閑置字 

Editor: Here we have Zenkei Shibayama’s ink drawing on paper, titled "Enclosure Character." The composition feels very deliberate, and almost playful with its asymmetrical arrangement of the characters. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: It's the dynamism within restraint, isn't it? Calligraphy is never merely writing; it's the embodiment of energy, intention, and spirit, all captured in the flow of ink. How do you see the symbolic weight of the shapes interacting? Editor: The large, bold character dominates. I'm not sure what it represents but it gives the other elements a feeling of deference or being drawn into its orbit. Curator: That character may indeed function as the keystone, the symbolic anchor for the piece. The placement of each character, the differing weights of the brushstrokes... do they evoke a particular mood, or perhaps a season, or an idea about Zen practice for you? Editor: I get a sense of both spontaneity and precision. Like a carefully planned garden that still looks wild. Is there a dialogue happening between tradition and innovation? Curator: Precisely. Shibayama is playing with layers of meaning, relying on centuries of established visual language while also infusing his own individual expression, so these marks and shapes become vessels filled with inherited wisdom, yet interpreted uniquely by each viewer across time. And notice how even the negative space – the emptiness around the strokes – contributes to the overall balance. It is charged. What cultural memory surfaces when you let yourself look at the forms in this piece? Editor: I see balance, not perfection. Strength and gentleness at play. I never thought about how emptiness could be as important as what's actually there. Curator: Calligraphy becomes a window into a shared past and present. Looking at "Enclosure Character" now, I'm left thinking about the enduring power of symbols to carry and transmit knowledge across generations.