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Shodo & An Empty Mind – Beyond Calligraphy

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In 1985 I met Kobara Ranseki Sensei, an extraordinary master of Japanese calligraphy, with skill in ink painting as well. He was the founder of the Ranseki Sho Juku system of traditional calligraphic art and the co-founder of the Kokusai Shodo Bunka Koryu Kyokai, an international shodo association headquartered in the Tokyo area. Kobara Sensei was held in high regard by me and his other students, who all wanted to find the source of his mastery. But it wasn’t just us. The Japanese community in Northern California, where he lived and taught, revered him. His style was singular and his skill exceptional, leading to awards for excellence in shodo from Japan’s Foreign Minister, Prime Minister, and culminating in his receiving the Order of the Rising Sun from Emperor Akihito. An exceptionally calm and kind man, he viewed shodo as a Do, or “Way,” to enlightenment through the brush. Refusing to think of his teachings as shuji, mere “handwriting,” he conveyed countless life lessons to me over

In 1985 I met Kobara Ranseki Sensei, an extraordinary master of Japanese calligraphy, with skill in ink painting as well. He was the founder of the Ranseki Sho Juku system of traditional calligraphic art and the co-founder of the Kokusai Shodo Bunka Koryu Kyokai, an international shodo association headquartered in the Tokyo area. Kobara Sensei was held in high regard by me and his other students, who all wanted to find the source of his mastery. But it wasn’t just us. The Japanese community in Northern California, where he lived and taught, revered him. His style was singular and his skill…

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