Sosekido

The school Sosekido (素石堂) was formed by my sensei, Unkotsu Komine (小峰雲骨) many years ago. I was 13 years old when I first met him, and it was the beginning of my long-time calligraphy path.

ONE DAY WE CAN BE A SHINY BEAUTIFUL STONE

Sosekido School

The school Sosekido (素石堂) was formed by my sensei, Unkotsu Komine (小峰雲骨) many years ago. I was 13 years old when I first met him, and it was the beginning of my long-time calligraphy path.

My sensei had chosen this name Sosekido considering that we are all “soseki (素石)”, unrefined stone and with the time we try to purify to convert to a jewel. Do (堂) is a place where people get together. Once my sensei told me that we may look like a ordinary small stone but we are pure, not been affected by anything and one day we can be a shiny beautiful stone. We all have a potential, he added. I started teaching in 2010 with only 3 students. Our classroom was next to the Karate class and all through the class, we were listening to banging and a rough breathing. As I needed to name my class although it was a tiny one, I’d asked my sensei a permission to use his school name. It was because at that time, he had stopped teaching as he wasn’t so well and I wanted to carry on something that he had in out of gratitude. Since then I’ve inherited the name Sosekido.

Calligraphy is one of the most important Japanese traditional arts. The word “tradition” may sound heavy but I think different. I consider the calligraphy is an exercise of connecting your eyes, mind and the hand. You project what you see to your mind and express it with your hand. Calligraphy is an art that is simple and yet has a depth to understand. A simple one line can struggle you for days and makes you wonder why you can’t write it. I would say that the calligraphy is an investigation. Your teacher can only show and guide you the way to find your style. The aim of Sosekido is experiment. The base is important but also it´s important to be curious and try new things. Having the stable base makes you easier to experiment calligraphy more. The process of writing is known as concentration is the way to look at yourself from inside. Just like what you do in the Yoga class or meditation. Many people find the calligraphy is relaxing. While you try to wake your senses up, you disconnect yourself from the chaos around you. There is an old Chinese saying “動中の静”(Douchu no sei) means the true calmness is not depending on the environment, it comes from inside you. This is calligraphy.