Kakemono Calligraphy Wa-Kei-Sei-Jaku

On a dark, speckled, earth-toned silk ground, a second, independent approach to the four virtues Wa, Kei, Sei, and Jaku – harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility – unfolds here. Unlike calmer renderings of this maxim, the script here is strikingly broad and powerful in execution, the strokes appear almost sculptural and leave the ink lying thick in places.

A small red seal at the upper right, along with a signature and two further seals at the lower left, document the authorship of an evidently skilled calligrapher. The four characters stand in a single, clearly structured column on cream-colored paper, which is bordered by a plain, light-colored frame strip before the dark, iridescent border further draws the eye to the script.

This maxim, which originally stems from tea culture, came over time to be valued as a general life maxim far beyond the tea ceremony as well. The work on paper was created in the Shôwa period and impressively shows how differently one and the same text can be interpreted by different calligraphers – an appealing contrast for collectors who wish to assemble several versions of the same motif.