#shodo

A little bit of en-Musubi also occurred in that the calligrapher Hiroko Watanabe who frequently attends and performs at the Japan Festival not only remembered me from two years ago, but also remembered my requests for name art pieces for my nieces. My brother and his wife just had their first child, and the first grandson in our family, but I didn't learn his name until after the festival. It will be fun to be able to present them with a piece next year! So this time I requested a personal piece for my apartment. I requested a wall scroll with the kanji 誠 Makoto, one of the key pillars of Shinto—Sincerity. She was quite surprised and was worried I wouldn't have space since American houses tend to have very short walls. I had to explain I have a vaulted ceiling (almost 9ft) and very barren walls. I was also thrilled that I was able to communicate what style I wanted. Anyways it turned out lovely! And it's another lovely devotional piece to the kami.

Here's a video as well :)

There was also a booth where the artisan made origami pieces, as well as pieces from recycled kimono fabric. Apparently she's related to National Cultural Icons in Japan :D she had this stunning piece of Mt. Fuji that very much looked like stained glass. I and one other person thought the last copies of this art piece. And I'll be going home tomorrow again to pick up the Goshuin I got in Japan to get framed and then I'll have all my art pieces up!

The last little Shinto thing I obtained at the festival, was more of a fidget toy! There was a vendor selling keyboard clickers with limited edition keycaps for the festival. And one of the caps was a torii gate, so I knew I HAD to get one :) it's a lot of fun!

The middle and bottom have koi fish swimming in a pond with the moon reflecting, and cherry blossoms.

This is a shodo (japanese calligraphy) piece I made for my friend @huubertus. The characters say "Touhou", referring to Touhou Project, which is a series of video games he really likes.

I am a beginner and I just do calligraphy for fun. I am aware I made some mistakes but I'm still proud of how it came out.

For those curious:

東 (Tou) - East

方 (Hou) - Direction

"One step at a time"

A beautiful, mesmerizing performance by Akari Takeuchi, the former leader of ANGERME, at her recent calligraphy exhibition, "KIRAMEKI MAU EN". This is not just a display of her work, but a live art piece. As she masterfully paints the kanji for "en" (縁), representing connection or destiny, she's accompanied by a live koto performance by her friend, Aoi Uyama, who also composed the beautiful track. Akari's post-idol career as a shodō (calligraphy) artist is a fascinating and beautiful evolution to witness. Pure grace.

一念愚即般若絕，一念智即般若生。With one ignorant thought, Prajna (wisdom) is severed; With one wise thought, Prajna is born.

YOU ATTRACT WHAT YOU THINK.