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.

More Images of Kobara Ranseki Sensei

On December 28, 2005 the world lost one of Japan’s preeminent practitioners of traditional Japanese art when Kobara Ranseki Sensei passed away in San Francisco. Kobara Sensei, acknowledged in Asia and the USA as perhaps the greatest shodo calligraphy artist outside of Japan, was 81 years old.

To learn more about Ranseki Sho Juku brush calligraphy and painting, the system of fine art created by Kobara Sensei, contact Hiseki Davey Sensei at 510-526-7518. Mr. Davey is offering instruction in Integrated Shodo & Meditation based on Kobara Sensei's teachings.

Integrating Shodo & Meditation

Shodo means the “way of calligraphy,” and it is one of the most respected Asian fine arts. Painted with a brush and ink, Japanese calligraphy uses centuries old kanji (“Chinese characters”), which due to their pictographic nature have similarities to abstract expressionism. Balance, grace, dignity, vibrant movement, and the beauty of line combine to create a dynamic ink painting of the mind that people the world over have come to admire.

The Sennin Foundation Center offers you an opportunity to study genuine Japanese shodo—an art rarely taught in English —for artistic expression and moving meditation. Students study kanji as well as hiragana and katakana—phonetic scripts—along with classical ink painting. You’ll also learn to brush age-old haiku and waka poems, sometimes with accompanying ink and water painted illustrations (sumi-e). Sumi-e is a bit similar to Western watercolor painting, and shodo is a fun way to study Japanese language, while you learn about Japanese culture.

H. E. Davey Sensei, the primary instructor at the Sennin Foundation Center, is the author of Brush Meditation: A Japanese Way to Mind & Body Harmony, Living the Japanese Arts & Ways: 45 Paths to Meditation & Beauty, and The Japanese Way of the Artist. He is a top student of the late Kobara Ranseki Sensei of Kyoto, the founder of Ranseki Sho Juku calligraphy. He studied with his teacher for 20 years, and he received the highest rank in Ranseki Sho Juku brush writing. He exhibits his artwork annually at the International Shodo Exhibition in Japan, where he received Jun Taisho, the “Associate Grand Prize,” among numerous other awards. Davey Sensei’s artwork has been featured in many American and Japanese magazines and newspapers.

Integrated Shodo & Meditation is a special program created by Davey Sensei to teach traditional Ranseki Sho Juku shodo to Westerners in an accessible manner that leads to meditation. This class has been liked to “Zen with a brush,” and it combines group instruction in Shin-shin-toitsu-do forms of meditation with private lessons in Japanese calligraphy. Along with the combination of meditation and art, students learn exercises for enhancing ki, human “life energy” (chi in Chinese). Strengthening ki benefits our health, and ki is the enigmatic and dynamic force behind beautifully powerful calligraphy and painting.

Authentic shodo is rarely taught in English in the West. You can read more about Davey Sensei, Kobara Sensei, and Integrated Shodo& Meditation at the Art of Shodo blog. Contact us soon at 510-526-7518 to learn how shodo and meditation can help you discover beauty and serenity in your daily life.