Vicky

一葉知秋 (ichi-yō-chi-shū) “from just one leaf one can know that autumn has come”

A Japanese calligraphy work of 4 kanji characters, gold ink on a red background.

一 = one 葉 = leaf 知 = to know 秋 = autumn This phrase is about understanding the essence, changes, or decline of things from noticing slight signs or phenomena. It refers to realising the arrival of autumn by observing a single leaf fall.

霜月 (shimotsuki) “November” (archaic) (literally “the month of frost”)

The Japanese characters for the archaic name for "November", in a calligraphy style

Like many countries, Japan uses a 12-month calendar. The names are very simple. January is literally “Month one”, February is “Month two”, etc: 一月 = January 二月 = February However, before the Meiji Restoration (mid-1800s) it was common to use an older 12-month system. These months’ names referenced the weather and the seasons (similar toContinueContinue reading “霜月 (shimotsuki) “November” (archaic) (literally “the month of frost”)”

花火（hanabi) “fireworks”

A Japanese calligraphy work of 2 kanji characters, reading "Hanabi" (fireworks).

Like many celebrations across the world, fireworks often play a part in Japanese festivities. In Japan, they are most commonly associated with summer festivals. I chose to write this word because in my home country of the UK it was Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes’ Night) on November 5th. This night marks the anniversary of aContinueContinue reading “花火（hanabi) “fireworks””

文化 (bunka) “culture”

a Japanese calligraphy work of 2 kanji characters

November 3rd is “Culture Day” in Japan. Japan has roughly 20 national holidays, which is about double the number in other developed nations. The holidays range from seasonal (Spring and Autumn Equinoxes are observed as holidays) to the societal (“Respect for the Elderly Day”), the Imperial (the Emperor’s birthday), the Patriotic (“Japanese National Foundation Day”)ContinueContinue reading “文化 (bunka) “culture””

ウサギちゃん (usagi-chan) “bunny” 🐰(actually “bnuy”…. or maybe “bnuny”…???)

A hanging scroll with Japanese katakana characters.

This was a commission for the client to give as a gift to a friend who likes the word “bunny”… but often intentionally misspells it “bnuy” or “bnuny”. I had to think how to interpret an English misspelling in Japanese. Eventually I came up with the following solution: “rabbit” = 「ウサギ」 (“usagi”) 2. Putting 「ちゃん」ContinueContinue reading “ウサギちゃん (usagi-chan) “bunny” 🐰(actually “bnuy”…. or maybe “bnuny”…???)”

物の哀れ (mono-no-awaré)

A Japanese calligraphy work with the characters for "mono no awaré".

“the bittersweet realisation of the ephemeral nature of all things” A very Japanese phrase 🙂

積読 (tsun-doku) “The habit of acquiring books but letting them pile up unread” 📚

A calligraphy artwork of the Japanese characters for "tsundoku".

The kanji: 積 Comes from 積んでおく(tsundéoku), meaning “to let something pile up”. 読 Comes from 読書 (dokusho), meaning “reading”. The above artwork was a commission for a book-lover 📚

光 (hikari) “light”

A framed calligraphy artwork of the Japanese character for "light".

The above artwork is an original Japanese calligraphy work. It’s available from my Etsy store here. It’s A5 size and comes framed.

秋 (aki) autumn

the Japanese character for "autumn" in calligraphy.

Anyone who’s lived in Japan will know that they have many, many national holidays. The autumn and spring equinoxes are national holidays too. Japanese people seem to really like acknowledging the changing of the seasons. Restaurant menus (even cheap places) will have autumn-themed menus with pumpkin, chestnuts and mushrooms, and many people enjoy going toContinueContinue reading “秋 (aki) autumn”

暑中見舞い (sho-chū-mi-mai) “Summer greetings”

A postcard with Japanese characters for "summer greetings" written on it, with a simple image of some goldfish and reeds in red and green ink.

In Japan there is a tradition to send gifts and cards in mid-summer, to let your loved ones know that you are thinking of them during the oppressively hot summer days. These cards are called 暑中見舞い (sho-chū-mi-mai) cards, which is usually translated as “summer greetings”. Japanese learners will know that 見舞い (mi-mai) refers to visitingContinueContinue reading “暑中見舞い (sho-chū-mi-mai) “Summer greetings””