“Living Together” (ともに生きる) It doesn’t simply mean living side by side — the feeling woven into this phrase moved me, so I took up my brush. Café Tanaka (@cafetanaka_official) — its representative and grand chef pâtissier, Chihiro Tanaka, cherishes the words “living together.” Chihiro visits producers in Japan and abroad, looking not only at the…

#心に響く歌詞書いてみた (“Lyrics that resonate, written in calligraphy”) series 「壊れた心でも　悲しいのは笑えるから」BUMP OF CHICKEN“Flare”Lyrics: Motoo Fujiwara If you read only this line, you may find yourself wondering what it means. But it feels connected, somehow, to the lyric from BUMP OF CHICKEN’s “HAPPY” that I posted before — “If there is a sorrow that never fades, then there…

The Iroha-uta, in full・:.。・゜ For the music, I chose Debussy’s “Arabesque No. 1.” The ancient Japanese Iroha poem, and Western music. East and West — things born in different eras and different places. Yet as my brush moved forward, the piano melody blended in naturally, as if the times of two different worlds were overlapping…

From summer to autumn・*:.。*・゜゜ 秋桜cosmos The wind has changed, the air has changed,and I can feel the days growing shorter. As the scenery slowly takes on autumn colors, fields of cosmos spreading far and wide add a touch of color to the passing of the seasons. Picturing such a scene, I wrote this today with…

My own rhythm・*:.。*・゜゜ 鼓動heartbeat While listening to BUMP OF CHICKEN’s “Mado no Naka Kara” (“From Inside the Window”), I felt like writing this word. Listening to the beat that echoes at a steady rhythm, I pictured a heartbeat, ticking along one by one at even intervals. I hope I can cherish my own rhythm in…

It has bloomed again this year・*:.。*・゜ As I was walking through the park, a gentle fragrance drifted over on the breeze. Ah, it’s that time of year again. “It smells like osmanthus.” (きんもくせいの かおりが するね) I found myself remembering walking through this park saying just those words, back when my children were small. No matter…

October’s Bible verse The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4:14b If there were a spring that quietly keeps welling up deep within the heart — whether I am lost or weary, new strength would be born from it, drop by…

October’s letter opening phrase “The chirping of insects rings pleasantly, and we feel autumn deepening.” (虫の音が心地よく響き 秋の深まりを感じるころとなりました) Little by little, the air has begun to feel like autumn. May this be a month in which you can enjoy the changing of the seasons and spend your days with a calm heart. *・゜゜・*:.。*・゜゜Thank you, everyone, for…

A moment to return to the beginning・*:.。*・゜ 書calligraphy In the Kotodama posts, we add a message in Japanese and English partway through the video and at the end of the caption. This is something that Sumizome, our editor, and I decided together before we began posting Kotodama. “Let’s leave a short note, at the end,…