I just came back from Japan. Whether in Tokyo or in the countryside, I had the chance to admire beautiful little bamboo shoots as well as their majestic elders.
In spring, Japanese cuisine is rich in flavors. One of the most delicate dishes is bamboo shoot. Harvested on the very same morning, it is eaten raw, boiled in a clear soup, grilled, steamed, or fried. It also wonderfully complements rice, with which it is cooked in a pot. During my stay, my brother, who is a chef, prepared some young shoots for me in a very mild crab broth. It was delicious.
Bamboo is gladly enjoyed as food, but it is also present in various everyday objects through its representation in patterns. Indeed, it enjoys the best auspices thanks to its attributes. It is sturdy and grows straight towards the sky. Hollow inside, it has nothing to hide. Its leaves are green all year round, and its roots connect it to its peers.
Even when I was a student, I enjoyed writing with a bamboo brush. When I see them today in stationery stores, I can't help but get some. Its handle is pleasant to the touch and allows for a stable grip, making calligraphy even more enjoyable to perform.
Thus, the beauty of bamboo is appreciated through the senses of taste, sight, and touch.
Original text
縁起の良い植物「竹」
先日、日本に一時帰国をしていました。
都内でも地方でも散歩中によく、可愛らしい筍や美しい竹林の姿を見る機会に恵まれました。
春の日本で楽しみな絶品ご飯といえば、この時期は日本料理屋さんで必ず出てくる旬の筍。朝堀りの筍のお刺身から、お吸い物、若竹煮、焼き物、蒸し物、天ぷら、〆の筍ご飯などを美味しくいただきました。他の野菜と比べて、これほどの調理法がある野菜も珍しいですよね。
また「竹」は吉祥の文様としても生活に身近なものです。幹が真っ直ぐで天に向かい伸び、堅くしっかりしていて、中は空洞で隠すことがなく、葉も一年を通して常に美しい青い葉をつけ、根を張って群生することから沢山の縁起がつまっています。
学生時代から竹でできた筆で作品を書くことも多く、書道具屋さんで見つけるとついつい購入してしまいます。程よい硬さもあり、筆触も安定しますし、なんとも言えない書き心地の良さ。
春の訪れを感じさせる筍は見た目も味も、そして竹筆は書き心地も最高です。
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Maaya Wakasugi
Calligraphy artist
Born in 1977 in Okayama, Japan. Lives in Bordeaux. Maaya Wakasugi was born in 1977, in the province of Okayama. At the age of 6 he began calligraphy, at 17 he held his first exhibition. In 2001, he graduated from the prestigious DAITO BUNKA Faculty of Arts and developed a personal style based on the so-called "ancient characters". Then, his choice of motifs that he liberates from the classical style, as well as the quality of his artistic expression, bring him a notoriety in Japan as well as abroad - exhibitions at NY ART EXPO (New York), at NEXT STEP BIENNALE (Paris), realization of a performance at MoMA. In January 2017 he calligraphed the title "Onna Jōshu Naotora" of the new historical fiction of the national television channel NHK. In 2018 he is the "Guest Artist of the Summer" by the municipality of Andernos-les-Bain. In 2019 he was chosen to calligraph the name of the new Japanese era "REIWA" on the official website of Yahoo! For the past three years he has been training adults from the PHILOMATHIQUE de Bordeaux, as well as primary and secondary school students from the region, in calligraphy workshops, the most recent of which took place at the DON BOSCO Institute in Gradignan.
