Japanese language – Page 3 – Calligraphy by Vicky

雪 (yuki) “snow”

A Japanese calligraphy work of the kanji for "snow". Silver ink on black background.

In my country it started snowing last week!

冷静 (rei-sei) “serenity”

A Japanese calligraphy work of 2 kanji characters, black ink on white card.

An original calligraphy work, available from my Etsy store.

紅葉 (kō-yō) “Red autumn leaves”

A Japanese calligraphy work of 2 kanji characters, red ink on white background.

Japan is famous for its annual “cherry blossom season”. 🌸 Less well known is that autumn leaves are also widely celebrated. 🍁 Many people take trips to famous temples and shrines, parks and forests, in order to see the beautiful autumn colours. 🍂

十人十色 (jū-nin-tō-iro) “Each to their own”

A Japanese calligraphy work of 4 kanji characters in black ink on white paper.

The kanji in this well-known Japanese idiom are: 十 = ten 人 = people 十 = ten 色 = colour(s) So literally: “ten people, ten colours”

秋高気爽 (shū-kō-ki-sō) “fresh autumn breeze”

A Japanese calligraphy work of 4 kanji characters, gold ink on orange card.

秋 = autumn 高 = high (refers to the sky here) 気 = air 爽 = refreshing

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”…???)”