Amazing Japanese Calligraphers on Instagram (Part 3) - Isawo Murayama
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Hello and welcome to the third instalment of "Amazing Japanese Calligraphers on Instagram", where I introduce amazing artists making Japanese calligraphy - and sharing it online.
Isawo Murayama is a busy mum-of-four who makes time to create new pieces daily.
Her work feels a bit like a diary - together with her descriptive Instagram captions, her calligraphy offers up a little slice of her day-to-day life.
Traditional Japanese calligraphy uses a brush which is dipped into ink, but Murayama uses a 筆ペン (fude-pen) or "brush pen".
A brush pen is like a fountain pen with a soft nib. It handles like a pen, but writes like a brush.
I love her stories and the little explanations behind her words, as well as the bold, small lettering.
In this first one she talks about the importance of two words: ごめん "sorry" and ありがとう "thank you".
ごめんと言える勇気とありがとうと言える素直さと。
Gomen to ieru yuuki to arigatou to ieru sunao-sa to.
The courage to say sorry, and the grace to say thank you.
Some of her posts are like little motivational speeches:
自分を信じることから始めよう。
Jibun o shinjiru koto kara hajimeyou.
"Start by believing in yourself."
I really like the juxtaposition of big thoughts on small paper here.
As well as telling stories about her kids in her captions, Murayama also writes powerfully about the advice she would like to give her younger self:
あなたを思ってくれる人はたくさんいる / 気づいて... /心...ひらいて
Anata o omotte kureru hito wa takusan iru / kizuite / kokoro hiraite
"There are lots of people who care about you / Realise this... / Open your heart"
Isn't that lovely?
You can find Isawo Murayama (@isaisa5963) on Instagram here, or read more on her (Japanese-language) blog.
Read more in this series:
Amazing Japanese Calligraphers on Instagram (Part 1) - Emi Yogai 恵美・曄涯
Amazing Japanese Calligraphers on Instagram (Part 1.5 bonus!) - Emi Yogai 恵美・曄涯
Amazing Japanese Calligraphers on Instagram (Part 2) - Mitsuru Nagata
Amazing Calligraphers on Instagram (Part 4) - Uchiyama Kenichi
First published 16th Mar 2018; updated 30th Nov 2021
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