou which means to emancipate or set free.
I also upgraded the jikusaki to a rosewood machined shape. I think it is fancy but not too fancy to overpower the simpler scroll design. It utilizes a bright gold Ichimonji to really make a smooth transition between the gray cloth and the artwork.
If you would like a custom scroll made, please contact to sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Lao Tze Quote in Scroll

This is a return customer. He wanted a phrase from "The Way" by Lao Tze, and wanted the entire chapter written, but this was too much for my wife. We chose a small snippet of one translation of the first line.

I created the scroll in the Sandan Hyougu style.

It has a pure silk Navy, with a gold on cream ichmonji and a gray ten/chi. The jikusaki were Machined Rosewood. I am still contemplating whether to put on Fuutai...

If you would like a custom scroll made, contact Jonathan Maples at sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Laughter Kakejiku

This was sent to me by an artist from Minnesota. She titled it Laughter....about 7 feet in length.

If you would like a custom scroll made for you, please contact to Jonathan Maples at sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Dragon Sumie Kakejiku

This is a dragon sumi painting from a friend of an artist that lives in Minnesota. Color inks take an extra step to prepare to make a scroll. They tend to bleed very easily when water is even applied to the back of the painting. So you are required to either apply nijimi tome spray, or a liquid dousa eki. The dousa eki is a liquid that is even be better to be applied to the paper or silk before it is painted.
This particular scroll is done in the fukuro hyougu style. I applied a 1.5 bun measured suji in gold around the painting to provide a relief to the cloth and painting. This painting is so powerful, I wanted to utilize a simple mounting style.
Yes, my studio is a little messy.
If you have a painting that you would like mounted or remounted into a scroll contact to Jonathan Maples at sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Fall Down Seven Times Get Up Eight

This scroll is another sample of the fall down seven times get up eight. A great Japanese proverb to never give up. Never quit your dreams and keep plugging along even when things go badly. This has a slate cloth with a cloud motif and a beautiful light blue ceramic jikusaki. This is for sale at $75.00 which includes shipping to the United States. For inquiries contact to sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Wedding Gift Wallscroll

I made this scroll as a wedding gift for a customer. It has Love and Joy, written in Kaisho style by Yoshimi Ryugyoku Yamada. It is a maru hyougu style scroll, finished with rosewood (enshu) style machined jikusaki and a Ouka (cherry blossom) color hanging string.

If you would like a custom scroll made for you contact to sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com or call to the number on the website at www.customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Remounted Scroll (Chikanobu Kano)

This scroll was purchased in an auction. I started the remounting process over 3 years ago. You can see the original condition here.
http://wallscroll.blogspot.com/2014/03/trash-to-treasure.html

I like the way this has turned out.
Some of my thoughts on this scroll.

I am still contemplating if I should put Fuutai on this scroll. (Fuutai are the strips of cloth that hang down from the top of the scroll) What do you readers think.
The scroll currently hangs in a Sandan Hyougu style (Semi-formal). It has a Shitan (Rosewood) jikusaki in the Enshu style. Most people said winter, and that is the feeling I got. Traditionally, a Japanese Hyougushi probably would have framed with the concept of Danshoku/Kanshoku. Which is warm and cool colors. However, they typically do the opposite of the season of the painting. 

I used the white wave pattern cloths to represent snow banks around a pond. The top/bottom (Ten/Chi) cloth is a light blue/gray which reminded me of a winter sky. The ichimonji bordering the top and the bottom has a pine needle motif.

Yamato Hyougu (Tea Ceremony Scroll)

The following scroll was not written by my wife. It was provided to me by the customer. It is very beautiful calligraphy. In selecting the cloths rather than what was written, I focused on the feeling of the writing.


For the Ichimonji I used a gold with orange brown background. The Chuumawashi (intermediate cloth) is a pure silk with a phoenix and chrysanthemum style pattern. The Ten/Chi (top and bottom) cloths are a light beige.


The Sage (Japanese term and not color) Fuutai are the same as the ichimonji cloth.


The scroll is completed with a Dark Gold Kakehimo and a Rosewood jikusaki.


If you would like a custom scroll made for you please contact to sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Fall Down Seven Times Get Up Eight Kakejiku

I made this scroll for a co-worker of mine. He is a martial artist that studied Judo and Shotokan style of Karate. He had a stroke last year, and I wanted to give him something that would remind him to never give up.

The phrase written is Nana Korobi Ya Oki. In English it means fall down seven times get up eight. 

If you would like a scroll that says something similar, or another Japanese proverb please contact to sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com 

Shikishi for Shodan Advancement

One of my customers always buys a shikishi for his student that takes their shodan (black belt) examination. He tries to match the student character or other traits that he observed while teaching him martial arts.

In this case, he had us write the characters for a foot bellow (tatara) which is a tool used in forging a katana.

If you would like a custom scroll or other calligraphy written, please contact to sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Aikido Wallscroll with Picture of Osensei

This scroll was shipped to the New York area. It was commissioned by a dojo that wanted both a kakejiku (wallscroll) that also had a picture of Osensei, Morihei Ueshiba. For the Ichimonji, I used a pine needle motif pattern because I read that O Sensei trained by "sometimes hanging from trees with weights on his feet".

It has a dark brown cloth with a large flower karakusa (arabesque) and is completed with a Usukin (light gold) hanging string and black lacquer wood jikusaki with a gold band.

The scroll size is approximately 1 foot wide by 2.5 feet long.

If you would like a scroll commissioned for you please contact to sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Print of Japanese Artist in Scroll

This scroll was made by me that will be presented as a gift to a Buddhist teacher. The painting is by Tsuneo Iwasaki (1917-2002). Although unsure, I believe the title to be Illuminating Moonbeam. In this particular painting, there is a person in a boat pointing to the moon. A line of calligraphy goes up to the cloudy moon. When I first viewed the painting, I interpreted it incorrectly as a poem descending to the earth on a moon beam. It is a metaphor.


I used a dark blue cloth to help envelop the viewer in the night sky and imagine himself as if on the boat. The deep gold medium size karakusa helps to contrast and bring out the blue. It is finished with a kon (navy) hanging string and shitan (rosewood) jikusaki.
If you have a print, or would like an original work of art framed into a scroll please contact to sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Scroll Dimensions as follows:

	Name in English	Size in Bun	Size in Inches
天	Ten	96	11.45
上一文字	Ue Ichimonji	17	2.03
紙本の幅さ	Artwork Width	55	6.56
紙本の長さ	Artwork Length	332	39.60
柱	Pillars	10	1.19
下一文字	Shita Ichimonji	11	1.31
地	Chi	50	5.96
掛け軸の幅さ	Scroll Width	75	8.95
掛け軸の長さ	Scroll Length	506	60.36