忠義 · Chugi Commitment That Keeps Asking - Japan Washi Art
忠義 · Chugi Commitment That Keeps Asking - Japan Washi Art
The Shinsengumi died for a cause that had already ended — their loyalty outlasting the legitimacy of what it was directed toward.
This is the failure that the character 忠義 is designed to prevent.
忠義 is not one character. It is two: 忠 (devotion/loyalty) and 義 (righteousness).
Devotion qualified by righteousness.
Commitment paired with the ongoing question of whether the commitment is directed toward something worthy.
Remove 義 from 忠義 and you have blind obedience — the loyalty that cannot ask whether it should continue.
Remove 忠 from 忠義 and you have principle without commitment —
the righteousness that never actually stays with anything long enough to cost something.
Together, they describe the most demanding form of loyalty: the kind that holds through difficulty because it has examined whether holding is right, and found that it is, and holds anyway.
In this piece, both characters are rendered at equal weight — 忠 and 義 co-equal, neither dominant, because Chugi（忠義）requires both in full measure.
For the person whose loyalty
is chosen, examined, and chosen again.
◆What is Awa Washi?
Awa Washi is Japanese paper produced in Yoshino City, Tokushima Prefecture; Naka Town, Naka District; and Ikeda Town, Miyoshi City. It is made using traditional Japanese paper-making techniques such as “flow-making” and “pool-making.”Awa Washi is characterized by the unique texture and natural feel of hand-made paper, along with its durable quality—thin yet strong and resistant to tearing, even when wet.
◆History of Awa Washi
The exact origins of Awa Washi are unclear, but it is thought to have begun around 806–810 AD. Records indicate that the Awa Inbe clan cultivated hemp and kozo (paper mulberry) and produced paper, suggesting that washi production had already begun by the Nara period.In modern times, Awa washi gradually declined alongside Westernization. However, one paper-making company persevered in preserving the tradition, and in 1976, Awa washi was designated a Traditional Craft.
◆Design
This artwork was designed in my Kyoto studio. Some of the images were designed using digital design tools, while others were designed using artificial intelligence (AI) with my own instructions and references to traditional artworks.
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Let customers speak for us
Stayed at a bad job way too long.
Told myself it was loyalty.
Turns out there's a word for what I was actually doing — and loyalty isn't it.
Chugi is the chapter. The short version is: real loyalty includes the question ""does this still deserve what I'm giving it?""
I had completely stopped asking that.
Didn't make me feel great about the past three years, not gonna lie.
But it reframed how I think about commitment going forward, which
I think is the point.
Good book. Challenging in the right ways.
All members of the SHOGUN production staff should read this.
The stories of Japanese samurai are fascinating.
The best choice not only to understand the spirit of Bushido, but also to embody it.
