When last we were in Nara we learned how traditional Japanese Sumi ink is made. For those headed to Kyoto and Nara, you might want to include this on your tour. At the Nara Visitor Center, a volunteer picked up the phone and called ahead for our how to make Sumi experience. Here is where we learned how for hundreds of years, Japanese craftsmen have been making traditional sumi ink sticks.
Bokuen Nagano, 6th Generation Ink Artisan
Videography By: Toby Manzanares
Photo credit: https://kinkoen.jp/en/experience/
"Taking the time to rub the ink calms the mind before writing by hand, a
process in which the body and mind can move in unison to express
themselves.
That is what is in your hand when you grip Nara Sumi. Hidden in this ink are 1,400 years of thoughts and expressions. It is as if, just for a brief moment, you and your hand are reaching back through all those centuries to when Nara was the capital of Japan, and this ink was as fresh on this land as it is in your hand." --source: https://kinkoen.jp/en/experience/
That is what is in your hand when you grip Nara Sumi. Hidden in this ink are 1,400 years of thoughts and expressions. It is as if, just for a brief moment, you and your hand are reaching back through all those centuries to when Nara was the capital of Japan, and this ink was as fresh on this land as it is in your hand." --source: https://kinkoen.jp/en/experience/
"In recent years, using the Gripped Sumi Experience as a way to speak
with both Japanese and non-Japanese people about Japanese culture,
especially calligraphy and sumi, is the one thing I enjoy more than
anything else. From now and forever, I want to preserve Kinkoen as a
place where everyone can casually gather and talk about these things." --Bokuen Nagano
Directions to Bokuen Nagano's Sumi Workshop:
547 Sanjōchō, Nara, 630-8244, Japan. (from Nara Train Station)
To magnify, click on the map below.
I'll work on getting an English translation.
Video credit: https://youtu.be/SS4qfuBnpGw
Tokyo: Patricia has signed us up for a Tokyo Calligraphy class while we're there. Stay tuned for the details.
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