Japanese calligraphy, shodo in Japanese language, is the calligraphy brushed in Japanese. As it happens with many other artistic manifestations in Japan, Japanese calligraphy has its origins in Chinese calligraphy. For many centuries one of the most respected calligraphers in Japan was Chinese born Wang Xizhi from the 4th century.
Still, since the Hiragana and Katakana syllabaries were added to the Japanese writing practice, Japanese calligraphers started to shape native Japanese approaches of calligraphy.
Different Kinds of Japanese Calligraphy
The classic styles are virtually the same in Chinese calligraphy as in Japanese calligraphy. They are:
1. Seal Script, tensho in Japanese, an very old style of calligraphy
2. Regular Script, kaisho in Japanese language, at times called Standard Script in English
3. Clerical Script, reisho in Japanese
4. Semi-Cursive, gyosho in Japanese
5. Cursive, sosho in Japanese language, at times called Running Script in English
The Four Treasures of Eastern Calligraphy
The 4 essential tools you use in traditional Japanese calligraphy are the Four Treasures and they are: the brush, the ink stick, rice paper – also known as mulberry paper in the West- and the ink stone to ground the new ink.
Chinese Calligraphy Origins and Start in Japan
Chinese calligraphy goes back three thousand years, when pictorial representations or pictographs were engraved on bones generally with religious grounds. In time, during the Qin dynasty, the script was systematized as it had became a crucial tool for the administration of the Chinese state.
The Chinese tradition of calligraphy was brought to Japan around AD 600. Since then, in Japan calligraphy has been practiced uninterruptedly. It has formed its own ways especially in the Zen approach.
Today in Japan students learn the art of Japanese calligraphy and it can be studied in high school or universities along with other art disciplines such as painting or music.
Finally, the appearance of performance calligraphy has made it a popular interest practiced together in clubs by young people. Performance calligraphy has also been made known in the Western world and it seems to fascinate many people.
Japanese Calligraphy and Zen
Zen has had a remarkable impact in Japanese calligraphy. The most popular representation of the Zen approach of Japanese calligraphy is the enso circle. The calligrapher depicts the enso circle of enlightenment in one free-flowing stroke that can’t be adjusted or corrected.
Japanese Zen calligraphy, the Way of the Brush, is a form of meditation in action.