About
ukifune no kai calligraphy group
浮舟の会について
History
of ukifune no kai calligraphy group
Introduction
to Japanese calligraphy
Historical
development of Japanese calligraphy
About the "Rishu Kana
Handbook" -- a great reference for calligraphy practitioners
If you
would like to join
『浮舟（うきふね）の会』 について
創立・１９９９年一月、上中李舟の書道教室の生徒を中心に、すでに解散して
いた書道グループ『李苑』(二階堂李江主宰）の旧メンバーを加え、１８名を以て発足した
。
目的・この会の目的とするところは、トロント、ひいてはカナダにおける書道
の普及と発展、さらに日本文化の一端としての書を楽しく学ぶ事を通して、できれば人間の形成や美の鑑賞力を培うことにある。
日本の『道』といわれる習い事の全てで、その道の奥を極めれば極めるほ
ど品格を伴なうことを求められているが、会員一同、『道』を歩む人の持
つ謙譲と柔和を目指したい。当会も参加する競書展などへの応募も、自らの書
の向上のため
であって、上位入賞だけがその目的ではなく、ましてそれを誇る為ではない。この目的達成のためには、会員相互の交わり、会としての社
会奉仕は欠かせないこ
とに思われる。
行事及び活動・会の年中行事としては１月の『書初め親睦会』。６月のバーベキュー・
パーテー（会員の書道の進歩に応じて免状の授与も同時に行われる）がある。また随時、書道・美術に関する講習会を行っている（篆刻、裏打ち、絵手紙、デコ
レーション作り、押し花作品、等）。また全米競書展は会員各自の自由意思で応募しているが、毎年数名の上位入賞者を出している。
外部にたいする奉仕としては、毎年１月に行われる、新移住者協会（『浮
舟の会』は２００１年から加盟団体）主催の『お正月会』で "書初めコーナー"を担当し好評を博している。
会の最大行事は２００１年以来、２年に１度の割で３回に渡って催してき
た、会員による書道展である。書道展の意義は書が、心を磨くよすがであるとともに、一つの芸術として鑑賞に堪えうるものであることの達成にあり、事実毎回
参観して下さる多くの方々から、書の向上を褒めて下さるお言葉を頂いている。
『浮舟の会』の目的達成のため、新たなそして有意義は行事や活動は今後
も更に加え、会員一同で実行していく所存 である。
Ukifune no kai is a Japanese calligraphy group based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has approximately 25 members, all of whom practice calligraphy on a regular basis with their teacher, Fumiko Uyenaka, whose artist's name is "Rishu" ("plum boat").
"Ukifune" means "floating boats". Thus the name of the group -- "ukifune no kai" -- simply means "the group of floating boats". The name "ukifune" is derived from the second character of our teacher's artist name, i.e., "fune", which means "boat", which has been combined with the character "uki" meaning "to float" or "swim".
Calligraphy classes are held three times per months (three out of the four weeks of the month) for ten months every year. The two summer months -- July and August -- are holidays.
Many styles of calligraphy are taught, including kana (Japanese characters) and kanji (characters of Chinese origin, including sosho, gyosho, kaisho, reisho and tensho styles).
Origin: In
January, 1999, Rishu Uyenaka founded the Ukifune no kai calligraphy
group. The group brought together her
own calligraphy students, as well as various members of the "Rien"
("plum garden") calligraphy group of Nikaido Rikō that had disbanded
when Nikaido Sensei stopped teaching. In
total, the original group comprised eighteen students.
Purpose: The purpose of our calligraphy group is to
encourage interest in and
knowledge of Japanese calligraphy in
The more you study Japanese calligraphy, the
more you
come to understand the essence of the path that calligraphy represents.
All of
our members who follow the path of calligraphy aim at humility and a
gentle
spirit. For instance, members of our
group enter calligraphy competitions. But
the purpose of doing so is to improve our work, not to
win first
prize. The goal of calligraphy is not to
win, nor to be proud of winning. Rather, it is through association with
other
members of the group and helping the group to serve society that the
goal of
calligraphy can best be achieved.
Events
and activities: In
January, we have our annual
Kakizome social gathering. "Kakizome" is a
calligraphy piece written spontaneously on
the
first day of the New Year to express one's feelings and aspirations at
this
important time of year. In June, we have
our annual barbecue, which also serves as an award ceremony to
celebrate the
achievement of our members. It is at the
barbecue that certificates of achievement are presented. Occasionally,
we have
additional workshops relating to calligraphy and other arts. Past workshops have included
"tenkoku" (seal-carving), wet-mounting, paper decoration, flower
pressing and so on. As well, some members choose to enter the Japanese
Calligraphy Competition in
Ukifune no kai is also involved in activities
outside
of its immediate group. For instance,
since 2001, we have been involved in the New Year's gathering organized
by the
New Immigrants’ Association of the Japanese Canadian Community Centre. During this gathering, we have run the
"Kakizome Corner" where attendees can try their hand at writing
Japanese characters with an ink and brush in celebration of the New
Year. This activity has been a real
favourite among
attendees.
Our biggest event is our calligraphy exhibition,
which
has taken place every two years since 2001 at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. One of the
purposes of the exhibition is to develop our
skills and
foster appreciation for an important visual art. Our members have
received much
praise for their work from visitors of the exhibition, and the progress
that
they have made over the years is evident from the quality of their work.
In order to continue to pursue the purpose of Ukifune no kai calligraphy group, we will continue to participate in the events and activities mentioned above, as well as develop new events in order to realize the evolving goals of all of the members of our group.