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“The Art of Looking at Space Once you recognize that space is not empty but a real entity that surrounds us like water surrounds fish, then we can begin to find ways to navigate it. The key is to develop an interest in space, to kindle your curiosity about it. How can we bring negative space into our lives in a positive way? Rather than focusing on hard and fixed objects, develop the ability to look at things on their soft edges. Appreciate art and music for how they give shape and substance to space. Become more aware of relationships and how things are joined together. Get off of your merry-go-round of activity and find some breathing space in your life. Occasionally look at the sky with the eyes of an artist and notice how it constantly changes. Develop a Taoistic appreciation for space as infinite potential. Empty your cup, and approach things and people with a beginner’s mind. Think about how your preconceptions and prejudices limit your mind and predetermine your possibilities. Open the doors of perception to help you master the art of flexible focus in your daily life. Take a second look. The sky is not empty.
I have created a Song of the Brush Book Club, which you can join for free, and learn how to deepen your reading experience alongside other readers in the community!
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This is the haiku by Matsuo Basho, apparently one of his favorites, on the coming of Spring. It is the same poem on which we did a stone rubbing impression the other day in Yuki Park in Kofu, but I was inspired to paint it myself, and translate it in phrases which I feel renders it best. The haiku reads in Japanese with the traditional 5-7-5 rhythm: 春もやや けしきととのふ 月と梅 haru mo yaya keshiki totonofu tsuki to ume A translation which is commonly found online is 5-5-7, emphasizing the meaning over the meter: the spring scenery almost in order the moon and ume-blossoms This is one way to translate it, but I prefer when possible to render it even in English while still faithful to the meaning, with a 5-7-5 syllable rhythm. the spring is almost a ready panorama moon and plum flowers I painted this on a Tanzaku Card with a composition in two lines. | Here is the same haiku poem painted on a Shkishi with a different composition in 3 lines. |
I originally did this calligraphy of 忍 (Nin) in Ninja for an article for BUDO Japan, Ninja Fans in Search of Truth, which also contained this video.
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My Calligraphy for 忍 was then used on the back cover, inside jacket, and introduction for the new book by Yamada Yuji, Professor of Ninja Studies at Mie University, A Handbook of Ninjutsu Techniques.
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聞侭に
⻑閑に奈りぬと
水の音
〜五楽(⻑谷川雪旦)
きくままに
のどかに なるぬと
みずのおと
kiku mama ni
nodoka ni naranuto
mizu no oto
~Haiku written in 1863 by Hasegawa Gettan, master craftsman of woodblocks for printing Ukiyoe. Carved in a stone in the Yuki Zoo Park in Kofu, Yamanashi, where we made a takuhon rubbing from the stone carving.
The rhythm of Japanese haiku is 5-7-5 syllables. Often when they are translated into English it loses this syllabic rhythm. Granted that it is not easy to find the right words and also keep the right number of syllables, but that is where the creative imagination and word sense of the translator comes in.
Here is my translation:
only when you are
calm and listen with quiet
mind, sound of water
⻑閑に奈りぬと
水の音
〜五楽(⻑谷川雪旦)
きくままに
のどかに なるぬと
みずのおと
kiku mama ni
nodoka ni naranuto
mizu no oto
~Haiku written in 1863 by Hasegawa Gettan, master craftsman of woodblocks for printing Ukiyoe. Carved in a stone in the Yuki Zoo Park in Kofu, Yamanashi, where we made a takuhon rubbing from the stone carving.
The rhythm of Japanese haiku is 5-7-5 syllables. Often when they are translated into English it loses this syllabic rhythm. Granted that it is not easy to find the right words and also keep the right number of syllables, but that is where the creative imagination and word sense of the translator comes in.
Here is my translation:
only when you are
calm and listen with quiet
mind, sound of water
These are both Calligraphy commissions I did and dedicated to our Iaido Dojo. Both the scroll and the folding fan represent principles of the Founder of Mugairyu Aikido, 350 years ago. They come to life and charge the atmosphere of the Dojo. Calligraphy has this effect equally on a traditional Japanese space as it does on a modern interior.
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William Reed
I first came to Japan in 1972 in college as an exchange student attending Waseda University. This began my now 50 year journey exploring and mastering Japanese language, as well as Calligraphy, Aikido, and Iaido The combination led me to discover the wonderful connections found in the Mastery of Sword and Letters. One landmark in this journey is the publication of Song of the Brush Dance of the Ink (Morgan James Publishing, 2022). As a service to readers I created this website and blog, so that you may join me as I continue my journey, as well as how to gain the most from reading the book. The blog will be a journal of new insights and applications, which I will organize into categories for easy navigation.