August 2025 calligraphy "homework"

The "homework" pieces that I submitted for August 2025.

Hanshi kanji 半紙漢字: 無人知所去

 
Single character 一字: 舊

 
Hansetsu kanji 半切漢字: 自然風月情無盡 如在山林楽未央

 

Unsubmitted pieces:

July 2025 calligraphy "homework"

Watching Fushigi no Kuni de Alice to: Dive in Wonderland 不思議の国でアリスと Dive in Wonderland

Fushigi no Kuni de Alice to: Dive in Wonderland (Japanese title 不思議の国でアリスと -Dive in Wonderland-) is a new (and first) anime film based on the story Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Opening in Japanese cinemas today, I managed to find time to watch it at the local theater.

I had thought it would do a bit better at the box office, but I was one of eight people watching that particular screening, a post-dinner show. This felt a bit sad since I found the movie itself to be quite interesting. The main character is not Alice but a university senior called Azumino Rise (voiced by Hara Nanoka). She is about to graduate and had been job hunting with no success. The story is set in modern times and depicts the challenges faced by today's youths. I thought it was quite good at weaving all these elements to give a modern spin to a classic tale.

 

Hara Nanoka's voice acting was also very remarkable for a person who is not a voice actor by trade. I guess she must have been well trained by director Shinkai Makoto when she voiced Suzume for the movie Suzume. I found the movie to be full of metaphors, and spent the first half of the movie trying to interpret all of them to try and understand what the story was hinting at. It got a bit tiring so, for the second half of the movie, I just focused on watching the story being shown to me, instead of trying to understand the story being told to me.

 

Hopefully, word will get round about her acting and the strengths of this movie (good visuals and good story) so that it can do better at the box office in the coming days.

 

Official website 

 

42nd Sankei International "Sho" Exhibition (第42回産経国際書展) at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

A while ago, I submitted two works for the 42nd Sankei International "Sho" Exhibition (第42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.

 
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.

 

Last year, my work was selected for the first time for the 75th Mainichi Shodo Exhibition. This makes it the second consecutive year that my work has been selected for a national-level calligraphy exhibition. I hope to continue my submission cycle as outlined here.

Watching 雪風 YUKIKAZE

80 years ago, on 15 August 1945, Japan surrendered. Coinciding with the 80th anniversary, the movie 雪風 YUKIKAZE premiered in Japanese cinemas today.

 

The movie is a work of fiction, although it is based on actual people and events around the actual destroyer Yukikaze, which survived World War Two. It may look like a war movie but it is actually a human drama story, focusing on two characters: the commanding officer and master chief of the ship. The story takes the form of recollections by a former crew member, going back to the Battle of Midway and through major battles, culminating in Yukikaze's final wartime mission of escorting the battleship Yamato. It also touched on Yukikaze's postwar role in repatriation and being transferred as war reparation.

 

The story is along the line of "remember the war so that we don't repeat the suffering again; people were told to fight and die even though the upper leadership knew they could not win", which makes it similar to other recent Japanese movies about World War Two. The visual and sound effects weren't exactly superb, and while it did feel nice watching the movie on the big screen, those who only care about the story can comfortably watch it at home on TV too. A minor detail that I didn't really like: it is a movie about World War Two, but there was only one character that died, and they held a sea funeral for ONE person. That is not really realistic, since Yukikaze had just survived a battle, and it was unlikely to have suffered only ONE fatality.

 

Still, the production committee threw in a large cast of notable actors. I guess many of them also felt it was an honour to be involved in an 80th anniversary war movie. The final message from the cast felt a bit out of place, even though the message itself was along the theme of the story. But explicitly stating the message made it feel redundant and awkward. But I do think it is commendable that people in Japan continue to believe that such stories must be told so that future generations continue to remember World War Two and not let the lessons fade away with time. 

 

Official website 

Happy 60th birthday, Singapore!

Today, Singapore celebrates its 60th National Day, marking 60 years since the island nation gained independence.

 

Happy birthday, Singapore!

 

Proud to be Singaporean! 

80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima

Today is marks 80 years since the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Even today, there is debate about the use of the atomic bomb, but one thing is certain: war brings suffering to everyone. Even as conflicts continue in places around the world, I hope everyone will remember this very painful lesson that humanity has been learning throughout history.

July 2025 miscellaneous calligraphy pieces

These are some other calligraphy pieces that I wrote in July 2025.

Using other people's homework for practice:

 

Calligraphy drafts 

  

Trash taken out in four weeks

 

June 2025 miscellaneous calligraphy pieces

 

July 2025 calligraphy "homework"

The "homework" pieces that I submitted for July 2025.

Hanshi kanji 半紙漢字: 飛泉挂碧峰

 
Single character 一字: 佩

 
Hansetsu kanji 半切漢字: 得雨草皆満 無風花自閑

Unsubmitted pieces:

 

Slight different style

June 2025 calligraphy "homework"

76th Mainichi Shodo Exhibition (第76回毎日書道展) at The National Art Center, Tokyo (NACT)

The 76th Mainichi Shodo Exhibition (第76回毎日書道展) spans two venues: The National Art Center, Tokyo (NACT) in Roppongi, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno. On display at NACT are the works by members of the Mainichi Shodo Association (including the organising committee of the Mainichi Shodo Exhibition) as well as winning works from the selected public submissions. The selected public submissions that did not win any prize or award are displayed at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.

Unlike last year, this year, due to the exhibition schedule, I went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum first. 

 

Although most of the way from Roppongi Station to NACT is underground, there is that final stretch above ground, and this year, it was blazing hot. Especially since I got to NACT at noon.

 

Upon entering NACT, there were posters introducing the exhibition, plus related events. There are live calligraphy demonstrations by winners, and sessions that explain the winning works. I timed my visit this year to coincidence with one of the live calligraphy demonstrations.

The exhibition itself spans three floors, with works by the organizing committee and grand prix winners on the first floor, works by members of the Mainichi Shodo Association and the top public submissions on the second floor, and other award winners (excellence award and merit award) and association associates on the third floor (roughly). Here is a photo showing the entrance area to the exhibition halls housing the works.

My key purpose for going today was to see the live calligraphy demonstration, where three grand prix winners showed how they actually went about writing their works. It started with one of them demonstrating how carving was done, followed by the other two winners demonstrating how they write their kanji pieces.

Similar to last year, I spent close to three hours before I reached the "exit" of the exhibition hall.

And as usual, I took a photo of this shot from the third floor of NACT. This place was featured in the anime movie Your Name. by Shinkai Makoto. There were some other fans too taking photos.

Photography is allowed, but I don't know if I am allowed to post photographs of other people's works, so forgive the lack of actual works in this post. I did take some photos for my own reference.

Watching Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle – Part 1: Akaza Returns

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle – Part 1: Akaza Returns (劇場版「鬼滅の刃」無限城編 第一章 猗窩座再来) opened on 18 July 2025, and let's just say it took the cinemas by storm. Like, the cinemas in the area have anything from 25 to 35 screenings per day of this ONE movie, crowding out all other movies currently being screened. Most other movies have only 1 screening per day now, and mostly at weird times (for example, one cinema is showing its single screening of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to Be Loved at 6:30 a.m.).

 

I have been following the anime so I thought I would try to find time to catch this movie. Problem is, even with around 30 screenings per day at every cinema in the area, most (if not all) of them sell out pretty quickly... unless you like to sit all the way up front, which is going to be very very very bad for this movie due to its many fighting scenes. But I managed to get a ticket at a reasonable distance from the screen at a reasonable time, and made my way to the cinema after my trip to Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. 

 

This is the first in a three-part movie series, and it runs for 2 hour 35 minutes. After watching it, I fully understand why it draws such a crowd. The movie needs to be enjoyed on the big screen with a powerful sound system. Most people don't have a home theatre that can provide that boom without getting complaints from their neighbours. Headphones can be an alternative, but even the best headphones lack the power that comes from what a cinema can offer. The movie takes places in Infinity Castle, and you really need the big screen to enjoy that sense of scale. For proper enjoyment of the movie, you need a large screen and powerful sound system; basically, a cinema experience.

 

In terms of pacing, there are three main fights taking place in this movie, although the main focus is on Akaza, the Upper Rank Three demon. The other two main fights involve Doma (Upper Rank Two) and Kaigaku (Upper Rank Six). The story shifts between the three main fights, which may feel distracting at first, with its many flashbacks looking at the pasts of these demons and the Demon Slayer corps members that they are fighting with. However, I think it was this "jumping around" that prevented the movie from becoming too linear. It was able to focus on one fight (and the relevant flashbacks) and then, at a suitable moment, switch to another fight to show viewers what was happening concurrently somewhere else in the Infinity Castle. The viewers can feel that the three fights were happening simultaneously, instead of one after another.

 

As for the story itself... you know the story is good when people (including me) were crying at the death of an Upper Rank demon... The English name of this series is Demon Slayer, but it might have been more correctly named as Demon Redemption. While the fights are amazing, it is the back stories that help draw viewers to this series. The demons have all done very very bad stuff, but their back stories show that they too had a very twisted and horrible past of their own, which led them to become demons. In a way, their immortality is a trap that makes them continue to live through their past sufferings for eternity, and being slain is very much putting an end to their misery as it is ending their ability to cause more suffering.

 

The Infinity Castle arc will also include fights with Kokushibo (Upper Rank One), which means the second part of the movie series will likely focus on the fights with Kokushibo and Doma. The third, finale part would then be the final face off against Muzan to conclude the entire Demon Slayer story. Given the amount of money Ufotable has made through this series (enough to be caught for evading taxes), I hope they pour a lot of resources to release the next two parts on a yearly basis: Part 2 in summer 2026, and Part 3 in summer 2027. Meanwhile, the success of Part 1 may well mean that cinemas will be screening it until Part 2 arrives. 😅

76th Mainichi Shodo Exhibition (第76回毎日書道展) at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum

The 76th Mainichi Shodo Exhibition (第76回毎日書道展) spans two venues: The National Art Center, Tokyo (NACT) in Roppongi, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno. On display at NACT are the works by members of the Mainichi Shodo Association (including the organising committee of the Mainichi Shodo Exhibition) as well as winning works from the selected public submissions. The selected public submissions that did not win any prize or award are displayed at regional exhibitions, which for the Kanto area, takes place at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. Starting from this year, submissions from Toyama, Ishikawa, and Fukui Prefectures will be subsumed under the Tokyo exhibition too.

Last year, I went to see the exhibition at NACT, then Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. This year, as the calligraphy demonstration at NACT will be on 26 July 2025, I decided to go see the pieces on display at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (from 18 to 24 July 2025) first. I had submitted a work again this year, but it was not selected. 😢 

 
The entry to the museum is at B1, and the exhibition covered all 3 floors from B1 to the 2nd floor. You enter from B1, where display area 1 is, and then make you way through the rooms/areas, then move up to the next floor, repeat the process, and then up another floor and repeat again.

 
My purpose this time was to see the works on display to get some hints on what to aim for, although the ones at NACT would be a better guide (of course, since those are the winning works). Anyway, I took some photos for future reference.

I already have a rough idea what phrase I want to write next year, but I will need to think a bit more on how to present it. Maybe even change to something else along the way. Or switch my approach. For the past two years, I selected a phrase, then worked on it for months. Maybe I should instead have a few candidate phrases, work on them in parallel, and finally spend the final month working on a "finalist"... But first, let me finish working on my pieces for Onchikai Shodo Exhibition 温知会書道展 and The New Year Exhibition of Sankei Sho International Association 産経国際書展新春展. 

 

My submission (not selected)

 

Sixth anniversary of Kyoto Animation attack

It has been six 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 last year 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.

Slightly after 10:30 a.m. today, a memorial service was held at the site of the former 1st Studio. This year, 153 persons attended the event, including employees and affiliates of Kyoto Animation as well as families of the victims. Kyoto Animation's CEO Hatta Hideaki said that the company will continue to unite as one to create new works in the future. There were 36 sunflowers, one for each of the victims who passed away.

 

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:

Victims of Kyoto Animation arson remembered 6 years after attack

Six years on, victims of fatal Kyoto Animation attack remembered

Kyoto Animation arson marks 6th anniv. with death penalty finalized