How to Brush an Ensō

[Kokuu]

Hi all

Short instructional video on how to brush an ensō that I found helpful. Other videos from the same channel deal with more aspects of Japanese calligraphy for those with an interest in shodō.



Gassho
Kokuu
#sat today

[lorax]

Kokuu
Thanks so much for this great resource!

(haven't sat yet this morning) but wanted to thank youl

[Myosha]

Hello,

Thank you for the link.


Gassho,
Myosha sat today

[Dosho]

Thanks Kokuu!

Although I would have liked to have seen some of his other "not so good" ensos. I bet they are still quite wonderful.

Gassho,
Dosho

Sat today

[Mp]

This is great Kokuu, thank you. =)

Gassho
Shingen

#sattoday

[Jundo]

Just a feeling (eye of the beholder and all such), much as one might say that one pianist has "it" while another just seems to be pushing keys ... but that fellow leaves the heart rather cold. Perhaps more like "big ink circles" than the universe. Can't tell why, save to compare to this ...

Enso, round without circles ...



(I say that as someone who makes chicken scratchings when I write ... just a feeling. )

Gassho, J

[Jundo]

This Rinzai Master, Aikidoka and Calligrapher finally gets down to Enso about 5 minutes in ... but all that comes before during those minutes -is- the Enso, not only the rather simple circle traced ...



Gassho, J

SatToday

[Byokan]

Hi All,

Yes, there seems to be more depth in the Tanamura video -- lovely!

However, when I watched her video I thought, “Wow, neat, she’s a real artist, how beautiful!”

When I watched the first video I thought, “Hey, cool, maybe I will pull out my paints today and try that!”

So great value to both.

Gassho
Lisa
sat today

[Jundo]

When I watched the first video I thought, “Hey, cool, maybe I will pull out my paints today and try that!”

So great value to both.

Gassho
Lisa
sat today

Hi Lisa,

I am not so sure in this case ... any more than amateur me can get on the Karate mat and demonstrate good Kata form, dance like Nureyev or get in the kitchen and cook like a master chef. Sure, I can run in and make a bowl of soup, shake my bootie for fun or pretend I am Bruce Lee, all fun and fine in their way ... but I don't think we can Enso just by putting paint on a page. Mindful-mindless embodiment and experience are vital.

Gassho, J

Sattoday

[Jundo]

This is not Enso (except as all things are "Enso"), but Nishijima Roshi's way of writing. He had a lovely way. The mixing of the ink at the start ... and the affixing of the stamps at the end ... are all a vital facet of the Practice ...



Gassho, J

[Byokan]

Hi Lisa,

I am not so sure in this case ... any more than amateur me can get on the Karate mat and demonstrate good Kata form, dance like Nureyev or get in the kitchen and cook like a master chef. Sure, I can run in and make a bowl of soup, shake my bootie for fun or pretend I am Bruce Lee, all fun and fine in their way ... but I don't think we can Enso just by putting paint on a page. Mindful-mindless embodiment and experience are vital.

Gassho, J

Sattoday

Hi Jundo,

Oh, for sure, I’m not going to make anything like an authentic Enso just playing around. I’ll be making big ink circles. I only meant that playing around is good, and if it piques an interest then one may be drawn to look into it further and start studying the real practice. We non-artists have a hard time even starting anything, because we know it won’t be any “good.” So if a video gives me “permission” to play around because it’s not so deep and serious, that’s a cool thing. I think people should allow themselves to dance badly, paint badly, cook something horrible, and even sing off tune. (I do all those things, horribly, and with great joy.)


BUT yes, we should have respect for the real practice and not confuse the two! One hates to see an art form cheapened or misrepresented.

Gassho
Lisa
sat today

[Jundo]

Hi Lisa,

Well, I am all for fooling around and having fun.

But not in this case. There is a time to respect traditional form, and not merely be smearing ink on paper. Otherwise, it is the difference between this fellow (who, by the way, happens to be the founder of the Karate lineage in which our Yugen studies) ...



and just fooling around.



Even in our little Sangha, where we are very much minimalist on Traditional forms such as bowing and offering incense, I encourage our priests-in-training to learn from the masters and do so with all sincerity ... not simply from people going through the motions. In some practices, I am all for people making "their own ritual" and just being sincere about it, but not here. Perhaps because this is so fundamental, like basic Karate Kata forms.

Gassho, J

[Byokan]

Yowza! That chi just about shattered my computer screen. Point well taken, Teacher.

Gassho
Lisa
sat today

ps. dang, I love that Star Wars kid

[Joyo]

Hi Kokuu, thank you for the video and for starting this discussion. Jundo, thank you, Miyu is so elegant and beautiful with her calligraphy.

I have two calligraphy tattoos, one of an enso, and the other a shoshin. They are a continuous reminder of my life-long dedication to this practice.

Gassho,
Joyo
sat today

[Troy]

Thank you Kokuu. I would love to try this someday. What a great way to practice


_|sat2day|_

[lorax]

HI, I am with Lisa, you have to start somewhere with your ink stone, paper and brush. For me the hardest part is starting. Getting rid of what I want it to look like thoughts. Just sitting, grinding the ink stick on the stone, with the blank paper in front of me. One barrier is the paper itself. Good rice paper is hard to find and I am reluctant to just let the brush go when using it. One solution to break this is using blank news print paper for this practice. As Jundo says, Mindful-mindless embodiment and experience are vital. Having a special place for this practice, without distractions, without barriers, dry ink stone, water vessel, ink stick, blank paper and brush, just start.

SAT TODAY

[Heisoku]

Thanks Kokuu for this.
I received a calligraphy lit when I left my post in a Japanese Junior High School so at last I can start to use it for something. I really think it is an art that develops over time and that includes the expression of 'spirit'. Even a never ending circle needs to start somewhere, doesn't it?
Gassho
Heisoku
Sat today