Artworks

折蒼竹　1985年

折蒼竹（蒼い竹を折る）――その「折」は画家・中村不折・、「蒼」は政治家・副島蒼・海、「竹」は書家・中林梧竹・。この近代の三筆にあやかってわが書斎名とした。後に俳人・河東碧梧桐の「碧」を加えて「折蒼碧竹堂」と改めたが。近代日本の書の巨人たちへの敬意と憧憬の風景である。

Sessochiku (Snapped Green Bamboo), 1985

This literally implies snapping a blue-green bamboo, but it is actually a portmanteau derived from three names. Snap (“Setsu”) refers to the painter Nakamura Fusetsu, Green (dark blue-green: “Ao/So”) to the politician Soejima Sokai, and Bamboo (“Take/Chiku”) to the calligrapher Nakabayashi Gochiku. I named my study “Sessochiku” after these three modern calligraphers. I later added Heki (vibrant blue-green: “Ao/Heki”) for the haiku poet Kawahigashi Hekigotō, changing the name to “Sesso Hekichiku-do.” This conveys my respect and admiration for these giants of modern Japanese calligraphy.