On 21/22 June there was a bonsai exhibition organised by Bonsai club Noord at the meeting house in Haren, where I participated again with a calligraphy demonstration.
Both the exhibition and the programme.
This time my husband was one of the organising members and they had a busy series of meetings. The programme structure also had a good time schedule based on the reflections of 2023.
On the second day, the organisers and my husband were interviewed by local TV RTVNOORD.♪
Tumami-ZaikuWork
I was asked to introduce someone who can wear the Kimono.
So I introduced Mrs Teruko Iwamoto.
She has been learning to dress kimono for many years and is working hard on Tsumamizaiku, a type of decoration and craftwork made from silk cloth. There is a Tsumazaiku organisation in Belgium, to which she belongs and is very busy.
What to write
This time I decided to demonstrate something I had never shown for people before.
It is・・・
Place a piece of paper on the floor and write a big letter with oversized blush!
Why I did not write this before I did ・・・（Always same （lagh））
I got one hour to do Shodo-demonstration.
「・・・It’ s too long」 I seid 、but when it was over , it was very fine. （mr. organizsater , you were ritght! （笑））
I heve never think about that I’ll do demonstrate Kalligrafie till 3 years before . People get used to it.
Until now I made only around 3 kind om Shodo-works with very big brush. But I have a promise with myself that I said ” I’ll do it “, so I did practice many times.
By the way, I got a chance that I could see a demonstration of a calligrapher from Japan just a few days before.
I had never seen a demonstration of calligraphy before and it gave me an insight into what it looks like from the outside.
Openings
The opening was greeted by the head of Haren Village, and a Chinese or Indian(?) a “lion” dance with a hanging scroll saying “all will be well”. It is not dissimilar to the Japanese lion dance, but with more colour with heat (laughs).
・・・lion, seems too hot（swear）
Shodo-demonstration
After the very usual story that the thick-ink for the demonstration was not arrival・・・
I made ink for 40 minute（I enjoyed it ）
At a beginning I write 「Bon-sai」with a big size brush.
I think I’ve managed to create an interesting ‘light-inked’ style… (Laughs).
If the sumi ink is too thin, the brush slides differently, so I had to be conscious of that.
On the second day, the sumi ink was thicker, and again the ‘bonsai’ was created.
The half-slice is a mixture of cursive and semi-cursive script, “Sou Boku Yu Shin”, proposed by Bai Juyi.
I found the term “Sou boku ( Kusa Ki?) -kan” in my husband’s bonsai book and was practising it, but on closer inspection it seemed to be a Buddhist term for the teaching of “becoming like a tree or grass so that you don’t feel anything”.
Are you seriously saying that plants and trees don’t feel anything? I was a little annoyed, and when I looked further into it, I found that Bai Jui Yi （Haku Kyo I ） also proposed the phrase ‘plants and trees have hearts’.
And kana: “Natsu no yo wa Mada yoi nagara akenuruwo Kumo no izuko ni Tsuki yadoru ran” (Summer night dawns early, which clouds dose the moon take a bed ?) Composed by Fukayo Kiyohara.
Many people, especially students of the Waran Mizukukiki-kai, came to see the performance, and on the second day, after the demonstration, there was time to discuss “expression” and “mindfulness” with a professional guitarist, painter, bonsai master and other multi-talented people.
Each of us is in a different field, but the “important things” were the same.
It was a very fulfilling time.
Teruko-san , she go back to ・・・
We used same place, Teruko Iwamoto-san and me.
Teruko-san looks dignified in a proper kimono.
Tsumazaiku is fun and cute to look at… A lot of people were buying them to take home. They were also displayed on the bonsai shelves.
I bought a Kanzashi
I immediately asked her to wear it in my hair [laughs].
It is sad to see her go home ( Japan ), but we have our own paths to follow.
It’s not like we’re parting for life…
Demonstration on afternoon
I gave a demonstration on the table in the afternoon.
It was difficult to write in a good balance without being able to see the whole paper. I need more practice.
The 2 days was so hot even the many running event or some festival was canceled, but we got really good times.
Write as you sing, sing as you write
I have been singing for a long time, so I have experience in public performances and practical skills, but this time I felt like I could sing in a calligraphy performance the most.
Since childhood, I have been a two-legged sandal of “music and calligraphy”, and I once had a self-loathing feeling that I was greedy, but now I am finally understanding what it means.
I intend to express more of the “connection between the two” within myself in the future.
And I hope that more people will become interested in calligraphy.
My calligraphy teachers were very sincere in their self-discipline and training of their students, so I wonder what they would say when they see me now… but I am a singer, so I will try my best to convince them of this form!
That’s what I strongly thought during the two days.
Those who came to see the show
Teruko-san
And everyone involved in Bonsai Club Noord
Thank you very much.
I hope to see you again.
