Mu

The above photos are of Hiseki Davey Sensei's calligraphy of the Chinese character mu. Impossible to fully define, mu refers to the ultimate nature of reality or the absolute universe. It has been defined as "the void" or "nothingness."

Davey Sensei painted this on specially colored Japanese paper know as a shikishi. It is brushed in the abstract sosho script. It is presently in the collection of Kevin Heard. Click on any of the images to see a larger view.

Similar pieces of artwork can be commissioned for personal or commercial purposes. Davey Sensei, author of The Japanese Way of the Artist, can be reached at hedavey@aol.com.

Mushin

The images of above are of Kobara Ranseki Sensei's calligraphy of mushin. Mushin means "no mind" or "empty mind, " and it refers to a state of calmness and mental clarity that is a goal of traditional shodo practice. Kobara Sensei, founder of Ranskei Sho Juku shodo, painted these Chinese characters in the abstract, abbreviated, and cursive sosho style. (Clicking on the images above will enlarge them.)

Note the dynamic, and yet still composed, nature of the artwork, clearly displaying the unity of calm and action that is the hallmark of high level Japanese calligraphy. The late Kobara Sensei was one of the preeminent masters of Japanese calligraphy in the 20th century, and this work is in the collection of Hiseki Davey Sensei, his student.

Davey Sensei can be commissioned to create similar pieces of calligraphic art, and he can be reached at hedavey@aol.com.

The Kanji Calligraphy of Davey Sensei

The images above are of an example of Hiseki Davey's award-winning kanji calligraphy. Davey Sensei is a direct student of the late Kobara Ranseki Sensei, the founder of Ranseki Sho Juku Japanese calligraphy. Kobara Sensei was, with over 50 years of training, widely regarded as one of the preeminent masters of shodo brush calligraphy in the world.

Kanji are the Chinese characters used in Japan, and they often amount to abstract drawings or pictograms. In the artwork above, Davey Sensei combined calligraphy using gyosho and sosho scripts. Gyosho is a semi-cursive form of writing, and sosho is a fully cursive and abstract version of Chinese characters. (Left click with your mouse to zoom in on each image.)

Generally speaking, the brush writing states that we should believe in, and have confidence in, the Spirit of the Universe. It relates to Shin-shin-toitsu-do, the art of Japanese yoga and meditation. Davey Sensei is also the author of Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation.

This unique and very large example of Davey Sensei's art appeared in the important Sankei newspaper's annual exhibition of calligraphy in Japan. Of the massive number of entrants, only a relatively small number of pieces of art are chosen to appear in this prestigious exhibition.

Davey Sensei, is known throughout the world as the acclaimed author H. E. Davey, the creator of Brush Meditation, Living the Japanese Arts & Ways, The Japanese Way of the Artist, and other works. Davey Sensei can be commissioned to create distinctive works of calligraphic art similar to the one above for your home, office, or commercial use. He can be contacted at hedavey@aol.com or reached by telephone at 510-526-7518.

The Kana Calligraphy of Davey Sensei

The images above are an example of Hiseki Davey's kana style calligraphy. Davey Sensei holds the highest rank in Ranseki Sho Juku calligraphy, and he is a direct student of Kobara Ranseki Sensei, the famed founder of this discipline.

Kana are the phonetic symbols of Japan, and they are typically brushed in a flowing and cursive script. In the artwork above, Davey Sensei included some sosho kanji, Chinese characters painted in an abstracted and cursive form, a script that flows into the equally gentle and rounded kana.

The calligraphy was painted on a large piece of colored handmade Japanese paper, specially designed for kana brush writing, and incorporating small flecks of gold, silver, and other elements. Davey Sensei also executed a simple and somewhat abstract ink painting that illustrates the autumn clouds, birds, and tall grass referenced in the writing.

The calligraphy reads:

In autumn evenings, when the glittering sun sinks close to the edge of the hills, the mountain trees seem so very near. Crows sing as they fly back to their nests in threes and fours and twos; more charming still is a file of wild geese, like specks in the distant sky. When the sun has set, one's heart is moved by the sound of the wind and the hum of insects in the tall grass.

Sei Shonagon
Makura no Soshi--The Pillow Book

This graceful example of Davey Sensei's art appeared in the Kokusai Shodo Ten, where it won a top award. The Kokusai Shodo Ten is an annual international exhibition of Japanese calligraphy. It takes place in Japan, and it has been called "the Olympics of shodo."

Hiseki Davey Sensei, is known throughout the world as the acclaimed author H. E. Davey, the creator of Brush Meditation, Living the Japanese Arts & Ways, The Japanese Way of the Artist, and other works. Davey Sensei can be commissioned to create distinctive works of calligraphic art similar to the one above for your home, office, or commercial use. He can be contacted at hedavey@aol.com or reached by telephone at 510-526-7518.

The Kanji Calligraphy of Kobara Sensei

Kobara Ranseki Sensei was the founder of Ranseki Sho Juku Japanese calligraphy. He was, with over 50 years of training, widely regarded as one of the preeminent masters of shodo brush calligraphy in the world.

The images above, from the collection of Hiseki Davey, are an example of Mr. Kobara's kanji style calligraphy. Kanji are the Chinese characters used in Japan, and they often amount to abstract drawings or pictograms. In the artwork above, Kobara Sensei combined calligraphy with ink painting in his rendering of a Asian coin. The kanji are read in a clockwise manner, around the square hole in the coin. (Left click with your mouse to zoom in on each image.)

The design is clever. It is composed of four characters, each of which has a square component. The kanji are arranged so that they all share the square radical, which also serves as the center hole of the coin.

The calligraphy was painted on a Japanese shikishi, which is a more or less square stiff board used for calligraphy and painting.The brush writing reads:

Ware tada taru o shiru.
"The only thing I know is that I'm perfectly satsified."

This unique example of Kobara Sensei's art was given to his student Hiseki Davey, and it resides in Mr. Davey's private collection of Ranseki Sho Juku artwork. Davey Sensei, is known throughout the world as the acclaimed author H. E. Davey, the creator of Brush Meditation, Living the Japanese Arts & Ways, The Japanese Way of the Artist, and other works.

Davey Sensei can be commissioned to create distinctive works of calligraphic art similar to the one above for your home, office, or commercial use. He can be contacted at hedavey@aol.com or reached by telephone at 510-526-7518.

The Kana Calligraphy of Kobara Sensei

Kobara Ranseki Sensei was the founder of Ranseki Sho Juku Japanese calligraphy. He was, with over 50 years of training, widely regarded as one of the preeminent masters of shodo brush calligraphy in the world.

The images above, from the collection of Hiseki Davey, are an example of Mr. Kobara's kana style calligraphy. Kana are the phonetic symbols of Japan, and they are typically brushed in a flowing and cursive script. In the artwork above, Kobara Sensei included some sosho kanji, Chinese characters painted in an abstracted and cursive form, a script that flows into the equally gentle and rounded kana. (Left click with your mouse on the above images to zoom in.)

The calligraphy was painted on a large piece of handmade Japanese washi paper, which tends to resist the absorption of ink, and which gives the kana and kanji a unique textured appearance. The poem itself reads:

If the voice of the nightingale
Did not sound
How could I know
That spring has come
To this mountain village of unmelted snow.

Nakatsukasa
Wakan Roei Shu

This extraordinarily graceful example of Kobara Sensei's art was given to his student Hiseki Davey, and it now resides in Mr. Davey's private collection of Ranseki Sho Juku artwork. Davey Sensei, is known to readers throughout the world as the acclaimed author H. E. Davey, the creator of Brush Meditation, Living the Japanese Arts & Ways, The Japanese Way of the Artist, and other works.

Davey Sensei can be commissioned to create distinctive works of calligraphic art similar to the one above for your home, office, or commercial use. He can be contacted at hedavey@aol.com or reached by telephone at 510-526-7518.

"Crazy for Kanji"

H. E. Davey Sensei's Japanese calligraphy will be featured in the upcoming Stone Bridge Press book Crazy for Kanji. A sample of his brush writing, which will appear in the new book, can been seen above. It shows the three different script styles commonly used in Japanese calligraphic art.

The kanji, or "Chinese character," depicted in all three illustrations is do (a.k.a. michi), which means "a road" in its more utilitarian usage and "the Way" in more spiritual terms. Many traditional Japanese arts that are practiced for spiritual realization end with the character for do. Examples are shodo ("the Way of brush calligraphy") and budo ("the martial Way," in other words, martial arts). In the illustration above, do is brushed using kaisho, gyosho, and sosho script styles. Moving from left to right, each script becomes more and more abbreviated and abstract.

You can purchase Davey Sensei's latest book The Japanese Way of the Artist, which covers Japanese calligraphy in detail, through Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Way-Artist-Living-Meditation/dp/1933330074/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229545807&sr=8-1

Want to find out more about the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts Integrated Shodo & Meditation program? Just drop by www.senninfoundation.com.

You can read more about The Japanese Way of the Artist and the upcoming Crazy for Kanji at www.stonebridge.com. Stone Bridge Press focuses on books about Japanese culture that will appeal to many readers of this blog.