Shodo

Subject: Shodo Sat Jun 18, 2016 5:42 am

We go to a tea house garden in Boston. Tokyo Zombie sits down under a cherry blossom tree with ink and some sheets of large canvas paper in front of him on a wooden board. He speaks to the camera while dipping a brush in the ink.

Tokyo Zombie: “I am well prepared for my match at Redemption against The Order and to cooperate with Anthony Caffrey. I have trained tireless hours in the gym. My body is honed like a blade and ready for any punishment it can take and dish out. My muscles and movements are relaxed and practiced. I am ready to dive into battle like a hawk targeting its next meal. I am ready to win and to let win…

“All I need to do is relax my mind.”

He starts scribbling down on the sheet at the top of the pile.

“This is shodo, or calligraphy. There are different types of writing styles in Japanese calligraphy. Kaisho, Gyosho, and Sosho. Kaisho is plain writing exactly how a character is supposed to be with every stroke in perfect order and it is the most legible. Gyosho is the semi-cursive form similar to cursive in english. Sosho is the one where you can get even more artistic. Legibility is not important. The form is important. The ‘how’ and ‘why’ is more important than the ‘what.’ The brush hardly ever leaves the paper and you show a bit of yourself in the ink. When you examine a piece of calligraphy done by a certain person at a specific time you would know their frame of mind and their feelings at the time of the writing.”

He finishes with a long stroke and removes the sheet from the pile and throws it aside. And starts on another page.

“This is the perfect way to clear my mind. One is not supposed to think or worry about anything while doing this form of calligraphy. It is called having no mind state. This allows me to focus on the goal at hand at all times. If I focus on my goal and only my goal I will be prepared to carry out that goal. I have three things I need to do at Redemption. Three people I must deal with and react to.

He continues writing more feverishly now than before and casting off pages with a flair.

“One is Sinister Minister. Or should I say two. The disgraced Minister and his American Tommy are like a cancer that must be cut out of this world. They spread their filth throughout the world in doses of poison. I would not be surprised if Minister’s influence is all to blame for Tommy’s thoughts and behavior. I will not hesitate to retaliate this time if Tommy believes he is a combatant and gets involved in the battle. If he wants to behave like a vagabond I will treat him like a warrior. Sinister Minister will only have himself to blame. I know his influence extends far beyond that boy. He is a center of hate and his effect will not be felt by others after Redemption. I will take that power from him myself…

“Or will I focus on Akragth? This is more of a personal grudge than anything else. My conclusions towards Sinister Minister have come about in part due to this man’s heightened level of wrath since they have come together. Only Sinister’s influence can explain how a man so vile can multiply in his spite and greed and maliciousness. Do I go for the root or do I rip out the weeds? Akragth would be the more satisfying option personally. Bringing down some of his power in taking the title belt away from him would also save another soul he has hypnotized with his dark charms. I just hope it is not too late.

The writing becomes slower and more forceful.

“Unfortunately I must also pay some close attention to my partner, Anthony Caffrey. This is a man who I have praised in the past. Our battles against each other in BFW have bred some mutual respect and admiration from myself. If he can get over some issued there is no doubt this man would be world champion right now. He is a great partner to tag with. He has, however, given in to the gambit by our somewhat delirious owners and is taking the Sinner and Saint stipulations too close to heart. Yes, one of us will win the belt but the focus should not be one which one of us does it. The focus of our match should be on stripping one of them of their titles so that we can do it again to the other. They are the end goal and not getting yourself a title. We must work together to do this but it seems we are fated to work apart if we let the establishment win.

He takes a long breath and writes slower now.

“I see and I accept all aspects of this match. I accept that the establishment has ruined tag team wrestling and has tried to pit teams against each other. I accept that they may have succeeded in my case. I accept all possible outcomes in this match but I am ready to resist the ones that include us both getting defeated by Sinister Minister or Akragth. I accept the consequences of trying to win the match if I see the chance. I will take my chance, Caffrey. I hope that you come to your senses and don’t cost us the opportunity of taking away some of their strength by impeding me in the cause. I will not deny you the same. If you do impede me please accept how I react. Like I have said in the past I know what your motivations are. You are just looking for greatness. Do not seek this greatness selfishly. Seek greatness in the success of the greater good.

“This is probably impossible to ask. I know I should not seek myself in others. As I reflect and write these words I remember that I am not to expect people to be like I want to be. I can not suddenly expect Anthony Caffrey to cooperate as much as I can expect Sinister Minister or Akragth to change and start handing out alms to the poor or just behave decently for a single day. If I am to expect these things I must be proactive. I will cause some of these things to happen. As is the nature of our professions I must use force. This is the only way people will change outside of talking for I know one of the fundamental truths of our world and I know that I am the one to deal and handle it…”

He puts the brush down and casts off the final page. We zoom out and over him watch the page settle in the wind next to the others. The strokes of the characters show the different emotions Tokyo Zombie has gone through as he went through his thoughts on his match and his intentions. Some are soft and fast while others are bold and deliberate. When we finally zoom out to capture the whole thing while Tokyo puts away his instruments we see the pages put together form a phrase. A subtitle shows us what it is:

“Everything that is, has a shadow.”