Art for digital walls

Along with many other things, my sister, Ariane, and I share a tremendous love for Japan and its people. Both of us learned to love this faraway country through origami, then calligraphy, then language lessons, then finally through attending the Torchbearers Bible school at Lake Yamanaka. A few years later, we both returned to serve as staff. It’s common for a traveler to be asked what brought them there, and Ariane and I always told our story together. Inevitably, the questioner would squint, look a little closer, and ask, “Are you twins?” This is a question we get a lot, even though we’re well past the years when we cut our hair the same and definitely looked like a matched set of kokeshi dolls.

Perhaps it’s this small delight in getting someone to look closer, to consider a little longer, that led us to create a project that would ask anyone who came across it to do the same thing. Truth and beauty both contain depth that invites us to gaze and ponder. While we served as the communications coordinators for Torchbearers Yamanakako, we brainstormed ways to boost awareness of the Bible school by focusing on a different kind of outreach from our usual channels—social media. Ariane and I thought about the many paths that led us to Japan, and we decided to incorporate them into compositions that contained calligraphy, origami, and patterns. These images were based on the flat lay¹ aesthetics of popular hashtags such as #bookstagram, which create visual storytelling through the thoughtful arrangement of objects around a central theme.

We designed these images to invite Instagram and Facebook scrollers to slow down and contemplate the spiritual truths contained in a single kanji. Each post highlighted a single character, breaking it down into radicals and making a connection between the parts, its overall meaning, and the resonance of this meaning as found in the Bible. The series, which ran for several weeks, encouraged social media users to reflect on several important truths of the Christian faith. I knew that word studies are great sources of richness, but I was still surprised at the treasure I personally found in these kanji, which provide wonderful reflections on concepts such as grace and righteousness.

The series was a success, reaching a wide range of people who would never otherwise stumble across the profile of Torchbearers Japan. We received so much positive feedback and interest. Whether it was a combination of hashtags or the work of the Spirit, these images played a role not only in raising awareness of the work but also in bringing people to the Bible school and to Japan. It was a delight to share this series with people in our lives back home as well, opening their eyes to a language and a people that we love so much.

Though we had a pile of likes and shares, I am certain this series impacted more than those numbers told us. For myself, it was a meditative experience to craft these images in color and composition, thinking over the wonderful way that God reveals himself through language, story, and beauty.

永 ei (eternity): 水 (water) + 丶 (point/dot)

This kanji unites the character for “water” with a radical that indicates a dedication or anointing. Christ is the living water, and if he lives in us, we will have eternal life. “But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a fount of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14 NIV).

恵 megumi (grace): 十 (ten/cross) + 思 (think)

While 十 means “ten,” it has the appearance of a cross. Combining that cross with the kanji for “think” forms “grace.” In essence, when we think of how Christ gave his life for us on the cross, we see the grace of God. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Eph. 1:7 NIV).

命 inochi (life): 人 (human) + 一 (one) + 叩 (knock)

This kanji presents a beautiful picture of the life we have in Christ. Our God is loving and personal. He desires a relationship with each of us. All we have to do is ask. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7 ESV).

福音 fukuin (gospel): 福 (blessed) + 音 (sound)

The good news we have in Christ is indeed a blessed sound—the best news the world has ever heard! “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV).

1. “Flat lay” is a style of photography that involves carefully arranging objects on a flat surface (such as a bed or table) and shooting the photograph from directly above.
Artwork submitted by author