A seven-colored bridge, appearing suddenly in the sky after the rain has passed.
A rainbow gives no warning.
It makes no promises.
It simply appears, quietly arching across the sky in a single moment.
Perhaps that is why people cry out with such joy when they see one.
“Look — a rainbow!”
Those words have been spoken beneath every sky in every language, by every age, in every culture.
The calligraphy work “Rainbow” is an attempt to compress that fleeting miracle into a single brushed character.
How does one make seven colors of brilliance dwell within a world of black ink alone?
It was that question Shourin Iwasaki faced as he set the brush in motion.
＼ 岩﨑翔凛のSTORESはこちら！ ／
The Deep Meaning Held Within the Character for “Rainbow”
Look closely at the Japanese character for rainbow — 虹 — and you will notice it contains the radical for “insect” (虫) on its left side.
In ancient China, the rainbow was understood as a giant dragon — or a serpent-like creature — connecting heaven and earth.
The sweeping arc in the sky must have looked like the body of a great living being: a dragon swimming through the heavens, clothed in seven colors of light.
The richness of that imagination is nothing short of breathtaking.
Tracing the words and phrases connected to “rainbow” reveals the hope and wonder that live deep within the human heart.
- · Kōgei (虹霓) — A classical term encompassing all rainbows, including both the primary arc and the fainter secondary arc. A refined word that appears frequently in classical literature.
- · Kōkyō (虹橋) — “Rainbow bridge.” A phrase that likens the rainbow to a bridge connecting heaven and earth, this world and the next — and is also used to mean a bridge of hope.
- · Nanairo (七色) — “Seven colors”: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. The seven colors of the rainbow are also a symbol of every color that exists in this world.
- · Saiun (彩雲) — Clouds that shimmer with rainbow-like iridescence. Regarded since ancient times as an auspicious omen — a sign that something good is about to happen.
- · Rainbow after the rain — A metaphor for the joy and happiness that arrives after hardship and trials. No matter how fierce the storm, light will always follow.
The phrase “rainbow after the rain” holds a special place.
It is precisely because difficulty exists that the beauty beyond it shines so brilliantly.
The reason so many people think of rainbows at pivotal moments in life is surely because of the power that phrase carries.
There are poems in the Man’yōshū — Japan’s oldest poetry anthology — that sing of the rainbow.
The people of ancient times, too, saw something in the arc that hung across the sky.
Perhaps in its fleeting appearance and disappearance, they sensed a glimpse of eternity.
In the West, in the story of Noah’s Ark, the rainbow was placed in the heavens as a covenant between God and humanity.
East and West alike, the rainbow has been etched into the human heart as a symbol of “promise” and “hope.”
A rainbow is beautiful precisely because it fades.
If it stayed in the sky forever, no one would ever look up.
Making Seven Colors Dwell Within Black Ink
“Writing a rainbow in black ink alone” — it may sound like a contradiction.
Yet in calligraphy, black ink is never simply black.
The dry brushwork born from the speed of the stroke, the depth created by the gradations of ink, the soft bleeding where the paper draws the ink in — all of these give rise to infinite expressions within a single “black.”
Dense ink carries the depth of night; diluted ink evokes a haze of light; dry strokes suggest the wind; and bleeding ink recalls the moisture of air after rain.
When writing this “Rainbow,” he tried to forget the seven colors entirely.
He erased all thought of color from his mind and sought only to feel the air of that moment — when a rainbow appears.
That instant of stillness: the scent of rain still lingering in the air, and then, suddenly, a bridge of light.
Only that sensation, filling his body completely, guided the brush.
Look closely at the work.
Within the broad sweeping arc of the brushstroke, there is a sense of something ascending toward the sky.
A thick line that anchors itself to the earth, and a thinner line that reaches upward into the heavens.
From ground to sky, from rain to light — the single character “Rainbow” contains that entire story within itself.
Placing a Universe Within a Single Character
In the world of calligraphy, there is a form of expression known as ichiji-sho — “single-character calligraphy.”
It is a style in which a complete work is created from one character alone.
Stripping away all superfluous words, the piece speaks to the viewer’s heart through a single character and the white space surrounding it.
The single-character work “Rainbow” holds particularly boundless possibility.
Within one character, rain and light, color and sky, hope and transience all coexist.
The deeper you read into it, the more layers you discover.
The vast white space in the lower portion of the work is the sky itself — after the rainbow has gone.
Within that silence, it feels as though the seven-colored afterimage still drifts.
The red seal pressed in the lower left is, in this work, the single red of the rainbow.
Into a world of only black ink and white paper, one vivid point of red is kindled.
In that moment, the work is complete.
Why He Faces the Characters, Day After Day
People sometimes ask Shourin Iwasaki why he chose to write “Rainbow.”
His answer is simple: he wanted to deliver the power this word holds to as many people as possible.
He wants to show the character “Rainbow” to someone struggling in the rain.
No matter how fierce the storm, a bridge of light will always come after — and sometimes, a single character written with a brush can reach that truth more deeply than any spoken words.
Within written characters, there is a voice that cannot be spoken aloud.
On Instagram, he shares works like this one every day — from single-character pieces like “Rainbow” to works that bring multiple characters together, each one carrying his feelings about language and his philosophy of calligraphy.
He hopes to share the process of creation and the struggle of choosing words as openly as he can.
If this “Rainbow” has touched something within you — he would be truly glad if you followed along.
He hopes to bring the stillness and strength of calligraphy to your everyday life.
＼ 岩﨑翔凛のInstagramはこちら！ ／
Bring Calligraphy Into Your Space — Online Shop Now Open
A place to bring Shourin Iwasaki’s calligraphy works directly to you has now been created.
His official online shop has opened on STORES.
He hopes you will hang a piece like this “Rainbow” on the wall of your room — in the living room, the study, a child’s bedroom.
Let the single character “Rainbow” be a quiet companion to someone weathering difficult days. If, in the midst of the rain, they happen to glance up at that character and think, “That’s right — the rainbow comes after this” — then that alone gives this work its full meaning.
Many customers choose calligraphy works as gifts — for someone setting out on a new career, as a word of encouragement to someone recovering from illness, for a loved one’s birthday.
To give words is to give a wish.
“Rainbow” in particular feels like a character of profound meaning for anyone standing at the threshold of a new beginning.
Custom orders — works written with words of your choosing — are also welcome.
Your own “Rainbow,” as words for someone you hold dear.
Please feel free to reach out with any inquiries.
Please take your time browsing, and find the piece that speaks to you.
＼ 岩﨑翔凛のSTORESはこちら！ ／
コメント