Calligraphy, Music, and Sustainability in Flow – School Music
In February 2025, the University of St Andrews Music Centre hosted Japanese Calligraphy to Music, a unique cultural and artistic collaboration led by calligrapher Akaaki Iwai, and undergraduate in the School of Mathematics and Russian, with the support of Jane Pettegree and Christopher Bragg.
The event explored the shared principles of flow and expression in Japanese calligraphy (shodō) and music. Calligraphy, which blends language and style, has long been a medium of aesthetic reflection in Japan, evolving from its Chinese origins into distinctly Japanese forms such as Kaisho (block writing), Gyosho (semi-cursive), and Sosho (cursive). The performance highlighted the dynamic quality of Gyosho, where the movement of the brush reflects rhythm, energy, and speed.
This dynamic was paired with traditional and modern Japanese music, including the classical genre gagaku and 20th-century reinterpretations. Pieces included Etenraku (traditional), Ranryo Oh (traditional), Etenraku Hensokyoku (Michiko Miyagi, 1928), Japanese Rhapsody (Akira Ifukube, 1935), and Japanese Suite for Orchestra (Akira Ifukube, 1991).
To deepen reflection on the interconnections between culture and nature, each calligraphic work expressed environmental or philosophical concepts such as:
- 木漏れ日 (Komorebi) – sunlight through trees
- 生物多様性 (Seibutsu tayōsei) – biodiversity
- 明鏡止水 (Meikyō shisui) – peaceful mind
- 温故知新 (Onko chishin) – learning from the past to shape the future
Visitors were encouraged to come and go freely, creating an atmosphere of meditative flow. Finished calligraphy pieces could be taken home in exchange for small donations, which supported the student-led BIRCH project, connecting art with environmental research on peatlands, sound, and flow.
By linking music, calligraphy, and ecological awareness, the event demonstrated how cultural practice can foster reflection on humanity’s relationship with the natural world.