New Year’s is the biggest festival in Japan. As a time for new beginnings, it is often observed by doing activities “for the first time in the new year”. The first calligraphy of the new year is called 書初め (kakizomé). 書 = writing (as in 書道 – Japanese calligraphy, or “the way of writing”) 初ContinueContinue reading “書初め (kakizomé) The First Calligraphy of the New Year”
Tag Archives: art
間 (ma) “emptiness, space, interval”
“Though thirty spokes may form the wheel, it is the hole within the hub which gives the wheel utility. It is not the clay the potter throws, which gives the pot its usefulness, but the space within the shape, from which the pot is made. Without a door, the room cannot be entered, and withoutContinueContinue reading “間 (ma) “emptiness, space, interval””
弥生 (yayoi) “March” (archaic)
Like many countries, Japan uses a 12-month calendar. The names are very simple. January is literally “Month one”, February is “Month two”, etc. 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 to the French Revolutionary calendar). The monthContinueContinue reading “弥生 (yayoi) “March” (archaic)”
Calligraphy by Vicky 