On my fifth trip to Japan I decided to go "all-in" and try to set up not one but two body calligraphy sessions with two models.
The first one was Iroka (IG) an elegant lady from Tokyo who also dabbles in penmanship.
Once again, I had already drawn her a few times on IG, and luckily she was willing to meet me and try body calligraphy,
The first one was Iroka (IG) an elegant lady from Tokyo who also dabbles in penmanship.
Once again, I had already drawn her a few times on IG, and luckily she was willing to meet me and try body calligraphy,
Wild Salmon, 2023
Preparation Phase
The actual planning for the session was a bit rushed, in part because I contacted her a bit late, in part due to my complete lack of Japanese language skills.
In the end we both agreed on repeating the 12 signs of the Chinese Zodiac in three different styles (Kaisho, Gyosho, Sosho) - where Gyosho and Sosho would be written all along her front and left side of her body, while the less aesthtically appealy Kaisho would be done on her left arm.
As usual, I was still practicing a until the very last minute.
Despite having been in Tokyo 3 times already, until now I always slept in hotels.
For this specific trip I decided to try AirBnB instead, in part because this is my "go-to" choice when I plan to have calligraphy sessions with a model.
For this specific trip I decided to try AirBnB instead, in part because this is my "go-to" choice when I plan to have calligraphy sessions with a model.
A tiny problem…
Unfortunately I had severely overestimated the average size of apartments in Japan. Hotel rooms are already a bit on the tiny size for what we expect in Europe, but AirBnb pushes this to the max. Or to the min, to be more precise…
So the AirBnb I had already paid for my 10 days stay proved to be absolutely unfit for taking pics of another human being.
It was serviceable for a single person stay (I am not tall or big in any sense of the word, so I could manage… but handling my baggage took a bit of effort) but it was completely "dominated" by the double sized bed, so there was definitely not enough space to get full figure pictures of anyone.
My solution: I rented another AirBnb for two days, selecting it based on the pictures of the interior and trying to pick one which provided at least one angle where the model could stand.
Btw, the photo above is from the second apartment… as you can see even the "better" one in terms of shooting space is definitely tiny for non-Japanese standards.
So the AirBnb I had already paid for my 10 days stay proved to be absolutely unfit for taking pics of another human being.
It was serviceable for a single person stay (I am not tall or big in any sense of the word, so I could manage… but handling my baggage took a bit of effort) but it was completely "dominated" by the double sized bed, so there was definitely not enough space to get full figure pictures of anyone.
My solution: I rented another AirBnb for two days, selecting it based on the pictures of the interior and trying to pick one which provided at least one angle where the model could stand.
Btw, the photo above is from the second apartment… as you can see even the "better" one in terms of shooting space is definitely tiny for non-Japanese standards.
In any case Iroka was kind enough to accomodate my last minute change of locations, she was extremely punctual and we could finally start the session
In the end even the language barrier proved to be quite manageable (Thanks Google!).
We briefly discussed the whole setup again, and we even agreed on adding a nice little touch that had never been considered until then.
We briefly discussed the whole setup again, and we even agreed on adding a nice little touch that had never been considered until then.
I asked Iroka what her Chinese Zodiac Sign would be (Horse: 午) and then I borrowed her lipstick to draw it in red on her right cheek.
Posing
