From April 26th, we held a calligraphy activity for guests from overseas. This time, we invited six people to the event.
Using animations and videos, I explained to everyone about myself, the history of calligraphy, and the brush calligraphy that I have been doing since 1996. Everyone listened attentively.
In the calligraphy class, we started by learning how to hold the brush. We then practiced strokes, stop strokes, flicks, and strokes. Some students were holding a brush for the first time. Because of this, they were hesitant to place the brush on the paper, so we held their hands together and helped them learn “ton, tsu, ton.”
As expected, the most difficult part is writing with the right hand. I thought that this would be impossible for beginners, but once they got the hang of it, some people were able to write very well. What’s more, they were originally left-handed. Calligraphy is originally made to be written with the right hand, so writing with the left hand is very difficult. But, after I explained this to them, they said, “Well, I’ll practice with my right hand!” and started writing. I thought this person had incredible talent.
After the calligraphy class, I converted the names of the participants into kanji and wrote them in calligraphy on hanging scrolls, which I then presented to them as presents. I explained to them the meanings of the kanji I used, and the thoughts and wishes that were put into the calligraphy, and they all enjoyed it.
And then we took a commemorative photo together. Everyone was happy to have been given their own Japanese name.
Then, you can choose your favorite picture from my ink paintings and sumi-e, print it on a T-shirt and give it to the participants as a gift. The T-shirts were made in advance for this event. The event was originally scheduled to end at 12:00 PM, so everyone would go around Hiratsuka during lunchtime, and the T-shirts would be delivered to my Madara Atelier on the 11th floor of the Hiratsuka MN Building from 4:00 PM. If you don’t have time, we can also deliver it to your hotel.
This time, everyone was smiling, screaming, and seemed to be having a lot of fun. Even though it was the first time everyone met, they made friends and exchanged contact information. I was really glad to see everyone’s smiles. It made me very happy. I plan to continue this project in the future.
