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Translation of calligraphy

deFrel

後輩
6 May 2012
8
1
18
Hi there,

Being a zen enthusiast, I recently bought a Japanese calligraphy on the flea market.

I was told the text reads: 'When I move, the universe moves'. I just wanted to check if that is correct. Also, there seems to be a rather long signature on the left. Maybe someone could tell mee what it means?

Much obliged!

Greetings,

Eric
 

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Yes, it does. It reads: 吾れ動けば宇宙動く (ware ugokeba uchū ugoku). f you want me to try to read the sig., then please submit a zoomed picture of it. I need to see the details (that includes the left-hand side seal).
 
Anytime. I only hope you didn't pay much for this calligraphy.

I need to think on the first character(s), but the sig. reads ?の錬成 島崎書, i.e. ? training written by Shimazaki. ? stands for the character I am not sure of. I thought that the top read 五月, i.e. May, but I doubt it. It kind of looks like 五+か...

So in short, its one of many calligraphy works that Shimazaki wrote for purpose of training his writing, or it was written on the occasion of some other training.
 
Thank you!

Are you affiliated with Beyond Calligraphy? In that case: you have a very informative website.

The calligraphy was almost free. I just liked the message of it, and wanted to make sure that it really did read what I was told. Luckily, you could confirm that.

Thanks again for your time! It is much appreciated.
 
I am the author of all of the texts for all Beyond Calligraphy sites, with the exception of guest articles, as well as the co-founder of the project. Glad you like the sites :) Yes, the phrase is really nice, after I read your post, I actually sat down and wrote the phrase by myself, here is my interpretation of this text:

movetheworldresisedlogo-1.jpg


The calligraphy you have is not that bad, it was written by an older person, who was not a professional calligrapher, but had a fairly decent grasp on handwriting. The use of seals is incorrect, and the white space management could be a bit better, but as he wrote (I said he as it seems its a man's writing), it was a training.

The bottom left seal is not a calligraphy seal, but a family name seal and its not a hanko but inkan, i.e. a seal used for a daily affairs in Japan. It should not be round, and since its a seal in relief, it should present calligraphers pen-name and not his real last name. His knowledge of the cursive script is rather poor, and you can see the mannnerisms which are evident in the character "move (動), which he wrote in virtually identical way. That is a faux pas in calligraphy art.

See my other work below, a fragment of Dao De Jing by Laozi, in which character 者 (person) appears 8 times (3rd from the top in first 6 lines and second to the last in last two lines, read from right to left), yet all of them differ. Some other characters are repeated as well (知,勝,自, etc.), yet they all differ from one another. I place the translation of the text below the picture.

laofullresised-1.jpg


知人者智。自知者明。勝人者有力、自勝者強。 知足者富。強行者有志。不失其所者久。死而不亡者壽

One who understands others is clever.
One who knows self is enlightened.
One who conquers others is forceful.
One who conquers self is strong.
One who can be content is rich.
One who is contentious is ambitious.
One who doesn't lose one's position endures.
One who dies but is not forgotten lives on.
 
Wow. That is quite an analysis of this small calligraphy excercise. The old Shimazaki would have been glad to see his work discussed on the world wide web... :)

Thanks!

And a very elegant interpretation you have put in yourself. Do you usually write with white-on-black? It looks very good. And especially the Laozi text sometimes looks like blend of different languages, like Arabic, Sanskrit and Japanese...

Now that I have learned a tiny bit about professional calligraphy, I will keep my eyes peeled for a good zen related calligraphy to hang in my living room.

Thanks again!
 
Anytime. Oh, no, I usually write with black ink on black paper, but recently I was playing around with different papers and inks. Just a bit of fun. We are building forums for calligraphy and ink painting, so if I am not around here, you can always post pictures / questions there. I reckon it should be live in 2-3 months. When purchasing calligraphy, there are few important things to note. Perhaps I will write an article about it some time.
 
Thank you for your detailed information on calligraphy and ink painting. I believe it is a different kind of treasure for human being. I hope you might have time for informing more on purchasing calligraphy. Best regards.
 
高山
秋多し


老僧

佛心
戊午年
秋日
松村

my attempt
full of autumn in a high mountain
in a distant temple
an old monk lives with Buddha's heart


1978 (possibly, or it could be 1918)
an autumn day
Matsumura
(the name of the artist)
 
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