Kunio Kobayashi calligraphy

mike_p

At a GSBF convention several years ago, Kobayashi-san did an ink calligraphy on a hotel napkin and presented it to me for a haiku I composed about the old collected juniper he was demonstrating on.
I've had it displayed in my shop for several years. Today I decided I should get a good digital image of it, and then put it away in a safe place.
I mounted it on a poster board and took a few shots.
The image was processed with Photoshop, and the print was sized to exactly fit a scroll card.
After printing and mounting, here's the final result.

Mike

Attached Images

1_kobayashiscroll.jpg (66.4 KB, 65 views)

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Aaron_K

Very nice too Mike. Do you know what it says? My Japanese is a bit rusty lol.

All the best,

Aaron

mike_p

Aaron, I wish I had a good translation. Hideko Metaxas who was translating for Kobayashi-san gave me a feeling for it and asked to compose some haiku for her. Whether what I wrote is truly representative of the calligraphy, I have no clue.

Mike

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Aaron_K

My brother is away in Thailand at the moment, but when he's back in Japan, I'll send him the picture if you like and get him to translate it, or his girlfriend.. as she's native Japanese.

It looks pretty at any road lol

All the best,

Aaron

mike_p

Aaron, I'd be very happy to hear his translation. Go for it please!

Mike

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Bonsai is a way of life.
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Aaron_K

Hi Mike,

I got an email from my brother to say that he has returned to Japan from Thailand. I've emailed him the haiku and should hopefully get a reply soon for you.

All the best,

Aaron

ripssurf

"habataku tsuru" - is the tentative reading for this scroll but there are many different readings. "habataku" describes the moment before flight and "tsuru" is the japanese word for crane (the bird). without asking kobayashi himself, it is hard to know the exact reading. she described this as art and as such, it is difficult to not just read, but to also translate unless kobayashi himself told us the meaning.

I asked my wife what this means, and she said that there really isnt a reading for it. however, it does have a good meaning and creates a good picture.

she described this as a crane before it takes flight, ready to soar. she said it symbolizes the moment when one's future becomes good (soaring). cranes in japan are typically assoceated with milestones where congratulations are in order and are omens of good things ahead. usually cranes along with turtles are associated with new year's celebrations as well as weddings.

i know that given time i can give you a better definition of this scroll, but i just saw this thread today and havent really gone into the meaning of this yet. give me some time, and i will look through a couple of textbooks as well as my "kanji" dictionary to get you a better reading and a more precise definition.

jeff

mike_p

Jeff, many thanks for your efforts. I am very interested in the feeling of this, if not necessarily the exact meaning. This came about with an impromptu haiku on my part concerning Kobayshi's demo, and he responded with the calligraphy. The haiku that started things concerned the ancient collected juniper he was working on.

HIGH UPON MOUNTAIN
ENDURING CRUEL WINTER
BENT, NEVER BROKEN

Hideko Metaxas, who was translating for Kobayashi, gave him her translation of the haiku. I suppose that in these situations, it's impressions that are conveyed, and not too much literal translation.


Mike

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