Japanese Traditional Arts. Shodo : Japanese Calligraphy.

Japanese Calligraphers: Soseki & Kozan Aoyagi

Please contact us:   "Sho-AOYAGI"

The Earthly Branches : Chinese system for reckoning time.

Hieroglyph & Chinese Letters : Kanji

Soseki Aoyagi 

    Hieroglyph
    Chinese Letters

Kozan Aoyagi 

    Hieroglyph
    Chinese Letters

     This system was built from observations of the orbit of Jupiter.
 Chinese astronomers divided the celestial circle into 12 sections to follow the orbit 
of 歳星 Suix?ng (Jupiter, the Year Star). Astronomers rounded the orbit of Suixing to 12 years 
(from 11.86). Suixing was associated with 攝提 Sheti (? Bootes) and sometimes called Sheti.

     In correlative thinking, the twelve years of the Jupiter cycle also identify
 the twelve months of the year, twelve animals (mnemonics for the system), directions,
 seasons, months, and Chinese hour in the form of double-hours. 
 When a Branch is used for a double hour, the listed periods are meant.
 When used for an exact time of a day, it is the center of the period. 
 For instance, 午 (the Horse) means noon or a period from 11am to 1pm. 
(The jie qi system provided single hours and 15-degree arcs in time and space.)

    Chinese seasons are based on observations of the sun and stars, not the weather.
 Many Chinese calendrical systems have started the new year on the first new moon after 
the winter solstice.
                          ( quot. from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthly_Branches)