Kokoro Scroll - Buddhist Calligraphy Brushwork

This scroll was a very interesting project. A Buddhist temple/retreat in the mid-southern United States wanted to honor a patron. The top reverend in the Temple brushed this version of Kokoro, and wanted it made in a scroll to be presented to this patron.

If you would like to order a custom scroll there are three ways to get started: 1. Go to my shopping site at www.shop.customjapanesecalligraphy.com 2. Download my scroll design workbook from my website at www.customjapanesecalligraphy.com to read about the concepts behind kakejiku or wallscroll design. 3. E-mail to me directly at sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com 


They wanted a Japanese cloth but wanted a more subtle pattern and design in the cloth. In the end this goldenrod cloth with a small ivy唐草 karakusa pattern was selected. They also wanted a lighter ichimonji, so the gold on white with a very similar arabesque was decided upon for the scroll. The greatest concern to the artist was the trimming of the artwork. The work was on a square of about 230 by 230 bun. The artwork could have been trimmed into a Yokojiku because there was a significant amount of white space on the top. However, there was also a little extra space on the right hand side of the work. We decided to keep the length longer than the width, which was a result of good advice and consultation help from my 表装Hyousou Sensei in Japan.

The obvious features of the scroll are the narrow Hashira. This was done as necessity due to the large width of the writing. I did not feel like jointing the cloth as done in the previous Peony scroll at an earlier post. So this was cut from one section of cloth. The second most beautiful feature is the紫檀軸先 rosewood jikusaki. I think this is a beautiful complement to the goldenrod color of the cloth.

Dimensions of the scroll are as follows:

Name in Kanji Name in English Size in Bun (Estimate Size in Inches)

天 Ten 135 (16.10)

上一文字 Ue Ichimonji 11 (1.31)

紙本の幅さ Artwork Width 210 (25.05)

紙本の長さ Artwork Length 224 (26.72)

柱 Pillars 5 (0.60)

下一文字 Shita Ichimonji 6 (0.72)

地 Chi 105 (12.53)

掛け軸の幅さ Scroll Width 220 (26.24)

掛け軸の長さ Scroll Length 481 (57.38)

My 2011 Masterpiece Scroll

Although it says on my website that it takes about 1 month to create a scroll, sometimes based upon the work it may take longer. In the case of this scroll, it did take longer, much longer.

If you would like to order a custom scroll there are three ways to get started: 1. Go to my shopping site at www.shop.customjapanesecalligraphy.com 2. Download my scroll design workbook from my website at www.customjapanesecalligraphy.com to read about the concepts behind kakejiku or wallscroll design. 3. E-mail to me directly at sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com 

This beautiful scroll has been in the works since the beginning of December 2010. The customer asked me if I could frame this large piece. The artwork is about 4 1/3 feet wide and about 2 feet long. My greatest concern was not only the size, but the fact that it was wider than it was long, but the fact that it was painted in colored sumi. Color sumi has a propensity to bleed (滲むnijimu) during the Hada Urauchi process. After consulting with my sensei, I determined it would be possible to do the work.

The next process was to decide on the 裂地 kireji or cloth. The customer said they wanted a celadon color for the cloth. In Japanese celadon is 清滋 Seiji, which is a term used in Chinese ceramics to denote a jade or light green glaze. In Japan it is more of a teal or aquamarine. I asked my Sensei and he matched a perfect cloth. Mind you the cloth was a very high quality 三丁正絹 Sancho Shoken (Pure Silk). There is a beautiful pattern of phoenixes and chyrsanthemums in the cloth. This was a very expensive cloth. Because of the width of the artwork, it was decided that the scroll should be done in the 袋表具 Fukuro Hyougu style which forgoes a border of 一文字 ichimonji along the top and the bottom of the artwork.

When the artwork came, it was prepped by painting Dousa eki and sprayed with a Nijimanai spray before applying the Hada Urauchi. The cloth was not wide enough to make the scroll, so care was taken to cut two matching patterns of the cloth and then combine them to have the needed width for the Ten and Chi. I also let the works at different stages spend more time on the drying board. I appreciate the fact that the customer was not pushing me to finish the scroll in a certain amount of time, and when I said it would be better to let it hang longer, the response was always “take your time to do it right”. The two tone green and blue ceramic 軸先 Jikusaki (end caps) seem to provide a smooth transition between the cloth, but also helping to bring out the green in the painting.

In all, I have to consider this my masterpiece work of 2011.

Scroll dimensions as follows:

Name in Kanji	Name in English	Size in Bun	Size in Centimeters	Size in Inches
天	Ten	114.5	346.935	13.66
紙本の幅さ	Artwork Width	424	1284.72	50.58
紙本の長さ	Artwork Length	202	612.06	24.10
柱	Pillars	12.5	37.875	1.49
地	Chi	74.5	225.735	8.89
掛け軸の幅さ	Scroll Width	449	1360.47	53.56
掛け軸の長さ	Scroll Length	391	1184.73	46.64

Kyokushin Karate Scroll

This large scroll has a mix of Calligraphy and Sumi-e. The writing is for a Karate Style called 極真会 Kyokushin Kai. This was developed by a Korean-Japanese Master named Masutatsu Oyama. 大山倍達 You can read more about it on wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyokushin_kaikan                                              If you would like to work with us to design a personalized handmade kakejiku contact to Jonathan Maples at sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com. I will send to you a design workbook to help you design all aspects of your scroll.

What I love most about this scroll is the mellow color of the Antique Cloth. The customer also requested Sumi-e to be drawn. There are two phoenixes facing each other at the top of the artwork and in the lower right hand corner is a Kanku. In the lower left hand corner is the logo of the dojo, which is a karateka in a seza (kneeling) position for meditation.

In picking the Ichimonji for this scroll, I was conflicted. A more neutral brown or gold may have worked, but I wanted to try something different. I used the red orange clouds for the Karateka to reach for the sky and to achieve lofty goals, and so I used the orange/red cloth. The scroll is completed by utilizing a beautiful dark brown dully lacquered wood jikusaki and a gold with white pattern Kakehimo. The writing tries to mimic the writing of the Kyokushin Kai in the Honbu in Japan.

The total scroll length is a little over 5.5 feet and the width is 14 inches. Dimensions of the scroll in traditional bun measurement as follows:


天 Ten 124

上一文字 Ue Ichimonji 9

紙本の幅さ Artwork Width 86

紙本の長さ Artwork Length 343
柱 Pillars 16
下一文字 Shita Ichimonji 5
地 Chi 87
掛け軸の幅さ Scroll Width 118
掛け軸の長さ Scroll Length 568