[About brushes] 羊毛 (you-mou)

Written as sheep wool, it’s read羊毛 (you-mou).

Although it’s the most common brush, a difference in the ratio of the tip length to the bundle diameter makes the brush difficult and hard to write with.

A brush with a small diameter and a long tip is called長峰 (chou-hou) and a brush with an extremely long tip is called超長峰 (chou-chou-hou), meaning that it’s beyond the length of chou-hou.
“超” means “beyond” and “長” means “length”. (It’s easy to understand in kanji.)
It’s hard to explain because both “長” and “超” is pronounced “chou”.

This chou-hou, which is the most difficult one, is my favorite.
It is 1cm in diameter and 12cm long in the tip – it doesn’t listen to me like an untamed horse.

KOTO-DAMA

It’s been said that a spirit lies in a word, and there is a word “言霊　kotodama” in Japan.
Since kanji has meaning on its own, it’s easy to understand.
“言” exactly refers to a “word”. “霊” is a spirit. It means that a word spoken or written by a person has his/her thought or feeling.
I handle words carefully more than anybody else. I’m proud of it. So it’s often nerve-wracking to be too sensitive to words and deeds of other people.


On a TV show on the other day, a famous professor of Japanese literature said that he would put good words on somewhere noticeable.
he also said that an inspiring word written on his T-shirt for a lecture would lead to success.

In my case…when I go to a shrine, I buy “おみくじ　omikuji”, seeing this month’s luck or today’s luck, good one encourages me and bad one makes me careful.
Then I buy a charm for a souvenir. I believe in not all of these things, but I find myself attracted by something spiritual.
For my works, I will write words that make people cheerful and happy when they see them.

On June 7th, I’m going to Tokyo for the celebration of Mr. Nishibayash (as mentioned before, my teacher from university)’s kiju (77th birthday) and publication.
I will meet both old and new faces at Teikoku Hotel. I’m looking forward to it.

The nex't day

The award ceremony was held at Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka, Tokyo, where I stood on the stage after a long interval and keenly felt that it’s good to won the prize.
I expressed my sincere appreciation for the prize to the guests at the celebration, and then the joy slowly emerged at last.


The next day, I went to the National Art Center to see my work exhibited with my daughter.
“As the light and shadow of the water lily changes, it is drawn into pale purple”
My work, which expressed the world of tanka (poetry consisting of 31 syllables) by Ms. Noriko Hiratsuka in my own way, was exhibited in the main venue.
I got self-satisfaction that the light and shadow of the water lily was successfully expressed. (laugh)

On the day when I was going back to Fukuoka, Ms. Noriko Hiratsuka, the author of the poem in my prize-winning work and a pen-pal of my daughter, came to see me at Haneda Airport with her husband.
She was more beautiful than I had expected, with clarity like a water lily. She was greatly delighted by my prize winning, and gave me a wonderful bouquet like her style.
While there are authors who claim the copyright too much, she just said “you can continue to use my poems”.
In contrast to her clear and delicate appearance, I felt that she has the strong and smart way to live her life.
I sincerely express my appreciation to Mr. and Ms. Hiratsuka.

As I could see Ms. Hiratsuka unexpectedly, the three days in Tokyo were fulfilling.

Feeling relived

I won the “quasi-grand prize” at the calligraphy exhibition called “Sogen Exhibition”.

Because of misunderstanding and mismatched sense of values, I hadn’t been given satisfactory remarks from my master.
Through the hard times, I almost lost heart many times, wondering if I was wrong.
Still I could hold on to my will because of many people who helped me behind the scenes and my daughters who supported me.
I won the prize as a result of gathered votes from the judges, and I believe it meant “the way you have lived your life is fine”.

The joy to get out of the long tunnel relieved me…this is how I honestly feel.

Please watch the way I will live my life.
I declare that my activities won’t betray you.

What will be left for me if unnecessary things are scraped off?

This has always been my underlying thought.

I wonder what I would be like if I only had a bare heart without a social position, desires, pride etc.

I wonder what is the most important thing.

Work for Mainichi Women’s Calligraphy Exhibition

I wrote “The thundercloud, the thundercloud in the sky at sunset just like me”
The sky at sunset is at the end of day. It is compared to the later part of life. The thundercloud in that sky is a cloud with thunderstorm.

The thundercloud is what I am now. I’m feeling frustrated as the time left to me and the number of things I want to do are not proportional.
This is a challenging message from me that I’m burning red with rain and thunder inside at any time.

I don’t know what I’m aiming for and what achievement will satisfy me. Maybe I’m multiplying dreams every day as I’m greed.
When I write the blog, it’s like a place to re-organize my thought. It is incoherent, but please accept it as the process of evolution, and take care of and observe me.

February

The curtain of 2009 is open, and now it’s already February.
Even in Fukuoka, which is located in the south of Japan – a long island extending north and south - we have had a series of cold days with snow this winter.
How are you?

So, have you started to step toward a dream of your New Year’s resolution?
I have started walking toward it. At least I’m different from what I was last February.
I would like to release my mind more freely to express myself this year. To create satisfying work will lead to a result. I can’t stop my mind from getting excited.

For one more topic, I have encountered a phrase that burns my heart in the cold winter.
“Yes we can” – a phrase that has become too famous, but it gives me power when I say it out loud. I believe there were immeasurable difficulties until the birth of the first African-American president of the United States. (Mr. Obama didn’t give it up. Therefore this phrase is significant) His inaugural address was filled with dreams and hopes, which even burned the heart of this nameless Japanese old lady.
Japanese politicians and political analysts indicated concreteness, all saying that he has a rocky road ahead, but I believe he will make it.
If I am asked which I can trust in, Japanese politicians or Mr. Obama – I will take Mr. Obama without any hesitation.

The bigger a dream is, the better it is. It’s better to be as big as unrealistic. It must not be reached easily.
A dream is a dream because it has difficulty in being achieved. But we still walk toward dreams…because we are alive!