The event surrounding the publication of Itsuo Tsuda’s book Calligraphies de Printemps [Spring Calligraphies] was held on 18 and 19 November 2017 at Dojo Tenshin in Paris. The audience was able to enjoy nearly 100 reproductions of Itsuo Tsuda’s calligraphies and discover the 468-page book.
A look back in video, images… and text!
On 12 and 13 October 2018, the recently renovated Bodai dojo in Rome hosted the event One Book – One Exhibition, which attracted a good turnout, interest and favourable reviews.
On the evening of 12 October, in front of a large number of visitors, the presentation of the book Itsuo Tsuda, Spring Calligraphies (Yume Editions, 2017) took place in the enveloping atmosphere of the exhibition of 87 calligraphies in photographic reproduction. The original calligraphy The Tiger was also exhibited for the occasion.
During Saturday, we received several visitors: among friends, connoisseurs and experts in Japanese culture, we were delighted to welcome aikidoka, journalist and blogger Paolo Bottoni, who wrote an article on his blog about Master Tsuda‘s calligraphy.
In total, around 80 people came to Bodai Dojo.
For everyone, including us, the organisers, it was an opportunity to come into direct and simultaneous contact with almost all of Master Tsuda‘s calligraphies: an unforgettable and richly rewarding experience!
For those who have not had the chance to discover this book and the entire body of Master Tsuda‘s work, you can find them in Rome at the Bodai Dojo, as well as on the Yume Editions website.
The exhibition ‘Spring Calligraphies’ is coming to Rome in October!
Scheduled in Dojo Bodai (Rome) on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 October 2018 is the event One Book – One Exhibition.
Following on from previous previews in Paris and Milan, the event once again offers the Roman public the opportunity to see the book Calligrafie di Primavera [Spring Calligraphies] and the rich photographic exhibition dedicated to Itsuo Tsuda‘s calligraphy that inspired the book published by Yume Editions in 2018.
On 18 and 19 May 2018, we presented the book entitled Itsuo Tsuda, Calligrafie di primavera [Itsuo Tsuda, Spring Calligraphies] in our dojo in Milan. We exhibited more than 80 high-quality photographic reproductions of Master Itsuo Tsuda’s calligraphy (chosen from the 116 featured in the book) as well as three original calligraphy pieces.
An article, photos and two videos to relive the event!
| The event at Dojo Scuola della Respirazione | Presentation of the book at RAI radio |
Continuation of the interview with Régis Soavi, who tells us about his discovery of Itsuo Tsuda‘s calligraphies.
Putting up a piece of calligraphy rather than a photo of a master has another advantage, which I understood later: it avoids a certain “cult of personality”. Instead of putting up a photo of Master Ueshiba, I could have put up one of my master, Itsuo Tsuda… but then that would imply something about “a Gr-ow-ate Maaaaaster” who IS, and that also goes in the direction of religions where there are saints, paintings of saints, statues of saints… We have this in Buddhism, and in Christianity too, of course…
But this way, we no longer have the same resonance, because these are photos of people, of “characters”.
Spring Calligraphies is the first monograph devoted to the calligraphic work of philosopher and writer Itsuo Tsuda, bringing together 113 calligraphies and the research we have been able to conduct to date.
To mark its publication, an exhibition based on the photos in the book will be held at Tenshin Dojo in Paris on November 18 and 19, 2017. An opening reception will be held on November 18 at 6:30 p.m. Anyone interested in discovering the work of Itsuo Tsuda is cordially invited to attend.
The dojo is open and admission is free. Welcome !
In the meantime, we wanted to share with you a few lines about the origins and behind-the-scenes story of this adventure, which began more than thirty-three years ago.Read more
by Manon Soavi
Who breathes from their heels nowadays? People breathe from their chest, their shoulders or their throat. The world is full of these invalids who ignore themselves.’1Tsuda Itsuo, The Non-Doing, Chap. I, 2013, Yume Editions (Paris), p. 15
This is how Tsuda sensei begins his first book, published in 1973, setting the tone by quoting the philosopher who most accompanied him throughout his life.
Tsuda sensei was a relentless researcher and a man of great culture. Throughout his life, he worked tirelessly to enable human beings to free themselves from what burdens and hinders them. Starting from his personal quest for freedom of thought, it was ultimately a philosophical understanding of human beings that emerged through his practices: Aikido, Seitai, Nō… And Tsuda sensei spread this philosophy of human beings, this path, primarily through his books2nine books (plus one posthumous) published in French between 1973 and 1984 – still available[ – then in English from 2013 to 2025]and his teaching in dojos over a period of ten years. But there was a more secret medium that he took up in the last years of his life: calligraphy.
Régis Soavi tells us his discovery of Master Itsuo Tsuda
’s calligraphies.
When I began to teach aikido, like many people, I had a photo of Master Ueshiba in the tokonoma. That was the way I had been taught, bowing in the direction of the master. When I went to Master Tsuda’s dojo for the first time, there was a calligraphy, printed by a friend of his who was an artist, after an ancient stone engraving. It was Bodai. This calligraphy was there, when I had expected to see a photo of Master Ueshiba… Moreover the lines were thick… – 8 cm, that is very thick! – And it resonated in a different way, it had another respiration…It is another dimension. And seeing the calligraphy at each session… makes things change completely.Read more
