[number-0000003] Title: Red in the stillness of the night Size: F15 Price: ¥280,000

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The worldview of the work

“Red in the stillness of the night — The Fusion of Love and Hisseki-jutsu”

by MADARA

Night is the time when silence deepens and the air fills with quiet afterglow.
When the activities of the day subside and the noise of the outside world fades, our hearts naturally turn inward.
The color of ink embodies the depth of that night its introspection, its calm, its faint glimmer of inner light.
By delicately blending a trace of crimson into that world of stillness, I sought to create not merely a character, but a mirror that reflects emotion and unspoken wishes within the viewer.

In this work, I dipped my brush in ink and entwined it with crimson pigment, letting the lines flow as one breath between night and love.
Crimson, though often a color of passion, becomes in the night a gentle light a quiet warmth that rises from within darkness without breaking its silence.
It is the color of love that glows softly, in harmony with the stillness around it.

The color red is a color that symbolizes passion, but it is also said to have a calming effect on people’s minds. Recent research has reported that red light may help people fall asleep. Red wavelengths are less likely to suppress the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, and are less likely to awaken the brain than blue light. For example, it has been reported that turning on a soft red light at night can calm the heart rate and lead to a more natural sleep. (reference:calm.com)

Every scattered droplet of ink, every shimmer of gold represents the many moments and experiences that shape this serenity.

To transcend the boundary between beauty and intention, I completed this piece through the discipline of Hisseki-jutsu the Japanese art of interpreting and transforming the personality and destiny revealed through handwriting.
This art analyzes the unconscious traits that appear in strokes, curves, and rhythms, applying psychological and aesthetic principles to guide one’s energy and fortune through the act of writing itself.
Each stroke can carry an intent: the direction of a line, the lift of a brush, the strength of a release all are believed to summon specific kinds of luck or energy.

In Hisseki-jutsu, one may write characters infused with various forms of fortune talent, beauty, prosperity, or health.
These can be layered within a single brushstroke, creating a living symbol of harmony between intention and motion.

For this particular piece, I imbued the character “愛 (Love)” with two wishes:
To improve your brilliant charm, and To improve your health luck.

To improve your brilliant charm is expressed through the long, elegant leftward strokes expanding outward and upward to radiate inner light, magnetism, and presence.
To improve your health luck is embodied in the strong upward flicks that seal each line, representing resilience, vitality, and the power of recovery.

reference:KANJI TOKYO – About ” Hisseki-jutsu “-

By combining these two elements, I wanted to express that love is not only the brilliance seen from the outside, but also the force that sustains life and well-being from within.
Thus, the crimson that sways in the quiet night is not an illusion it is warmth itself, a living light that supports the heart.

As I moved my brush, I first focused on the charm the graceful flow of each leftward stroke, adjusting the angle and speed to create a vibrant rhythm.
Then I turned to health, pressing the brush firmly, letting each flick rise with intention, and finishing with calm precision.
In doing so, I felt the energy ki circulating through the lines, giving the character both serenity and strength.

The completed “愛” floats softly in the night, resonating quietly within the observer.
The intertwining of ink and crimson becomes a breath a pulse that lives within the night itself.
Through the invisible layers of To improve your brilliant charm and To improve your health luck, this single character carries not only visual beauty but also a flow of spiritual energy.

This union of Hisseki-jutsu and calligraphy is more than technique it is prayer made visible.
Every stroke becomes a vessel for thought, emotion, and destiny.
Each movement of the brush is a silent conversation between intention and the paper, where love itself takes shape without words.

Crimson has long symbolized life, grace, and celebration in Japanese culture.
Yet beyond its brightness lies harmony a balance with nature, with breath, with the unseen.
By dissolving crimson into ink, this character “愛” becomes both a bridge between tradition and innovation, and a reflection of Japan’s timeless aesthetic soul.

Through this work, I hope to share a quiet message:

Night’s silence deepens the emotions within us, reflecting our hearts as in a still mirror.
To light a small crimson glow in that night is to transform existence into warmth and life.
By channeling To improve your brilliant charm and To improve your health luck through the art of Hisseki-jutsu, love becomes more than a feeling—it becomes energy that nurtures both spirit and body.

When you stand before this work, may the faint crimson dwelling in the night kindle a gentle light within your heart
a light that is, perhaps, your own love.

KANJI TOKYO -漢字東京-

What kind of person is the Japanese calligraphy ( ” Shodo ” in Japanese ) artists. “ MADARA ”? | KA… Pen name: Madara (MADARA) Real Name: I refrain from disclosing my real name in order to focus on my work and concepts. D

Behind the Scenes

My thoughts were not worthy of expression at once.

by:MADARA

This work was not completed in a single attempt.
On a wood canvas, I carefully stretched Japanese washi paper with water, let it dry, and then performed a single-stroke calligraphy.
If the flow of the lines did not feel right, I would gently remove the paper and mount a new one.
That process was repeated thirteen times.

With each attempt, the balance between sumi (black ink) and beni (crimson pigment) revealed a different breath.
When the ink dominates, the crimson fades; when the crimson takes over, the depth of the night disappears.
While searching for that delicate equilibrium, I tried to feel the emotions dwelling at the tip of the brush and the breath of the paper absorbing them.
Every hesitation of the brush, every moment of stillness as the ink dries, remains within the work as part of its living rhythm.

Until the thirteenth writing, I was not seeking “completion,” but rather a sense of “conviction.”
In the tension of a single stroke, where no correction is possible, lies the truth of the moment
a living line that can only be born from the quietness of the night.

For this piece, I used black ink, crimson pigment, and kinboku and kindei-boku gold-infused inks made by dissolving gold powder.
These special inks channel a subtle energy of light through the work.
Between the depth of the black and the trembling of the crimson, golden particles drift like stars in the night sky, breathing softly within the silence.

This expresses that love is never composed of a single color.
There is passion within stillness, and there is light within darkness.
Only when both coexist in harmony can true love be realized.
That belief of love as both fire and calm lives within every stroke of this piece.

Kanji meaning

What does the kanji character “愛(a-i)love” mean?

• Fundamental meaning
  A heart that cherishes and cares for people and things, and wishes to protect and nurture them.
• Range of emotions
  It broadly encompasses not only romantic and familial love, but also 友情(yu-jyo) friendship, 慈愛 (ji-ai) compassion, self-love, love of nature and art, and other warm feelings that respect others and do not expect anything in return.
• Verb nuance
  In ancient Japanese, the nuances of “cherish,” “cherish,” and “love” were strong, and it had a more active and protective aspect than it does today.

Work details