ghibli – Calligraphy by Vicky

皐月 (sa-tsu-ki) “May” (archaic)

A Japanese calligraphy work of 2 kanji characters, black ink on white, meaning "Satsuki" or "May".

Like many countries, Japan uses a 12-month calendar. The names are very simple. January is 一月 (ichi-gatsu, literally “Month one”), February is 二月 (ni-gatsu, “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 FrenchContinueContinue reading “皐月 (sa-tsu-ki) “May” (archaic)”

間 (ma) “emptiness, space, interval”

I told Miyazaki I love the “gratuitous motion” in his films; instead of every movement being dictated by the story, sometimes people will just sit for a moment, or they will sigh, or look in a running stream, or do something extra, not to advance the story but only to give the sense of timeContinueContinue reading “間 (ma) “emptiness, space, interval””