Custom Japanese Calligraphy

"The scrolls we purchase are some of the best available. The border is a beautiful true silk. These scrolls are made to last generations.

I have also seen these scrolls framed which looks wonderful in a Western-style room. The dowels were cut off so the work lay flat and the scroll was then simply matted and framed." Eri Takase
 

Stillness,
The sounds of a bird walking
on fallen leaves

Names in Japanese

"Having one's name translated to Japanese is rather common these days and is something I often do when creating custom designs. I personally go to great lengths with my customers to ensure that they understand and are comfortable with the options and that they select a method and a design that works best for their situation.

It was to help our customers make an informed decision that we originally created the Names in Japanese area. There is an extensive body of name translation information that is freely available on this website." Eri Takase

Names in Japanese - Anne/Annie

The above are four options for Anne that feature the meaning of the name in kanji as the main element and the pronunciation in katakana in the upper right.

Anne means Grace which in Japanese is yuuga and is the main kanji shown in the designs shown above. Notice that different fonts are used in the samples - each is yuuga and the meaning is the same, only the font used is different. In the lowest left-hand corner is Eri Takase's seal and signature.

The standard way that name are translated to Japanese is to use katakana which is purely a phonetic translation with no associated meaning.

We have an extensive body of name translation information including over 2000 names in hiragana, katakana and the literal translation of the meaning of the name in kanji. For more information visit Names in Japanese

Martial Arts

"Japanese Calligraphy and the Martial arts are linked closer than one might imagine. As a child I was raised in a manner that would be seen only in the strictest dojo with the intent on teaching both discipline and how to focus one's ki.

I touched on this point in an article for Kampsport called Seishin Toitsu which in which I attempted to describe this relationship and why Martial Artists may practice Calligraphy." Eri Takase
 

True Victory is Victory over Oneself

The founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, coined the phrase masakatsu agatsu literally translating to "true victory, self victory."
 

Haiku

"Haiku captures a moment. From the classics Basho is the poet, Issa the conscience, and Buson the artist.  If I may try and predict things to come, one will see series after series of my work inspired at least partially by Buson's Haiku." Eri Takase

An evening orchid, 
Hidden in its scent,
The flower's whiteness.

"I had not thought much about this poem until I owned, without knowing it, a night-blooming orchid. For days we were perplexed about the source of this heavenly scent. Once we understood we went on and on about the plant and the scent. It wasn't for a while that we actually stopped and marveled at the beautiful white flowers. This experience is all so well capture in this poem by the poet-artist Buson." Eri Takase

Romantic Gifts

Custom designs work very well for romantic gifts. A paper artwork is perfect for the first anniversary - the paper anniversary. These designs are custom and we have added anniversary dates, portions of vows and even quotes from the Bible.
 

Soul Mates

Soul Mates in Japanese is translated as "tamashii no tomo." This design combines soul mates into a single form. Here the two soul mates are written as a phonetic translation to kanji which worked well in this case. In the lower left-hand corner is the seal and signature of Eri Takase. As a balancing seal on the left is a small red seal for Eternity.