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Eternal peace with the eight strokes of 永 Ei – Yong

Eijihappo The Eight Strokes of Shodo Calligraphy

At Zen Brush we worked with the graceful eight strokes of eternal eijihappoh 永字八法, also known as the eight principles of yong – getting a feel for them and having some fun with the flow of the brush.

Eternal peace with the eight strokes of 永 Ei - Yong

Inspired by some Japanese haiku and old waka poetry we brushed 永平 eihei – meaning eternal peace – also the name of Master Dogen and his Zen temple Eiheiji- which is such a lovely combination of kanji characters.

Eternal peace with the eight strokes of 永 Ei - Yong
Eternal peace with the eight strokes of 永 Ei - Yong

It was great to see the participants on zoom enjoying the shodo calligraphy practice, and embracing the two styles this month – kaisho and the fun reisho which comes from the cliff faces of China. Many thanks to some of the participants for sharing images of their calligraphy below.

With a buzzing cry
A bee shifts on the bloom sought
By a butterfly
Taigi

Eternal peace with the eight strokes of 永 Ei - Yong
Eternal peace with the eight strokes of 永 Ei - Yong