At our recent shodō groups in person and online we brushed the striking kanji characters Tsuki shiro 月白 (つきしろ)🌙, meaning bright white moon, from a commentary by Zen master Hakuin Zenji written in 1749.
This is part of a longer phrase ‘white moon pure wind’ which has been brushed by Zen calligraphers. The spirit of ‘white moon pure wind’ is not holding grudges, accepting and enjoying things as they are.
We brushed the two kanji characters in both the kaisho standard script and the sōsho fully cursive style, with contrasting thickness of strokes in each kanji. At the classes we tried to capture the shape of the moon as we wrote it, inspired by the old shell and bone as well as tensho (seal) scripts.
This time the relationship between the kaisho and sōsho styles was as clear as the white moon we were brushing, and the participants enjoyed the loose and relaxed feel of brushing in the sōsho style.
At Zen Brush online class we had some extra time to explore more contemporary calligraphic styles and for Blair to talk through different ways of working with the materials.
Here is a short, relaxing moon haiku by Matsuo Basho that befits the mood of the classes:
From time to time
The clouds give rest
To the moon-beholders.
It was great to see everyone really focussed on brushing, thanks for joining!
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