Learn Japanese Calligraphy as Moving Meditation

Learn Japanese Calligraphy as Moving Meditation
Click on the image above to order your copy of The Japanese Way of the Artist. Including extensive illustrations and an all-new introduction by the author, The Japanese Way of the Artist (Stone Bridge Press, September 2007) anthologizes three complete, out-of-print works by the Director of the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts. With penetrating insight into the universe of Japanese spiritual, artistic, and martial traditions, H. E. Davey explores everything from karate to calligraphy, ikebana to tea, demonstrating how all traditional Japanese arts share the same spiritual goals: serenity, mind/body harmony, awareness, and a sense of connection to the universe.

Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Year!

We hope all of the fans of the Art of Shodo Facebook page and Art of Shodo Blog have a very Happy New Year!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Happy Holidays!

Thanks to all our friends for supporting this blog in 2010. We hope everyone has very Happy Holidays and a great New Year.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

About Art of Shodo


Prominently featured in Art of Shodo are the writings and calligraphy of Hiseki Davey Sensei, an internationally acclaimed artist, writer, and teacher. Known to readers worldwide as the author H. E. Davey, he has introduced innumerable people to shodo, martial arts, flower arrangement, and Japanese cultural arts through his many books.


Hiseki Davey Sensei can be commissioned to create special works of calligraphic art for personal and commercial use. Shodo aficionados, collectors of fine art, or individuals interested in authentic Japanese calligraphy for commercial applications, can contact Davey Sensei at 510-526-7518 (evenings) or at hedavey@aol.com for information about purchasing world class Japanese brush writing and ink painting.


Take a look at Davey Sensei's book The Japanese Way of the Artist and at the Art of Shodo Facebook page to get an idea of the wide variety of Japanese calligraphy and ink painting that can be produced for your home or office.


Davey Sensei’s award winning artwork is in a number of private collections in the USA and Japan. Further information about his professional credentials in shodo can be obtained by writing to hedavey@aol.com.


If you see something at Art of Shodo that appeals to you, contact Davey Sensei about creating a similar original work of art for your home. And if you’ve got an idea for something you’d like to see turned into Japanese calligraphy—a significant word, an interesting phrase, or a Japanese poem—call or write to Davey Sensei. Working together, it may be possible to give birth to a one of a kind work of art.


If you need expert quality Japanese calligraphic art for your business, Davey Sensei would be happy to collaborate with you. His commercial art has been used in magazines and newspapers, on book covers and postcards, and on posters, flyers, and websites. Commercial applications of Japanese calligraphy are endless, and Hiseki Davey Sensei’s innovative art can bring a new beauty and distinctiveness to your business, advertising, or website.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Fudoshin Calligraphy




This is H. E. Davey’s calligraphy of fudoshin, or “immovable mind.” You can click on the images to enlarge them.

Fudoshin is the goal of many Japanese arts and forms of meditation. It doesn’t describe a rigid, hardheaded state of mind, but rather a condition of complete mental stability, one that isn’t easily disturbed by whatever comes up in life.

It is painted using sosho and gyosho scripts, in the style of master calligrapher Kobara Ranseki Sensei. This piece of artwork was featured in Furyu magazine, along with the books Brush Meditation and The Japanese Way of the Artist.

All skillful Japanese calligraphy should display a unity of calm and action. In this case, Davey Sensei’s brushwork is so dynamic that it appears to be moving, but each character is still balanced and composed. This is the result of over 25 years of shodo training in the USA and Japan.

You can commission Davey Sensei, Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts Director, to create this fudoshin calligraphy for your home, office, or meditation room. He can be contacted at hedavey@aol.com.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Davey Sensei's Kanji and Kana Calligraphy



These two scrolls by Hiseki Davey Sensei were shown at a major exhibition of Japanese calligraphy held in San Francisco in 2000. They also were shown at the Kokusai Shodo Ten in Urayasu, Japan, where they received top awards.

The calligraphy on the left is an example of Davey Sensei's kanji art, and the Chinese characters read, "Rocky mountains are embraced by white clouds." The art on the right is an example of his kana calligraphy, with a large Chinese character meaning "waterfall," which was painted to resemble a waterfall. It reads, "The waterfall no longer flows, but its sound remains in my mind and heart."

Davey Sensei can create similar hanging scrolls for your home or office. Contact him at hedavey@aol.com .

Japanese Yoga

http://senninfoundation.com/davey_yoga.html

Kobara Sensei


The late Kobara Ranseki Sensei was the founder of Ranseki Sho Juku brush calligraphy. He received Kyokujitsu Tanko Sho—the “Order of the Rising Sun (with Silver Rays)”—from the Japanese government for his numerous years of promoting and preserving traditional Japanese art and culture via his contributions to shodo and tea ceremony. This rarely bestowed award comes in the form of the Kunsho, a Medal of Honor. You can learn about his style of calligraphic art and his remarkable life in The Japanese Way of the Artist. Order your copy here: http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Way-Artist-Living-Meditation/dp/1933330074/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288634364&sr=8-1

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Japanese Calligraphy for your Home or Business


If you see something at Art of Shodo that appeals to you, contact Davey Sensei about creating a similar original work of art for your home. And if you’ve got an idea for something you’d like to see turned into Japanese calligraphy—a significant word, an interesting phrase, or a Japanese poem—call or write to Davey Sensei. Working together, it may be possible to give birth to a one of a kind work of art. Davey Sensei can be contacted at hedavey@aol.com.

Ranseki Sho Juku Calligraphic Art

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 hedavey@aol.com. Mr. Davey is offering instruction in Integrated Shodo & Meditation based on Kobara Sensei's teachings. You can also learn about Ranseki Sho Juku shodo from the book The Japanese Way of the Artist, which was written by Davey Sensei.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The Master's Brush

The Master's Brush

Meet Masako Inkyo, master of Japanese calligraphy, in a film directed by Carole Ryave: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWVkQSRsXcE&feature=player_embedded

To learn more about Japanese calligraphy as art and meditation, pick up a copy of The Japanese Way of the Artist by H. E. Davey.

About Art of Shodo

Art of Shodo offers the public reliable information about Japanese brush calligraphy, or shodo. Art of Shodo features the award winning art of Hiseki Davey Sensei, author of The Japanese Way of the Artist, Brush Meditation: A Japanese Way to Mind & Body Harmony, and other works. Davey Sensei's calligraphic art can be purchased through Art of Shodo, and Mr. Davey can be commissioned to create shodo art for your personal collection, home, business, or commercial use. He can be contacted at hedavey@aol.com.

Japanese Art

For more information about Japanese art go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_art

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Book Review: "The Sound of One Hand"

The Sound of One Hand: Paintings and Calligraphy by Zen Master Hakuin
By Audrey Yoshiko Seo and Stephen Addiss

Reviewed by H. E. Davey

Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Shambhala (September 7, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1590305787
ISBN-13: 978-1590305782
Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 8.3 x 1.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
List Price: $65.00
 
Hakuin Ekaku (1685–1768) is one of the most prominent figures in the history of Zen, and this gorgeous book focuses on his life, ink paintings, and brush calligraphy. He can be considered the instigator of contemporary Japanese Rinzai Zen practice, one of the two major schools of Zen in Japan. He notably emphasized the value of koan practice in awakening, a technique that concentrates on the solving of metaphysical questions, such as the famous koan, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”

He is also known for having rejuvenated the monastic existence of his time. However, his philosophy wasn’t restricted to the monastery. Hakuin was the classic Zen master of the people, celebrated for taking his instruction to every branch of society, to people in all walks of life, and his painting and calligraphy were particularly potent vehicles for those lessons. He used long-established Buddhist images and sayings—but also themes from legends and every day living—many of which are found in this lavishly illustrated hardback. Hakuin fashioned a new visual idiom for Zen: insightful, whimsical, and different from everything that came before. He is one of the most famous practitioners of Zensho, “Zen calligraphy.” Admirers of Japanese calligraphic art (shodo) should, however, note that not all calligraphy indentifies itself as “Zensho,” and this is but one of many styles of calligraphy practiced in Japan.

In his long life, Hakuin produced thousands of ink paintings and calligraphies. These works of art, combined with his voluminous writings, stands as a testament to his philosophy, illuminating why some feel he was the most significant Zen master of the past 500 years. All of this is thoroughly covered in The Sound of One Hand. The tone of the writing is more scholarly than light, and while his artwork and life is painstakingly examined, The Sound of One Hand will not serve as a basic introduction to Zen. It’s focus is on Hakuin’s Zen life and Zen art, and to some degree it presupposes an existing knowledge of Zen Buddhism.

The Sound of One Hand is a study of Hakuin and his art, illustrated with examples of his work, well-known pieces like “Three Blind Men on a Bridge” as well as lesser acknowledged artwork. It is, without a doubt, the most complete volume on Hakuin and his Zen art currently available.

About the Reviewer: H. E. Davey, the Director of the San Francisco Bay Area-based Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts, is also the author of The Japanese Way of the Artist, Brush Meditation: A Japanese Way to Mind & Body Harmony, Japanese Yoga: The Way of Dynamic Meditation, and other works. He is a direct student of the famed calligrapher Kobara Ranseki Sensei, and he holds the highest rank in Ranseki Sho Juku calligraphic art. His Japanese calligraphy and painting has been in numerous exhibitions in Japan, where he has received multiple top awards. For more information about H. E. Davey and his classes in Japanese arts and forms of meditation, visit www.senninfoundation.com

 

Friday, August 6, 2010

Art of Shodo is on Facebook

Check out the cool Art of Shodo Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-of-Shodo/143454699015635?v=wall

Become a fan today and keep up on all the latest shodo information, news, photos, videos, and writings. Learn more about the award-winning art of Hiseki Davey Sensei. Discover the principles underlying shodo as meditation and the origins of Ranseki Sho Juku calligraphy.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Facebook

Want to learn more about Japanese brush calligraphy? Drop by the Facebook page of the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Albany-CA/Sennin-Foundation-Center-for-Japanese-Cultural-Arts/112790382074106



The Sennin Foundation Center is lead by H. E. Davey Sensei, author of Brush Meditation and The Japanese Way of the Artist. You can visit the Sennin Foundation Center's website at www.senninfoundation.com.