About me
Introduction of Suļen Wada, Japanese calligrapher.
My name is Fumi Wada, born and raised in Osaka, Japan.
At the age of 6, I started to learn calligraphy under Great Master Shūhō Yamanaka. I practiced calligraphy during the next 23 years and finally I had the privilege to be accepted in the Onchi-kai and Naniwazu-kai (famous Japanese calligraphy societies).
My calligraphy Master named me "Suīen" (Green Garden in English) as my calligrapher name. Under my Master, I learned all the calligraphy skills and above all the great pleasure of practicing calligraphy.
Later, I moved to France and lived there during 7 marvelous years. I had the chance to make two Japanese calligraphy exhibitions.
In 1997, I moved to Montreal, Canada.
In 2000, I started my calligraphy website. Since then, I am writing and selling my calligraphy artworks to customers from all over the world. Also, and several times through out the year, I make exhibitions in Quebec and Ontario.
My artistic style is an harmony of "Ki-Energy", "Bi-Beauty" and "Hin-Dignity". And at last, I try to give life into my art works. Oddly enough, my specialty is both manly dynamic calligraphy and feminine fine calligraphy. This really helps to be able to write any style of calligraphy, depending on the content.
In my childhood, I was raised in a traditional Japanese artistic family. My father is a Great Master of "Shakuhachi" (Japanese vertical bamboo flute), and all the female in my family learned "Shōdō", "Sadō" & "Ikebana" (Japanese calligraphy, Japanese tea ceremony and Japanese arrangement flower"). In my house, we have many Japanese antiques displayed and we often visited Kyoto and Nara temples, where traditional arts and antiques are still available to the public.
Thanks to this education, I was naturally inclined to have a real eye for Japanese arts. It is my great intangible treasure which was given to me by my family.
On the other hand, I also devoted myself to "Kendo" (one of Japanese martial arts). I am very interested in the Martial Arts and Zen concepts related to Martial Arts. As you might have already discovered, my website devoted a lot of space to these themes.
Finally, I hope you will enjoy my calligraphy World. I hope that, even if you don't understand Japanese language, you can feel my spirit in my calligraphic work.
Best Regards
Fumi Wada
This is my introduction regarding "shodo" (Japanese calligraphy) and "kendo".
Supported by Two “Do” (Two “Ways”)
For half of my life I have been well supported by following two Japanese traditional “ways” that have always kept me on the right track. I would like to explain how these two “ways,” or “do” (pronounced just like the word “dough”), as they are called in the Japanese language, have allowed me to maintain my Japanese identity even though I live far from Japan. One is "shodo" (Japanese calligraphy) and the other is "kendo" (a Japanese martial art). Let me begin by telling you about my early experience with the “way” of studying Japanese calligraphy.
I was born in Osaka, Japan, and during my childhood there I was quite aware not only of the importance of writing legible characters at school, but also of how characters can be written beautifully. Because of this awareness, I became a student at the age of 6 of Shihan (Master) Yamanaka Shūhō. This sort of awareness of beauty seems to be missing in other places I have recently lived, first in France, and currently in Canada. I have been very much surprised that Westerners I have met largely don't share this sense of beauty, but even more striking to me has been the different way in which the learning of this art form is approached by many Westerners.
In Japan, I used to go to my Master to learn basic calligraphy for 2 or 3 hours every Sunday morning, and I following this traditional “way” of learning until I was 29 years old. The calligraphy practice with my Master was to write the calligraphy modestly, following only his model. That is, to succeed was to do calligraphy just as the Master's did. My Master was a typically Japanese man of few words, so he didn't explain to me the details or analyze his technique. Therefore, I used to look hard at his model, his right hand and wrist movement, his brush movement and writing rhythm. "Watching” or “observing" was the whole of the method to learn, and the burden was on the student to catch his instruction by example. Now I live in Canada, and I have a Canadian calligraphy student. He always says that he can't do calligraphy without understanding the logic of it, believing that watching my model well would not be enough. So he asks me to explain with phrases. But in a given lesson, "watching" is truly the better way to receive instruction, and much more likely to lead to inspiration than listening to some reason for proceeding a certain way. Indeed, to watch the master at work was always most thrilling. Now, let me turn to the topic of my second "do", which is "kendo". When I was a student in junior high and high school, my regular after school activity was the practice of kendo. During that time in my life, every big city in Japan had a kendo or a judo club at school. Now I live in Montreal, Canada, where talk about martial arts usually means talk about karate or aikido. Kendo is unfortunately a very minor sport. Thirty years ago in Japan, girls rather preferred to do kendo over judo. I was also one of the girls who had yearned for a kendo "dogi" (uniform). Discipline in my kendo club was very strong and severe, not only in terms of the required physical exercise, but also regarding human relations between "senpai" (senior) and "kōhai" (junior). In particular, we were very careful to use the proper salutation and language with our "senpai". At that time, through my kendo, I learned courtesy toward others and severity to myself. Our kendo club motto was "Shitsu jitsu gōken" which can be translated as “it is important to be enriched mentally and to be sturdy physically.” Now that I have become a professional calligrapher, I often write this motto as my own.
Both my grandfather and my father practiced kendo, though when my father was a child, just after the Second World War, kendo was prohibited during the US oocupation. After coming of age, he was fascinated by the book of Omori Sōgen (1904-1994), who was a Great Master of Swordplay (Jiki shin kage ryu), and also a famous Japanese calligrapher. My father began an exchange with this Great Master, who offered as a gift of gratitude to my father two scrolls of calligraphy. On one of those scrolls Omori Sōgźn had written the character "Kosei" (meaning “individuality”). Looking at his calligraphy, I felt something different than when looking at the calligraphy I had learned. Indeed, I had difficulty understanding why he had chosen this particular word. At that time, I thought that he was viewing the world through philosophical eyes due to his kendo, allowing him to reach his sanctuary and do his calligraphy.
When I left Japan I moved to France, and then later to Montreal, Canada. There, I launched my calligraphy website. It was a good first step as a professional calligrapher, but I hit a snag. I had left my Master in Japan, so I had to write calligraphy without his model. I had to rely only upon my own ability and my own originality. Having never done calligraphy without following my Master's model, I deeply felt my own weakness. I had to find my own personal, individual approach, and what I had received from study under my Master provided only a foundation for this. After four years as a professional calligrapher, I started to master my own proper style, based upon the harmonization of "ki" (energy), "bi" (beauty) and "hin" (dignity). I poured my soul into this harmonization. By putting all other thoughts out of my mind, I could achieve a state of perfect self-effacement. If I were to expect too much, I couldn't attain such a state. With this realization I began to understand the "kosei" character in the calligraphy that Omori Sōgen had written for my father. My interpretation of this character meaning "individuality" was “to stand on my own feet" or "to be independent." In those days, I often had been writing the characters for "love" or "harmony" on my website, and others that seemed appropriate; however, at last, I realized my mission as a Japanese calligrapher: I realized that what I rather should be doing would be to introduce the Master's sayings from Buddhism, Zen, martial arts, and the Japanese traditional arts (such as calligraphy, the tea ceremony etc.) to The West. That is to say, I was striving to spread Japanese concepts and Orientalism.
In commom between "Budo" (martial arts), "shodo" (calligraphy) or "sado" (tea ceremony) is the "do," meaning "way." Indeed, this "do" leads to Zen concepts, and all "do" lessons are only a medium, with the final purpose of each "do" being to advance us into a spiritual state that is distinctly Oriental. This is not at all the same as Western approaches of study, within which it is often taught what is right and what is wrong. In contrast it is the "Mu" (or nothing) state, from which state we can gain mental peace and receive guidance, hopefully finding something helpful for building character. Sometimes I go to a martial arts "dojo" (training room) and also karate tournaments in Canada. It hasn't been long since Canadian people began popular study of the martial arts. They work very hard and it amazes me that they master it in such short periods. They can physically and technically attain relatively quickly the same level as Japanese martial artists. The next step that is not so quickly mastered is the mental excercise. As I mentioned earlier, a martial art is not only a physical sport, but also is very sacred and connected to "Zen," a religious state. In a "dojo" the two Gods of martial arts, "katori daimyōjin" and "kashima daimyōjin," are usually enshrined or a scroll of Zen phrases is decorated. Doing "seiza" (sitting on one's heels) in a "dojo," meditating with one's eyes closed, and wondering to oneself, is indispensable for martial arts training. To be a great martial artist, human maturity is the primary point to be evaluated. There's no denying the fact that many Western people start martial arts simply because of their yearning to attain its “look.” This aspiration towards attaining the kendo “look” was my first motivation to start kendo lessons as well. But at the same time as beginners engage in physical training, I hope they also literally learn the ancient Great Master's sayings so that they can understand the essential meanings. It will be sure to support human relations and the proper molding of the learner’s character.
Another motto is "shu-ha-ri". This saying comes from the Japanese tea ceremony, but nowadays in martial arts (especially kendo), and in any life, it holds true. “Shu” is often translated as either "obeying your teacher" or "imitation of your teacher." It is a period of basic learning. “Ha” means "break", or breaking with tradition," (i.e. finding your own style) . “Ri” means “leave” your teacher and advance to your own state, style, and way. The most important thing is to meet a good teacher and to complete "shu" level. I would like to give this final motto to you who devote yourself to martial arts, and to encourage you with it, as it holds the key to success.
My name is Fumi Wada, born and raised in Osaka, Japan.
At the age of 6, I started to learn calligraphy under Great Master Shūhō Yamanaka. I practiced calligraphy during the next 23 years and finally I had the privilege to be accepted in the Onchi-kai and Naniwazu-kai (famous Japanese calligraphy societies).
My calligraphy Master named me "Suīen" (Green Garden in English) as my calligrapher name. Under my Master, I learned all the calligraphy skills and above all the great pleasure of practicing calligraphy.
Later, I moved to France and lived there during 7 marvelous years. I had the chance to make two Japanese calligraphy exhibitions.
In 1997, I moved to Montreal, Canada.
In 2000, I started my calligraphy website. Since then, I am writing and selling my calligraphy artworks to customers from all over the world. Also, and several times through out the year, I make exhibitions in Quebec and Ontario.
My artistic style is an harmony of "Ki-Energy", "Bi-Beauty" and "Hin-Dignity". And at last, I try to give life into my art works. Oddly enough, my specialty is both manly dynamic calligraphy and feminine fine calligraphy. This really helps to be able to write any style of calligraphy, depending on the content.
In my childhood, I was raised in a traditional Japanese artistic family. My father is a Great Master of "Shakuhachi" (Japanese vertical bamboo flute), and all the female in my family learned "Shōdō", "Sadō" & "Ikebana" (Japanese calligraphy, Japanese tea ceremony and Japanese arrangement flower"). In my house, we have many Japanese antiques displayed and we often visited Kyoto and Nara temples, where traditional arts and antiques are still available to the public.
Thanks to this education, I was naturally inclined to have a real eye for Japanese arts. It is my great intangible treasure which was given to me by my family.
On the other hand, I also devoted myself to "Kendo" (one of Japanese martial arts). I am very interested in the Martial Arts and Zen concepts related to Martial Arts. As you might have already discovered, my website devoted a lot of space to these themes.
Finally, I hope you will enjoy my calligraphy World. I hope that, even if you don't understand Japanese language, you can feel my spirit in my calligraphic work.
Best Regards
Fumi Wada
This is my introduction regarding "shodo" (Japanese calligraphy) and "kendo".
Supported by Two “Do” (Two “Ways”)
For half of my life I have been well supported by following two Japanese traditional “ways” that have always kept me on the right track. I would like to explain how these two “ways,” or “do” (pronounced just like the word “dough”), as they are called in the Japanese language, have allowed me to maintain my Japanese identity even though I live far from Japan. One is "shodo" (Japanese calligraphy) and the other is "kendo" (a Japanese martial art). Let me begin by telling you about my early experience with the “way” of studying Japanese calligraphy.
I was born in Osaka, Japan, and during my childhood there I was quite aware not only of the importance of writing legible characters at school, but also of how characters can be written beautifully. Because of this awareness, I became a student at the age of 6 of Shihan (Master) Yamanaka Shūhō. This sort of awareness of beauty seems to be missing in other places I have recently lived, first in France, and currently in Canada. I have been very much surprised that Westerners I have met largely don't share this sense of beauty, but even more striking to me has been the different way in which the learning of this art form is approached by many Westerners.
In Japan, I used to go to my Master to learn basic calligraphy for 2 or 3 hours every Sunday morning, and I following this traditional “way” of learning until I was 29 years old. The calligraphy practice with my Master was to write the calligraphy modestly, following only his model. That is, to succeed was to do calligraphy just as the Master's did. My Master was a typically Japanese man of few words, so he didn't explain to me the details or analyze his technique. Therefore, I used to look hard at his model, his right hand and wrist movement, his brush movement and writing rhythm. "Watching” or “observing" was the whole of the method to learn, and the burden was on the student to catch his instruction by example. Now I live in Canada, and I have a Canadian calligraphy student. He always says that he can't do calligraphy without understanding the logic of it, believing that watching my model well would not be enough. So he asks me to explain with phrases. But in a given lesson, "watching" is truly the better way to receive instruction, and much more likely to lead to inspiration than listening to some reason for proceeding a certain way. Indeed, to watch the master at work was always most thrilling. Now, let me turn to the topic of my second "do", which is "kendo". When I was a student in junior high and high school, my regular after school activity was the practice of kendo. During that time in my life, every big city in Japan had a kendo or a judo club at school. Now I live in Montreal, Canada, where talk about martial arts usually means talk about karate or aikido. Kendo is unfortunately a very minor sport. Thirty years ago in Japan, girls rather preferred to do kendo over judo. I was also one of the girls who had yearned for a kendo "dogi" (uniform). Discipline in my kendo club was very strong and severe, not only in terms of the required physical exercise, but also regarding human relations between "senpai" (senior) and "kōhai" (junior). In particular, we were very careful to use the proper salutation and language with our "senpai". At that time, through my kendo, I learned courtesy toward others and severity to myself. Our kendo club motto was "Shitsu jitsu gōken" which can be translated as “it is important to be enriched mentally and to be sturdy physically.” Now that I have become a professional calligrapher, I often write this motto as my own.
Both my grandfather and my father practiced kendo, though when my father was a child, just after the Second World War, kendo was prohibited during the US oocupation. After coming of age, he was fascinated by the book of Omori Sōgen (1904-1994), who was a Great Master of Swordplay (Jiki shin kage ryu), and also a famous Japanese calligrapher. My father began an exchange with this Great Master, who offered as a gift of gratitude to my father two scrolls of calligraphy. On one of those scrolls Omori Sōgźn had written the character "Kosei" (meaning “individuality”). Looking at his calligraphy, I felt something different than when looking at the calligraphy I had learned. Indeed, I had difficulty understanding why he had chosen this particular word. At that time, I thought that he was viewing the world through philosophical eyes due to his kendo, allowing him to reach his sanctuary and do his calligraphy.
When I left Japan I moved to France, and then later to Montreal, Canada. There, I launched my calligraphy website. It was a good first step as a professional calligrapher, but I hit a snag. I had left my Master in Japan, so I had to write calligraphy without his model. I had to rely only upon my own ability and my own originality. Having never done calligraphy without following my Master's model, I deeply felt my own weakness. I had to find my own personal, individual approach, and what I had received from study under my Master provided only a foundation for this. After four years as a professional calligrapher, I started to master my own proper style, based upon the harmonization of "ki" (energy), "bi" (beauty) and "hin" (dignity). I poured my soul into this harmonization. By putting all other thoughts out of my mind, I could achieve a state of perfect self-effacement. If I were to expect too much, I couldn't attain such a state. With this realization I began to understand the "kosei" character in the calligraphy that Omori Sōgen had written for my father. My interpretation of this character meaning "individuality" was “to stand on my own feet" or "to be independent." In those days, I often had been writing the characters for "love" or "harmony" on my website, and others that seemed appropriate; however, at last, I realized my mission as a Japanese calligrapher: I realized that what I rather should be doing would be to introduce the Master's sayings from Buddhism, Zen, martial arts, and the Japanese traditional arts (such as calligraphy, the tea ceremony etc.) to The West. That is to say, I was striving to spread Japanese concepts and Orientalism.
In commom between "Budo" (martial arts), "shodo" (calligraphy) or "sado" (tea ceremony) is the "do," meaning "way." Indeed, this "do" leads to Zen concepts, and all "do" lessons are only a medium, with the final purpose of each "do" being to advance us into a spiritual state that is distinctly Oriental. This is not at all the same as Western approaches of study, within which it is often taught what is right and what is wrong. In contrast it is the "Mu" (or nothing) state, from which state we can gain mental peace and receive guidance, hopefully finding something helpful for building character. Sometimes I go to a martial arts "dojo" (training room) and also karate tournaments in Canada. It hasn't been long since Canadian people began popular study of the martial arts. They work very hard and it amazes me that they master it in such short periods. They can physically and technically attain relatively quickly the same level as Japanese martial artists. The next step that is not so quickly mastered is the mental excercise. As I mentioned earlier, a martial art is not only a physical sport, but also is very sacred and connected to "Zen," a religious state. In a "dojo" the two Gods of martial arts, "katori daimyōjin" and "kashima daimyōjin," are usually enshrined or a scroll of Zen phrases is decorated. Doing "seiza" (sitting on one's heels) in a "dojo," meditating with one's eyes closed, and wondering to oneself, is indispensable for martial arts training. To be a great martial artist, human maturity is the primary point to be evaluated. There's no denying the fact that many Western people start martial arts simply because of their yearning to attain its “look.” This aspiration towards attaining the kendo “look” was my first motivation to start kendo lessons as well. But at the same time as beginners engage in physical training, I hope they also literally learn the ancient Great Master's sayings so that they can understand the essential meanings. It will be sure to support human relations and the proper molding of the learner’s character.
Another motto is "shu-ha-ri". This saying comes from the Japanese tea ceremony, but nowadays in martial arts (especially kendo), and in any life, it holds true. “Shu” is often translated as either "obeying your teacher" or "imitation of your teacher." It is a period of basic learning. “Ha” means "break", or breaking with tradition," (i.e. finding your own style) . “Ri” means “leave” your teacher and advance to your own state, style, and way. The most important thing is to meet a good teacher and to complete "shu" level. I would like to give this final motto to you who devote yourself to martial arts, and to encourage you with it, as it holds the key to success.
