The old tensho character for mu – nothing – is actually a pictogram, either of a person dancing, or holding ceremonial pieces of wood, so it is really interesting to work on.
The more complicated tensho has a strong balance and the kaisho style of mu we worked with has a lighter feel to work with the shin – heart-mind.
無心 mushin has zen meaning which we chatted about (could be translated a carefree and unfixed heart-mind), as does unsui 雲水 – clouds and water, which can also mean zen practitioners such as monks and nuns.
Sui being one of the five elements, and un (or kumo) being cloud, with it’s rain shapes like tears or dots of water falling from the sky..
It was nice to experiment with the different styles and have some freedom on the full page of the hanshi paper.
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