Ichigo Ichie - Carpe Diem

This is a Commissioned Scroll and Already Sold

The following description of this phrase is translated from Japanese and paraphrased from the book Tango Kogo Jiten published by the Japan Calligraphy Society. Ichigo Ichie is a term associated with tea ceremony, and is said to prepare the heart in meditation for an upcoming tea ceremony (Chaseki). The meaning of this phrase is "During one's life, there is only one chance to meet with another." Even though you may meet tomorrow, it is important to understand the limits of the here and now, because everyone changes from one day to the next. In other words, the moments to moments of our lives are dynamically changing and impacted by our associations.

Before the Edo period, the famous Tea Master Sen No Soutan was to meet with an official, Seigan Washou, of the Daitoku Temple. Because Washou did not come at the appointed time of the meeting, Soutan left a note saying that he would come and visit on the following day. After Washou came and saw the note, he wrote a dispatch of his own and sent a servant to deliver the following to Soutan, "My conscience has felt the negligence of my duty to you, so I feel that I can not meet with you tomorrow."

Soutan, upon receiving this message felt his own guilt on not waiting to meet Washou and hence returned the messenger to his Master in the temple with a song of apology. This story helps us all to remember that we should treasure each day in the here and now.

This beautiful scroll utilizes a dark purple cloth with multicolored cherry blossoms. The Ichimonji was selected because the deep gold color represents value, while the pattern in the ribbon does not compete with the flower pattern in the cloth. This customer also selected a beautiful Purple Kakehimo with gold flecks to complement the colors in the scroll.

If you would like a scroll designed for yourself, but do not quite know what you would like, send us an e-mail and we can design something as unique as you. sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com If you already know what you would like, visit our shop at http://www.shop.customjapanesecalligraphy.com/

Enso Scroll 袋表具 Fukuro Hyougu

 The Fukuro Hyougu scroll is characterized by lines of cloth called Suji 筋in the Ten and Chi. The lines can run horizontal or vertical from just inside the Kan.

The Suji are typically much smaller (less than 1 Bun 分 which equals about 3 millimeters). But in this scroll, a thicker, black 3 Bun Suji was used to help provide contrast with the light, pale blue cloth.

I did not use Ichimonji to border the work, but what I did do was take Fukushima Silk 福島絹 and put that between the work and the Hada Urauchi (First Layer of backing paper). Although very light in both texture and color, this provides just a hint of the same cloth color around the Enso circle. (A deeper explanation on the Enso meaning is provided in a previous scroll translation.)

What I was trying to achieve was the Blue (In & Around the Enso), Black (Calligraphy Work), Blue (Cloth), Black (Suji), Blue (Cloth) and Black (Jikusaki). This provides a rounded overall feel of balance and coordination.

If you have questions about working with us to develop your own personalized framed scroll, contact Jonathan Maples at 435-656-1870 view my website at http://www.customjapanesecalligraphy.com/ or e-mail to sales@CustomJapaneseCalligraphy.com .

Two-Step (Nidan Hyougu) Buddha Scroll

This Scroll is Sold.

This is a Two-Step Scroll called a 二段表具 Nidan Hyougu. Ni stands for the number two and Dan stands for step or process. This style is accomplished by setting a 中廻 Chumawashi around the work along with the additional Ten and Chi. It differs from the Sandan or Three Step scroll style in that there is no Ichimonji attached to the work.

This is a scroll that depicts a symbol of the Buddha, or 仏様 Hotokesama. It was created by Ben Strawn, an artist in Salida, Colorado. The artist painted on a strip of canvas. I put the Hada Urauchi (first layer of paper) on the cloth Silk 中廻 Chumawashi, which is the green cloth in the scroll. The Ten & Chi were requested to be an earth tone color. I had never tried to use corduroy fabric in a scroll before, and it actually turned out to be quite complementary with the heaviness of the canvas which with the work is placed. The work is complemented with black lacquered wood Jikusaki and the red color in the Kakehimo blends simply with the red of the corduroy cloth.

For inquiries in having us create your own custom scroll contact us at sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com

3 Step (phase) Scroll

The scroll at the left is in a style called Sandan Hyougu. Dan is the character in step, or stairs. (Dankai 段階 or Kaidan 階段). The reason for this is that it utilizes three distinct cloths. After the Ichimonji (red and gold top and bottom border) are attached to the work, then the Chumawashi with distinct Hashira, Ten (Heaven) and Chi (Earth) are attached to the scroll. The Chumawashi in this example is a light green/gold ivy pattern silk.

The last layer is to insert the final Ten and Chi , which is the solid red cloth of this scroll.

The Three layers or phases are then completed by creating the Mimiori and putting the final layer of Urauchi to complete the scroll. The look and feel of this style of scroll is a little more flashy than the maru hyougu style found on most of the other posts. Another scroll in the Sandan Hyougu example will follow later this week.

Thanks are extended to Ben Strawn, a Salida, Colorado artist for providing this block print for mounting.

For inquiries on purchasing this scroll please contact sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Chinese Ukai

This scroll is no longer available for sale.

This is a photograph purchased from King Wu, a professional photographer in the state of Washington.

This is a picture of a traditional Ukai (Japanese) word. Ukai is the term for trained Cormorants that the fisherman ties a string around the bird's neck and then the bird will dive for live fish. Due to the string, the bird can not swallow the fish. When the cormorant arises from the water, the fisherman takes the fish alive.

This is still practiced in Japan as well in the city of Gifu on the Nagara River, but primarily as a tourist attraction.

I used the blue silk cloth because it provided a good imagery of water. There was no Jikusaki put on this scroll, to focus on the photography.

Southern Utah Photograph

It is a common misperception that kakejiku or wall scrolls are only used for Asian art styles such as Shodo, Japanese or Chinese calligraphy or Sumie. However, one can see that this framing style can beautifully transform a photograph by utilizing cloth colors which both complement and enhance the artists vision. Now the concepts used to frame the photograph will be detailed.

This photograph was taken by David J. West.

As always there are three primary ideals to think about as the Hyousoushi, or framer, when constructing the frame in your mind. These are 1. Where the work will hang; 2. The contents of the work to be framed; 3. The artist and his style, vision or work studio.

1. Place

There was no preset place to which this work would hang, as this was not a commissioned work. Primarily, concept two dominated the reasoning of how this was framed. However, applying the principles of Feng Shui, the green frame and the reddish brown would work well to hang in the East or Southeast areas of a home. These compass points correlate with health/family and money/abundance respectively.

2. Work Contents

There is a spattering of green from the flora of the area within this photograph, and so to bring out that desert plant feel the green solid cloth was used. To provide a soft transition, a dull gold with a very pale green for the Ichimonji, (or cloth with Gold Filament) was used to provide a continuous transition between the stark Red/Brown and the green of the cloth.

3. The Artist

To my untrained eye, David's works tend to use rich textures without using light to overpower the end result. In other words, I felt his works were a little darker than most Southern Utah landscape photographers. Therefore I chose a shade of green that was not as dark as the flora of the picture to complement with a little light, without taking away from the artists original intention.

Ruyi Scepter Scroll

This Scroll is Sold.
Scroll completed June 19, 2009. It measures roughly 2 Feet by 2 Feet. Additional details available upon request. To inquire about purchasing the scroll contact sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com

Background:

This is the Ruyi Scepter, which is a symbol of achieving prosperity in fengshui practice. Ruyi, which is transalated in Japanese as Nyoi literally means "as [you] wish". It is a curved decorative object that is a ceremonial scepter in Chinese Buddhism or a talisman symbolizing power and good fortune in Chinese folklore. A traditional ruyi has a long S-shaped handle and a head fashioned like a fist, cloud, or lingzhi mushroom. (Source: Wikipedia.com )

The Sumie was created by Ren Adams and is an original work. I will explain the theory behind how the scroll was framed. There are three primary principles involved when creating a scroll.

1. Place

2. The Work and it's Contents

3. The Artist

1. Place:

Involves where the scroll will hang. Some of my works are commissioned, but this was not and hence I used Feng Shui Principles of the Ba-Gua to guide how I wanted it to be placed. The color black is associated with the North element of Water, which deals with Career and Path. The Red symbols within the cloth are associated with the South element of Fire, which deals with individual Fame and Repuation. Therefore my hope is that hanging this piece in the North or South area of your home would help career and individual reputation.

2. Contents of the Work

The background of the Ruyi Scepter is explained in detail above. It was used by royalty. For that reason I tried to use the Gold ichimonji with the green to symbolize the wealth and austerity of a royal court, while providing a startk contrast between the black cloth and the black scepter.

3. The Artist

I have seen this artists studio and it is a very creative workplace. I used a non-solid pattern to reflect the feelings emoted when meeting Ren in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a hyousoushi, I try to think about the artists personality, their vision within the work, the desired feeling to be emoted and where the work was created. These principles help me to decide how to choose the cloth and design of the scroll.

If you have other questions, please e-mail to info@customjapanesecalligraphy.com