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Sumi-e

In order to prepare for the new oriental range, inspired by Japanese paintings in black ink, Sumi-e sent me to a beginner’s workshop that was taught by a famous maestro on the other side of the city.

The classroom was full of people. At the front of the class, the maestro Nakamura, a pleasant man with a sweet voice, excused himself for not being able to speak our language perfectly, despite having lived in our country for 30 years…

- “Let’s start with the four essential objects we need to be able to paint, our four treasures: sumi (the ink), suzuri (the stone), fude (the paintbrush) and kami (the paper)…”. It started well but looked like it was going to turn out to be tedious... A mix of burnt pine wood soot, combined with glue and camphor that is moulded until...”. Boredom. A real punishment.”… because of the combustion of the organic substances. It is resistant to light, acid and atmospheric agents, it is not soluble and does not alter the paper…”. And later I still have to trapes back through half the city. In rush hour. “... When put under intense heat, the foreign particles are burnt, losing a certain brown tone, the characteristic smell and the usual oils…”. The guy is going to finish mounting the Palaeolithic and the cave paintings at some point…!

The second class was equally unbearable. And the third... On the fourth day, the girl sitting in front of me suddenly put up her hand:

- “Excuse me Mr Nakamura… what you are telling us is very interesting but…well… the program of the course spoke about practice classes… and throughout these classes we have done nothing more than take notes about subjects that, excuse me, can be found in any book… This workshop only lasts 7 days… and we would really like to learn how to use a paintbrush, even though it is just the basics… At the pace we are going, we will finish the course without even getting any ink on our fingers…”

There was a muttering of general approval, but Mr Nakamura didn’t even get worked up.

On the fifth class, the only ones present were the Nakamura fan club (as they were always at the front of the class, I had never seen them before…) and me, who had no choice in the matter.

- “ I’m so happy to see you here”, the teacher said as he entered the room. I’m sure, now that the air has cleared up we will understand each other a bit better”. He looked directly at me and smiled. I felt the embarrassment fill my cheeks. “… A 3000-year-old art cannot be discovered hastily. I imagine you all know that already. For one to paint reasonably well , it is important to first know how to write very well… and writing well requires a combination of skill and imagination, almost a philosophy. The preparation of the ink, the way one lays the objects on the table, the way one sits… form a part of a liturgy that helps us clear our mind of problems and daily concerns, and enjoy being more at peace … in this hectic world”.

From that day on everything was quite different. Mr Nakamura seemed like another person: talkative, fun... Without noticing I forgot about missing the “practice”… And then came the last class:

- “Today you will write your first word, it’s a very beautiful one. First I will give you a demonstration”. Mr Nakamura took the bar of ink and began to rub it on a flat stone, mixing it with water… “Certain bars keep for years, and with time, the ink acquires tones that are impossible to imitate…”, he explained. He rubbed it in circles, always in the same direction, to dilute the ink. Then he took a paintbrush made of bamboo cane, and – holding it in the air without resting his wrist on the paper – he started to paint. Fast and nimble, like a bird, his hand glided through the air in an inimitable choreography that lasted about five seconds. “The beauty of the line consists in not lifting the brush off the paper...” And putting the paintbrush down to one side, he continued: “All beginners of sumi-e must have a clear idea in mind, but not what he is going to paint, rather the essence. If you do not have this, you will not achieve anything. Constantly, we fall into the false pretence, so western, of trying to understand everything through reason. But reason is useless when learning sumi-e. Look for pleasure without being afraid of making a fool of oneself or doing it badly. Everything I have tried to teacher you will show you the way… however, it will not be enough. You should learn to meditate. This healthy attitude will eventually reach your daily lives… and you will understand that beauty is not in the know-how, but in the meaning”.

Before turning the rice paper around to show us his work, he looked at us with a smile and said: “each sumi-e is a unique, unrepeatable image that will never be a edited product for mass sale... That is why I cannot even show you how to learn the technique in a class packed with “express-fast-instant” children”.

The word he had drawn... was “patience”.