Geese Ascending in Flight Sumie

This is the second scroll in a series created for a bonsai display. The sumi-e painting of the Geese, called 雁 Kari in Japanese, was done by Darlene Dihel, a sumi artist in the Pacific Northwest. I met her several years ago at a Japanese festival, and have done a few projects together.

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

I requested this painting to sell for a bonsai display that has a fall theme. The entire poem and concept will be provided upon purchase. When I bounced this idea off of him, he said it was a good theme, but advised me to design scrolls that are more subdued with earthtone colors.

In designing this scroll, I wanted to do a Sandan Hyougu, or three step style scroll. This is a little complex for a display, because most scrolls used for display in the Gadou style are either Maru Hyougu or Fukuro Hyougu designs. I thought the symbolism with this would work, and would be appropriate for certain plants used in the display. The Orange on Gold Ichimonji represents the sunset, the goldenrod is for the dried out grasses along the riverbanks, and the bronze for the turning of the leaves.

As opposed to the other artwork, this has the Geese in ascent and beginning the migration, rather than in mid-flight. Dimensions of the scroll as follows:

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

天 Ten 80 (9.54)

上中廻し Ue Chuumawashi 45 (5.37)

上一文字 Ue Ichimonji 9 (1.07)

紙本の幅さ Artwork Width 74 (8.83)

紙本の長さ Artwork Length 108 (12.88)

柱 Pillars 20 (2.39)

下一文字 Shita Ichimonji 5 (0.60)

下中廻し Shita Chuumawashi 25 (2.98)

地 Chi 65 (7.75)

掛け軸の幅さ Scroll Width 114 13.60

掛け軸の長さ Scroll Length 328 39.13

Migrating Geese Sumie Wallscroll

This scroll was accomplished by joint effort of Sumie Artist Darlene Dihel based out of the Seattle area of Washington. I have been working on a planting to display a fall scene of migrating geese. This scroll was completed to vend at an event at Bonsai in the Bluegrass. The scroll has been sold.

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

Large Dojo Japanese Budo Scroll

This scroll is for a gift to the Grandmaster of a Budo system. The practitioner lives in the Western United States.

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 

It has turned out to be a very beautiful scroll. The person sent to us a PDF of how they wanted the writing done. You can learn about this martial art system and see a link of the writing and how it is similar at http://www.hoshin.us/index.html Although not an exact replica of their request it is very similar and beautifully done in a somewhat Gyousou style of writing. I call it gyousou because the first character is in the Sousho style and the remaining three would be considered Gyousho style. Yoshimi had to plan very well due to this large piece comprising only four characters.

It reads Hoshin Budou. Ho is the most difficult character to translate as it is in a Sousho style, shin is the spiritual heart and Budou is a system of martial arts. I was very pleased with the selection of the cloth. At first the customer wanted a solid purple cloth, which just didn’t seem to work. I showed the customer a small sample of this koi pattern purple and he decided to go with this cloth. It was a wise choice because it really seems to go with feeling of the writing, even though it is a less traditional kireji (cloth) that one sees with martial arts or Japanese/Okinawan karate themed kakejiku. The scroll is completed with the gold on white Ichimonji and a Shitan Jikusaki. The colors really match well.

Dimensions of the scroll are as follows:

Name in Kanji Name in English Size in Bun Size in Millimeters Size in Inches

天 Ten 115.5 / 349.965 / 13.78

上一文字 Ue Ichimonji 10.5 / 31.815 / 1.25

紙本の幅さ Artwork Width 112 / 339.36 / 13.36

紙本の長さ Artwork Length 388 / 1175.64 / 46.29

柱 Pillars 25 / 75.75 / 2.98

下一文字 Shita Ichimonji 6 / 18.18 / 0.72

地 Chi 80 / 242.4 / 9.54

掛け軸の幅さ Scroll Width 162 / 490.86 / 19.33

掛け軸の長さ Scroll Length 600 / 1818 / 71.57

Dojo Scroll for Black Belt Advancement

This scroll was ordered by a Student for the Dojo Sensei.

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 

There were several students that passed their black belt exam and went in for a gift to the Dojo. The design was done very well and the wallscroll turned out very beautiful in the Navy cloth with the Cream and Large Karakusa (arabesque) pattern for the Ichimonji. The black wood lacquer jikusaki with the Aqua/Silver fleck just seems to let it go in a pattern from lightest to lighter to darker to darkest...I was very happy with the way the scroll turned out and was pleased with the end result.

The words are written in a Gyousho style by Ryugyoku Yamada and the meaning is Honor, Discipline and Adaptation are kind of the motto or Dojo Kun. We used more esoteric meaning with one character to represent the words because we thought that would be the better fit for the dojo, which has roots in Japanese/Okinawan based karate but also adapts with different styles.

I hope the Sensei likes the time and thought that the students put into designing the scroll.

Dimensions in traditional Japanese bun measurement are as follows:
Ten 121
Ue Ichimonji 7.5
Honshi no Habasa 54
Honshi no Nagas 194
Hashira 20
Shita Ichimonji 5
Chi 83
Total Scroll Width (About 12 Inches)
Total Scroll Length (About 49 Inches)

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)

Iaido Scroll-Hayashizaka Iai Dai Myo Jin

This beautiful scroll is for an Iaido practitioner in the Western US.

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 

I am so honored to be given this artwork to make into a scroll. The Calligraphy was given to this Martial Artist as a gift for the extensive research and direct lineage to this sword school in Japan, Muso Jikiken Eishin Ryu. This Iaido style traces its lineage back 22 generations to the founder Hayashizaki Jinsuke Minamoto no Shigenobu.


It is written in the Kaisho style, and reads Hayashizaki Iai Dai Myo Jin. The owner of the artwork confirmed to me that it would translate The Great Patron Deity of Iaido. Similar to Tenshin Katoryu it is said that this sword style was presented to Hayashizaki Jinsuke Minamoto no Shigenobu after praying for 100 days before the deity of the shrine, Kuma no Meijin.

The simple Maru Hyougu style of design with the brown silk and honeycomb pattern interlaced with flowers really seems to present the writing in an excellent light, and support the heavenly inspiration of the sword style bestowal by Kuma no Meijin. The scroll is accented with an Ebony Wood Jikusaki and gold with white arrow pattern kakehimo. The Ichimonji selected was a light brown to help transition the view between the artwork and the cloth. I was very pleased with the end result of the scroll and hope this will bless the new dojo in the future. Dimensions as follows:

 Name in Kanji Name in English Sizes (Bun)  (Centimeters) (Inches)

天 Ten 126 381.78 15.03

上一文字 Ue Ichimonji 12 36.36 1.43

紙本の幅さ Artwork Width 112 339.36 13.36

紙本の長さ Artwork Length 430 1302.9 51.30

柱 Pillars 21.5 65.145 2.56

下一文字 Shita Ichimonji 9 27.27 1.07

地 Chi 85 257.55 10.14

掛け軸の幅さ Scroll Width 155 469.65 18.49

掛け軸の長さ Scroll Length 662 2005.86 78.97

掛け軸 Kakejiku Partial Remount

This scroll was one of two ordered by a customer.

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 was a scroll acquired by his father and he wanted to have it remounted. This scroll was in the sandan Hyougu style with a paper Ten and Chi. The Hassou was completely removed from the scroll and the paper was ripped terribly bad. There was also some stain on the Chuumawashi.

So I took off about 5 bun on the top and the bottom of the chuumawashi to keep dimensions consistent. I then mounted some Khaki cloth that I had on the drying board previously for another project. I then put another layer of Sourauchi on the work and let it dry, it came out pretty nicely.

Name in Kanji Name in English Size in Bun Size in Centimeters Size in Inches


天 Ten 127

上中廻し Ue Chuumawashi 25

上一文字 Ue Ichimonji 3

紙本の幅さ Artwork Width 73

紙本の長さ Artwork Length 219

柱 Pillars 10

下一文字 Shita Ichimonji 3

下中廻し Shita Chuumawashi 17

地 Chi 88

掛け軸の幅さ Scroll Width 93

掛け軸の長さ Scroll Length 479