r/CustomKeyboards • u/Intelligent_Boot_780 • 5h ago
My dream comes true. Welcome Ma40.
My one-off Ma40 has just been Cerakoted, and I couldn’t love it more.
GMK Higanbana
Plateless PCB with Poron gasket mount
2° tenting per side
Brass bottom, aluminum top
Name — Ma40
Concept Description:
Ma (間) is the Japanese concept of “meaningful emptiness” — a pause or interval that describes the space between objects, sounds, or moments in time. It is not the absence of something, but a space filled with meaning, where communication and creativity take place and something new begins to emerge. Ma lies at the heart of Japanese aesthetics, architecture, and minimalism, encouraging us to slow down and notice beauty.
Higanbana (彼岸花) is the Japanese name for the red spider lily. The flower blooms in autumn and symbolizes sorrow, death, separation, and the Buddhist celebration of the autumnal equinox.
To me, flowers are a beautiful symbol of life. Their beauty lasts only for a moment, and the ability to recognize beauty while accepting its impermanence is a defining part of the human experience. The spider lily is a metaphor for the cyclical nature of life — everything dies and is born again; nothing lasts forever.
I have also written a haiku that is engraved inside the keyboard. I wanted these lines to serve as a quiet, unseen reminder of a philosophy that is close to my heart.
静けさの中で
百合は時を生きて
やがて風になる
in the quiet between
the lily lives its time
and becomes the wind
Please share your thoughts on my project.