Posts by Ponte Ryūrui
Calligraphy works: 龍 (りゅう, ryū), i.e.”dragon”
龍 (りゅう, ryū), i.e.”dragon”. The treasures used were a soft mountain goat brush (羊毛筆) with a long and thin bristle accompanied by thick but dry ink, which
Read MoreKanji: 人
Shu shen (許慎, pinyin: Xǔ Shèn, ca. 58 C.E. – ca. 147 C.E.), the meaning of the character 人 was associated with the virtues of Heaven and Earth (i.e. the universe).
Read MoreSymphony of Ink, Part II
The work itself is mesmerizing, a brilliant ink application. The dry strokes, so called “kasure” (掠れ, かすれ) in Japanese, ought to add dynamism yet sometimes
Read MoreKanji: 森
森 follows a concept of three pictographs of a tree (木, き, ki) combined in one character, and it emphasises thick tree growth, i.e. woods.
Read MoreWizards of Ink: 王羲之 (Wang Xizhi, 303 – 361), Part IV
A total of 21 copies of Wang Xizhi works survived. All of them were created during the Tang dynasty by the order of Emperor Taizong of Tang
Read MoreKanji: 上
the character 上 originally meant “the higher part (or place)”, and it was represented by two horizontal lines. In later stages its meaning was broadened to
Read MoreClimbing the Moon Tree, Part 2.
Continuing the story of the Hankeido (桂堂攀, はんけいどう, Hankeidō) workshop, the construction of maki fude (巻筆, まきふで) is most unusual. The first 3rd of the root of the tuft is wrapped and strengthened with a hand-made Japanese hemp paper, also known as washi (和紙, わし). Thus, the name maki (to wrap) fude (brush). Because of…
Read MoreClimbing the Moon Tree, Part 1
The name chosen by Konoe Iehiro was Hankeidou, which literally means “climbing the wisteria tree”. According to an old Chinese legend, a wisteria tree (桂) grew on the moon,
Read MoreHairy Thugs
The Hairy Thugs gang was founded long ago, back in early 30’s. As you can see in the historical photo, the captured brothers Hai Sum Bai and Lo Sum Bai
Read MoreKanji: 小
Xiao Xu Ben a revision of Shuowen Jiezi written by the Late Han dynasty scholar Xu Kai, supports the above mentioned definition of 小, by further explanation
Read More