Japanese Calligraphy, Shodo, its Chinese Origins and Zen Link

Japanese calligraphy, shodo in Japanese language, is the calligraphy brushed in Japanese. As many other art expressions in Japan, Japanese calligraphy has its roots in Chinese calligraphy. For many centuries one of the most admired calligraphers in Japan was Chinese Wang Xizhi that lived in the 4th century.

Even so, since the Hiragana and Katakana syllabaries were incorporated into the Japanese writing system, Japanese calligraphers began to shape original Japanese approaches of calligraphy.

Styles of Japanese Calligraphy

The traditional styles are virtually the same in Chinese calligraphy as in Japanese calligraphy. They are:

1. Seal Script, tensho in Japanese language, an very old style of calligraphy

2. Regular Script, kaisho in Japanese language, sometimes named Standard Script in English

3. Clerical Script, reisho in Japanese language

4. Semi-Cursive, gyosho  in Japanese

5. Cursive, sosho in Japanese, sometimes named Running Script in English

The Four Treasures

The four essential tools you use in traditional Japanese calligraphy are called the Four Treasures and they are: brush, ink stick, rice paper - also known as mulberry paper in the West- and  the inkstone to liquefy the fresh ink.

Chinese Calligraphy Roots and Introduction to Japan

Chinese calligraphy goes back three thousand years, when pictorial figures or pictographs were carved on bones usually with religious grounds. Eventually, in the Qin reign, the script was homogenized as it had became a decisive instrument for the administration of the Chinese state.

The Chinese tradition of calligraphy was introduced to Japan around AD 600. Since then, in Japan calligraphy has been practiced uninterruptedly. It has developed its own style especially in the Zen school.

Today in Japan pupils learn the art of Japanese calligraphy and it can be practiced 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 activity practiced together in groups by the younger generation. Performance calligraphy has also been presented to the Western world and it appears to enthrall many people.

Japanese Calligraphy and Zen Buddhism

Zen Buddhism has had a significant effect in Japanese calligraphy. The most popular representation of the Zen style of Japanese calligraphy is the enso circle. The calligrapher depicts the enso circle of enlightenment in one free-flowing stroke that is never modified or corrected.

Zen calligraphy, the Way of the Brush, is a sort of meditation in action.