Revisiting 独臂君子神雕伴 白衣淑女侠侣行

I revisited a piece from the past

独臂君子神雕伴 白衣淑女侠侣行

September 2026 calligraphy "homework"

The "homework" pieces that I submitted for September 2026.

Hanshi kanji 半紙漢字: 花間一壺酒

 
Single character 一字: 棧

 
Hansetsu kanji 半切漢字: 月鎖千門静 天高一笛清

 
Unsubmitted pieces:

 

August 2026 calligraphy "homework"

 

Creating on physical media

I used to write poems, some of which I have posted on this blog before. In fact, I used to write them quite often. But not now. It has been a while since I wrote poems, whether in English or Chinese. And recently, when I thought about it, I kind of understood the reason.

 

It is about physical media.

 

My poetry-writing days were back when I wrote them in a notebook. I always carried a notebook around, and when an idea came in, I would write it down. Pen and paper--raw ideas, raw thoughts. I also don't like to make my notebooks messy, so I would frame that spontaneous idea in my head and wrote it down. No crossing out. Which means not much editing; whatever editing took place in my head, in that short time.

 

But with things going digital now, I rarely note things down in my notebook. When I have an idea, I would try to note it down in a text file. The problem is that I can procrastinate as much as I want. I can edit as much as I want. I would look at what I wrote, think it can be better, try to edit it, try to perfect it. But it would never be perfect. And so, it would always remain unfinished. After a while, I would lose interest. The file would either reside in a folder, forgotten, or deleted.

 

When I wrote in notebooks, like it or hate it, whatever is written down has taken shape; it has been "published". Creating on physical media is immediate. When I started blogging, I took it as an extension of my physical diary; my blogs are my online digital diaries, and I tried to keep them raw and unedited. It is also why you often find grammar or spelling mistakes in my posts, because I rarely look through them before publishing them. If I don't catch a mistake while typing, it gets overlooked.

 

You can also see this pursuit of perfection in my calligraphy. Again, calligraphy is physical media; once you put the brush to the paper, the ink is absorbed, and that's it. No editing is allowed. But I always want to make it better. And so I keep writing the same thing again and again, trying to make it better. For a single work, I can use up many many sheets of paper.

 

Which is where calligraphy exhibitions come in. They help me to "publish" my works, because they have submission deadlines. Like it or not, I end up having to submit something by the deadline, even if I don't think it is perfect yet. Exhibitions force me to stop trying to rewrite for perfection, which is an impossible goal.

 

This endless pursuit of perfection can also be seen in how I revisit phrases in my calligraphy. I would write something, then go back months or years later to pick up from where I left, to try to make it better. Simply because I want to create something better.

 

To me, creating on physical media is raw creative power. It captures the moment. A lot of things created on physical media may never be shared with others, but a work has been brought into this world nonetheless. 

 

Maybe I should start writing poems on notebooks again... 

Mid-Autumn Festival 2026

Today is the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, which means it is the Mid-Autumn Festival aka 中秋节. So this is the mandatory 中秋 post.

 

 

Autumn is here

Autumn is here. And the red spider lily is in full bloom.

 

The red spider lily is also known as 彼岸花 higanbana. 

And autumn is also the season in which the movie Suzume no Tojimari was set, so here are some blog posts related to the movie.

 

Blog posts related to Suzume no Tojimari: 

Suzume no Tojimari (すずめの戸締まり) at IMAX

Diving into Suzume no Tojimari

"Director's retake" of Suzume

Suzume no Tojimari all-Japan stage greeting

Director Shinkai Makoto in person at Dolby Cinema screening of Suzume no Tojimari

Suzume stage event with director Shinkai Makoto

Final screening of Suzume in Japan with live broadcast of stage event

Suzume—Tamaki’s Story (unofficial translation of 小説すずめの戸締まり～環さんのものがたり～)

Suzume—Serizawa’s Story (unofficial translation of 小説すずめの戸締まり～芹澤のものがたり～) 

The start of Suzume's adventure 

 

 

Violet Evergarden Chamber Concert in Osaka announced

 

Violet Evergarden Chamber Concert will take place on 14 November 2026 at The Symphony Hall in Osaka. There will be two performances, at 14:30 and 18:00 respectively. This is a strings quartet with piano and harp, and songs will be performed by TRUE, Chihara Minori, and Yuuki Aira. The music will be performed by the Heartbeat Ensemble.

#ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン
Chamber Concert 11/14(土) 開催決定🎻

弦楽四重奏・ピアノ・ハープによる室内楽編成で、大阪「ザ・シンフォニーホール」にてお届けします。

プレミアムグッズ付きチケット
HP先行販売開始！

▼詳細はこちらhttps://t.co/AIySyoPxW4#VioletEvergarden pic.twitter.com/eyVvkh2feO

— 「ヴァイオレット・エヴァーガーデン」公式 (@Violet_Letter) September 18, 2026

Official announcement

 

Concert-related posts:

Violet Evergarden Orchestra Concert 2021

Violet Evergarden Piano Concert 2022

Violet Evergarden orchestra concert in Beijing, China on 8 June 2024

Violet Evergarden orchestra concert in Thailand on 17 and 18 January 2025

Violet Evergarden concert at AniMagic 2025 in Germany from 1 to 3 August 2025

Violet Evergarden orchestra concert in Taiwan on 11 January 2026 

Violet Evergarden Live in Concert USA Tour (2026)

Violet Evergarden Chamber Concert in Osaka (2026) 

Sumire Philharmonic Orchestra's Violet Evergarden (unofficial) orchestra concert

Translating the message card from Violet Evergarden Orchestra Concert 2021

My overall thoughts on Violet Evergarden The Movie

Events:

First cast greeting event for Violet Evergarden the Movie

Violet Evergarden the Movie: Cast greeting event to thank fans

Production staff event at screening of Violet Evergarden the Movie

Letter of appreciation from Violet Evergarden's author Akatsuki Kana

Post on Violet Evergarden Orchestra Concert 2021

Post on Sumire Philharmonic Orchestra's Violet Evergarden (unofficial) orchestra concert

 

Translations of short stories:

Gilbert Bougainvillea and the Fleeting Dream (unofficial translation of "ギルベルト・ブーゲンビリアと儚い夢")

Violet Evergarden short stories: "Logbook entry" and "Diary entry" (unofficial translation)

The Starry Night and the Lonely Two (unofficial translation of 星降りの夜とさみしいふたり)

Diethard Bougainvillea's If (unofficial translation of ディートフリート・ブーゲンビリアIf) 

The Tailor and the Auto-Memories Doll (unofficial translation of 仕立て屋と自動手記人形)
 

Tellsis (Nunkish) translation:

Decoding the Violet Evergarden postcard

Translating the message card from Violet Evergarden Orchestra Concert 2021

Last line of Violet's final letter to Gilbert

My Tellsis language translator in Flutter that runs on Windows, Linux, and Android

My (old) Python script for translating to and from Tellsis language (Nunkish)

 

Insights on the movie:

Was Ekarte Island based on Folegandros?

Touching scenes in Violet Evergarden the Movie

Violet Evergarden the Movie is a story about guilt

Article about story consistency/inconsistency in Violet Evergarden the Movie

 

Audio commentary notes:

Production staff

Voice actors

Music staff

Audio commentary notes for TV series

 

Violet Evergarden TV anime series

 

All posts related to Violet Evergarden.

  

A collection of random characters

This is a collection of random characters I wrote over the past few months.

 

 

Revisiting an old phrase for upcoming exhibitions

风声雨声读书声声声入耳
家事国事天下事事事关心

 

This was a phrase I came up with many many years ago. I thought it would be a good idea to use this phrase for upcoming exhibitions. However, the challenge is that there are two characters that keep repeating: 声 and 事. It is very difficult to create a good piece of calligraphy when the same character keeps appearing, but I want to take up this challenge.

 

At the same time, due to paper size, it is just not practical to do so sometimes, so I decided to change it a bit for an upcoming piece. This is the draft.

 

As you can see, I changed the phrase to

风声雨声读书声千声入耳
家事国事天下事万事关心

to avoid three consecutive 声 and 事 when written using 半切 hansetsu paper.

 

For 二六 (2x6 feet) paper, I should be keeping the phrase in its original form, but using a layout that avoid grouping the three consecutive 声 and 事 together.

 

Update 9 September 2026: This is the draft for the 二六 (2x6 feet) paper version.

 

 

 

August 2026 calligraphy "homework"

The "homework" pieces that I submitted for August 2026.

Hanshi kanji 半紙漢字: 永結無情遊 (this was rated quite highly)

 
Single character 一字: 菲

 
Hansetsu kanji 半切漢字: 草閣共招溪上月 茶爐重和巻中詩

 
Unsubmitted pieces:

July 2026 calligraphy "homework"

My first calligraphy exhibition piece

Many years ago, when I first started learning calligraphy, my teacher asked me to write something so that she can help me submit it for an exhibition. This was the piece that got submitted.

 

眼にあてて海が透くなり桜貝 

(めにあてて うみがすくなり さくらがい)

This is a poem by 松本たかし (Matsumoto Takashi).

 

I even drew the crabs based on what I learned during art class in school.

 

I actually don't remember where this piece was submitted, because it was many many years ago. I think it was for a local exhibition in Yokosuka, but I could be wrong. 

43rd Sankei International "Sho" Exhibition (第43回産経国際書展) at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

I submitted two works for the 43rd Sankei International "Sho" Exhibition (第43回産経国際書展) and received notification that one of them was selected for the exhibition. Today, I made my way to see my work on exhibition. 

There is only one venue in Tokyo for the Sankei International "Sho" Exhibition and it is at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, spanning 12 exhibition halls (4 on each floor, on B1, level 1, and level 2; basically, these are all the exhibition halls at the museum except for those used by the museum for its own exhibits). Out of the 12 exhibition halls, 10 were used for the exhibition, while the remaining 2 halls were used for the "junior" section, displaying works by school students. Out of the 10 halls, works submitted by the public (from all 47 prefectures in Japan, as well as those who submitted from overseas) took up about 4 halls; the remaining 6 halls displayed works by members of the Sankei Shokai Calligraphy Association.
 
Here are some of the pieces on exhibition. 

Here are some of the winning works by students.

 

There were also submissions from other countries, including Italy, the U.S., Malaysia, and even Singapore. The submissions from Singapore were mainly seal carvings.

 
I timed my visit to day because there was also a calligraphy demonstration, where the two calligraphers who received the top awards were asked to demonstrate how they go about creating their works.

This is my work on display in section 81 of the exhibition, similar to last year.

 
Last year, my work was selected for the first time for the 42nd Sankei International "Sho" Exhibition. This makes it the second consecutive year that my work has been selected for this exhibition, and the third consecutive year that my work has been selected for a national-level calligraphy exhibition. I hope to continue my submission cycle as outlined here.

Create tools and services to solve a problem, don't put the cart before the horse

I recently watched a video about the low rate of generative AI use in Japan, compared to the U.S. and China.

 

Japan wants AI. Many people aren’t convinced.

 

My own thoughts about the low rate of generative AI use is that, generative AI is a tool, a service. In the past, we invented tools and services to solve problems that we faced, to help us address specific issues. We didn't invent knives, then thought about what to cut with them. We needed to cut things, and so we invented knives.

 

This still holds true today. The reason why people use tools and services is because they solve specific issues that those people faced. If companies provide generative AI tools and services that addresses such needs, people will use them. Therefore, a government goal of "increase generative AI use to 80%" is pointless if you are just trying to ask people to use generative AI more. Such a goal should be about providing assistance to companies to develop tools and services that people need. When they can address a need, when they can supply something to meet a demand, there will be a market, there will be users.

 

Developing a service and hoping people will adopt it is not a transformative idea; it is taking a gamble. And for the many AI companies out there who took that gamble, I think it is only right that we leave them with the risks, instead of trying to provide public funds as assistance. After all, these companies are the ones winning big if their gambles pay off. Providing a safety net to risk-taking is not conducive to transformative ideas; rather, it breeds complacency because companies know they bear less risk, and therefore can be less meticulous.

 

Hopefully, the AI companies can come up AI services that meet actual needs, rather than just hoping that consumers will find a use for something that they invented. 

July 2026 calligraphy "homework"

The "homework" pieces that I submitted for July 2026.

Hanshi kanji 半紙漢字: 醉後各分散

 
Single character 一字: 膏

 
Hansetsu kanji 半切漢字: 敷華就實

 
Unsubmitted pieces:

June 2026 calligraphy "homework"

Update: The hansetsu piece was selected as one of the better pieces for this month's homework and published in the calligraphy society's monthly newsletter.

 

 

20th anniversary of Teck's Treehouse

I was reminded that this blog was created in July 2006, 20 years ago. So I thought it would be a good idea to do a recap of what happened to this blog over those 20 years.

 

Even before Teck's Treehouse, I already had a presence on the Internet, with my own home page hosted somewhere else. It was all done by hand, each line written in HTML using a text editor, so when blogs started becoming popular, I was very excited about how easy it was to create my own home page. I found Blogspot and created my own blog, intending for it to be a place to share my thoughts, taiji stuff, and the occasional catch report from fishing.

 

I soon realised that the taiji stuff would probably expand a lot, due to my high level of devotion to this martial art, and it would be a good idea to have a dedicated blog for it. It also prompted me to create another blog for my catch reports. Since blogs can be created for free on Blogspot, I promptly created two more blogs, and shifted the posts to them.

 

The first was My Taiji Journal for recording my taiji journey.

 

The other was Learning to Fish in Singapore (which then became Learning to Fish in Singapore and Japan after I moved to Japan). 

 

Anyway, back to Teck's Treehouse. This blog started as a place to share my thoughts, note down miscellaneous stuff, and write about things that interest me. Such interests include books that I read, movies and TV shows that I watched, songs that I like, and games that I played. I wrote about some of the old games that I played, which would today be considered kind of ancient. Having been a Linux user for a long time, I also had posts about open source software. There was also a time when I traveled more, so I shared about my travels. As a programmer, I also wrote posts about programming, mostly about the languages that I used and sometimes code.

 

After moving to Japan, I got into 3D printing, and even wrote about the 3D printer control board that I designed. I also started sharing some thoughts about machine learning and AI when deep learning started to bloom. When I came across the Violet Evergarden series, I started writing many, many posts about it, including my own fan translations of short stories and such. I also wrote a bit about my scooter (which I named Vivi), and my ventures into creating a homelab. Although I have posted my calligraphy works from the start, I became more frequent in writing about calligraphy and sharing my works in the past few years, when my teacher retired and I had to continue on this learning journey alone.

 

Looking back, this blog has kind of served its original purpose, and I intend to continue writing it, adding to what I have already blogged about, and maybe expanding it with more stuff if I find other things that interest me in the future.

 

Thank you for reading my blog, and I hope you will come back again.

🙇

 

Seventh anniversary of Kyoto Animation attack

It has been seven years since the arson attack on Kyoto Animation (KyoAni) 1st Studio, which resulted in 36 fatalities and 32 injured.

A monument in memory of the victims was unveiled in 2024 at the Historical Park of Tea and Uji Town (お茶と宇治のまち歴史公園) in Uji City (Kyoto Prefecture) where Kyoto Animation is based. In view of this, like last year, there will not be any online streaming of a video in memory of the victims this year.

Photo source: 京アニ事件、伝える碑設置　宇治市の公園に―京都

Fans can visit the monument at the park anytime, but are asked not to leave any flowers or other such tokens. For fans of Hibike! Euphonium, the park is actually near Kumiko's bench. It is further up the river, on the opposite bank.

Around 10:30 a.m. today, a memorial service was held at the site of the former 1st Studio. This year, around 140 persons attended the event, including employees and affiliates of Kyoto Animation as well as families of the victims. Kyoto Animation's CEO Hatta Shinichiro said that the company will not only pass on what happened in the incident, but also treasure and carry forward the works, thoughts and commitment to creation left behind by those who lost their lives.

 

List of 36 victims who appeared in credit roll of Violet Evergarden the Movie

 

Translation of video for second anniversary

Translation of video for third anniverary

Translation of video for fourth anniversary

English news

KyoAni Arson Victims Remembered 7 Years On; Anime Studio Vows to Carry on Lost Colleagues’ Legacy