Calligraphy (shodo)

Calligraphy (shodo: "the way of writing") is the art of writing beautifully. Most children learn calligraphy in elementary school. It is a popular hobby for adults, too.

A calligraphy set consists of:

• Shitajiki: Black, soft mat. It provides a comfortable, soft surface.
• Bunchin: Metal stick to weight down the paper during writing.
• Hanshi: Special, thin calligraphy paper.
• Fude: Brush. There is a larger brush for writing the main characters and a smaller one for writing the artist's name. The small brush, however, can be used for the characters, too.
• Suzuri: Heavy black container for the ink.
• Sumi: Solid black material that must be rubbed in water in the suzuri to produce the black ink which is then used for writing. Of course, "instant ink" in bottles is also available.

Unlike the strokes of Roman letters, the strokes of Japanese characters have to be drawn in the correct order, not arbitrarily. When you learn Chinese characters, you draw one stroke after the other. This is called the square (Kaisho) style of writing kanji.

The Japanese, however, rarely use this style of writing kanji. There are two faster styles of writing in which the kanji become a little bit less legible. It is like writing Roman letters in a fast way: everything is written in only a few strokes. These two styles are called semi cursive (Gyosho) and cursive (Sosho).

Kaisho: Square style

Gyosho: Semi cursive style

Sosho: Cursive style

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