Shodō (書道 "the way of writing") or Sho (書) is Japanese calligraphy. Calligraphy in a Latin Bible of AD 1407 on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. ...

Sho, the kanji meaning "to write"

Unlike Western-style calligraphy which is written with a pen, shodō is written using a bamboo and animal-hair brush called a fude (筆) on Japanese paper (和紙 washi). The character 書 (sho/kaku -- writing) in kaisho style. ... Diversity Around 91 genera and 1,000 species Subtribes Arthrostylidiinae Arundinariinae Bambusinae Chusqueinae Guaduinae Melocanninae Nastinae Racemobambodinae Shibataeinae See the full Taxonomy of the Bambuseae. ... Washi (和紙) or Wagami is a type of paper made in Japan. ...

Tools

The ink, called sumi (墨), is made from lampblack (soot) and binders, and comes in sticks which must be rubbed with water on an inkstone until the right consistency is achieved. Much cheaper, pre-mixed bottled inks are now available, but these are used primarily for practice as stick inks are considered higher quality and chemical inks are more prone to bleeding over time, making them less suitable for use in hanging scrolls. Learning to rub the ink is an essential part of calligraphy study. Traditionally, Japanese calligraphy is written only in black ink, but modern calligraphers sometimes use other colours. Calligraphy teachers use a bright orange ink with which they write practice characters for students and correct students' work.

A basic shodō kit contains a stone or ceramic inkstone (cheaper inkstones are made of plastic), a selection of brushes, a piece of black felt (shitajiki) which is placed under the writing paper, paper weights and stick or bottled ink. The shitajiki is frequently printed with registration marks in white (usually with four squares on one side and six on the other); these are used as a guide to ensure correct placement and size of the characters. Such printed shitajiki are used only by students. Very long shitajiki are also available; these are used when writing on special long paper.

Study

Smaller pieces of Japanese calligraphy are traditionally written seated in the traditional Japanese way (seiza), on the knees with the buttocks resting on the heels. These days practitioners frequently do shodō seated on a chair at a table. Larger pieces may be written while standing; in this case the paper is usually placed directly on the floor, but some calligraphers use an easel. A paperweight is placed at the top of all but the largest pages to prevent slipping; for smaller pieces the left hand is also placed at the bottom of the page for support. The brush is held in the right hand between the thumb and the index and middle fingers. A woman in seiza, on tatami, performing the Japanese tea ceremony Seiza (正座, literally correct sitting) is a Japanese word which describes the traditional formal way of sitting in that country. ...

Shodō takes many years of dedicated practice. Correct stroke order, proper balance and rhythm of characters are an essential in calligraphy. Skilled handling of the brush produces a pleasing balance of characters on the paper, thick and thin lines, and heavy and light inking. Outline of the character æ°¸, showing stroke order and direction. ...

Works of calligraphy are usually "signed" with the artist's name and stamp, seal or "chop" in red ink.

Styles of shodō

The characters written in shodō are often archaic or Chinese forms. Modern variations or simplifications of characters are also used.

Chinese characters written in three styles, from top to bottom: kaisho, gyōsho, sōsho. Notice how the basic shape of the character remains the same while the individual strokes become radically altered.

There are three basic styles, or shotai, of shodō, kaisho (楷書, formal or "square" type), gyōsho (行書, "running" or semi-cursive script), and sōsho (草書, known in English as "grass script"). All of these styles originate from Chinese calligraphy. These are Chinese characters written in three styles (from top to bottom: Kaisho, Gyousho, Sousho) by user:Exploding Boy. ... These are Chinese characters written in three styles (from top to bottom: Kaisho, Gyousho, Sousho) by user:Exploding Boy. ... Shōtai (昌泰) is the name of a Japanese era equivalent to the years 898-901 on the Western calendar. ... Calligraphy is an art dating back to the earliest day of history, and widely practiced throughout China to this day. ...

Other styles, including tensho (篆書, clerical, or ancient style) and reisho (隷書, ancient style) exist but are rarely practiced in calligraphy (they are, however, still used in hanko). 《尋隱者不遇》—賈島 松下問童子 言師採藥去 隻在此山中 雲深不知處 Seeking the Master but not Meeting by Jia Dao Beneath a pine I asked a little child. ... The Clerical script is a style of Chinese calligraphy that is still being used. ... An inkan (印鑑) or hanko (判子) is a name seal customarily used in Japan instead of a signature when doing business or other procedures. ...

There is also a large family of native Japanese calligraphic styles known as edomoji, characters created in the Edo period of Japanese history, such as sumōmoji (sumo letters) used to write sumō wrestling posters, kanteiryū, used for kabuki, higemoji, and so on. These styles are typically not taught in Japanese calligraphy schools. Edomoji (江戸文字) are Japanese lettering styles which were invented for advertising in the Edo period. ... Edo (Japanese: 江戸, literally: bay-door, estuary), once also spelled Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo. ... Sumo (相撲 Sumō, alternatively 大相撲 ÅŒzumō), or Sumo wrestling, is a competition contact sport wherein two wrestlers or rikishi face off in a circular area. ... A RyÅ« (流) is any school of a Japanese martial art. ... The Kabukiza in Ginza is one of Tokyos leading kabuki theaters. ...

In addition to the Chinese characters, the Japanese developed the kana characters during the eighth century. In contrast to Chinese characters, which express both sound and meaning ideographically, kana express only sound without regard to meaning. Three types of kana were developed, manyogana, hiragana, and katakana. The manyogana are a subset of the Chinese characters used phonetically to represent the syllables of Japanese, and are named after the eighth century poetry collection Manyoshu. Manyogana is now obsolete. At the time this collection was compiled the Japanese had no writing system of their own. Some of the Japanese poems were rendered in Chinese characters used phonetically, and in others the Chinese characters were used sometimes phonetically and sometimes ideographically. Using the kanji manyogana as a guide, hiragana and katakana were developed from the grass script versions of characters. In the hands of Japanese noblewomen, hiragana developed into a beautiful script which is the unique calligraphic style of Japan. In contrast to the loops and curves of hiragana, katakana is more angular and relies on sharp angles. Written Japanese uses both scripts along with Chinese characters, and basic calligraphy instruction is still common in Japanese lower education. 漢字 hànzì, hanja, kanji… in Traditional Chinese and other languages. ... Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Romaji ローマ字 For other meanings of Kana, see Kana (disambiguation). ... Manyōgana (万葉仮名) is an ancient form of Japanese kana based on kanji (Chinese characters). ... Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Rōmaji ローマ字 Category Hiragana ) are a Japanese syllabary, one of the three main Japanese writing systems, along with katakana and kanji. ... Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Rōmaji ローマ字 Category Katakana (片仮名) are a Japanese syllabary, one of the four Japanese writing systems. ... Manyoshu (万葉集 ManyōshÅ«, Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves) is the oldest existing, and most highly revered, collection of Japanese poetry, compiled sometime in the Nara or early Heian periods. ...

Kaisho

Kaisho style

Students begin by learning kaisho(楷書). This script is the basic style. The character 楷 means "correctness," and each of the strokes in each character written is drawn and placed "correctly," that is, the brush is lifted from the page for each stroke, all the strokes are written distinctly, and the characters appear basically as they would if printed by a word processor (see the example character on the left, meaning "poetry,"). Characters produced are square and angular, with regular spacing. Calligraphy in the Kaishu style The Regular Script, or in Chinese Kaishu (楷書 Pinyin: kǎishū) and Japanese Kaisho, also commonly known as Standard Regular (正楷), is the newest of the Chinese calligraphy style (peaked at the 7th century), hence most common in modern writings and publications (after the non-calligraphy... This is a reupload of an image of the word poetry written in Kaisho style by Exploding Boy. ... This is a reupload of an image of the word poetry written in Kaisho style by Exploding Boy. ...

This style is studied first to give students a feel for correct placement and balance, as well as to provide a proper base for the other, more flowing styles.

Characters written in this style are instantly recognizable.

Gyōsho

Gyōsho style

Gyōsho (行書) is a more cursive script, roughly approximating normal handwriting in which strokes and, more rarely, characters are allowed to run into one another (the example on the left has 13 strokes; in gyōsho style it is written with 8), and characters appear less angular and more round. In writing in gyōsho style the brush leaves the paper less often than in kaisho. The average educated person in China or Japan can read characters written in gyōsho style with relative ease, but may have occasional difficulty. This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... the word poetry written in Gyoushou style by user:Exploding Boy. ... the word poetry written in Gyoushou style by user:Exploding Boy. ...

Sōsho

Sōsho style

Sōsho (草書) is the most cursive script. It is frequently impossible to read characters written in sōsho style without training. Entire characters may be written without lifting the brush from the paper at all (see example, left. This character, meaning "poetry," has thirteen strokes; in sōsho style it is written in 2), and characters frequently flow into one another. Strokes are modified or eliminated completely to facilitate smooth writing and to create a beautiful, abstract appearance. Characters are highly rounded and soft in appearance, with a noticeable lack of angular lines. Also known as Cursive Calligraphy. ... the word poetry written in Soushou style by user:Exploding Boy. ... the word poetry written in Soushou style by user:Exploding Boy. ...

Japanese hiragana originates from Chinese characters written in the sōsho style. Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Rōmaji ローマ字 Category Hiragana ) are a Japanese syllabary, one of the three main Japanese writing systems, along with katakana and kanji. ...

See also

• Chinese calligraphy
• Stroke order
• Sumi-e

Calligraphy is an art dating back to the earliest day of history, and widely practiced throughout China to this day. ... Outline of the character æ°¸, showing stroke order and direction. ... Autumn Landscape (Shukei-sansui). ...

References

• Daniels O, Dictionary of Japanese (Sōsho) Writing Forms, Lunde Humphries, 1944 (reprinted 1947)

External links

• Japan Internet Shodo Association.
• Creating Japanese calligraphy
• Tools used in Japanese calligraphy.
• sci.lang.japan FAQ on Japanese writing styles gives examples of the various calligraphic and printed kanji and kana styles.