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.

The Straightforward Mind Is The Dojo: Japanese Aikido T-Shirt

Zen Saying T-shirt, with an original hand-brushed calligraphy of the Zen saying Jiki Shin Kore Dojo, meaning The Straightforward Mind Is The Dojo, also rendered as The Straightforward Mind Is The Place Of Practice, The Direct Mind Is The Place Of Enlightenment. The fluid calligraphy is available in the cursive or semi-cursive style of Japanese calligraphy. This original Zen calligraphy T-shirt makes a rare creative gift for Zen followers, Buddhists, meditation, Yoga and Martial Arts and Aikido practitioners, a great gift for a birthday or any other important moment|celebration.

The Dawn of Aikido and Morihei Ueshiba Morihei Ueshiba

Aikido is known as the Art of Peace. Not only Aikido but authentic martial arts are based on a philosophy of harmony and conciliation. To an amateur this statement can be hard to accept when you see how Aikido practitioners hit each other at high speed. Even so it is true, the fundamental doctrine of aikido and many martial arts are harmony and tranquility.

Aikido was developed by Morihei Ueshiba, born in Japan in 1883 to a family of farmers. Strangely, he was quite feeble as a kid and youngster and he spend numerous hours reading and on quiet activities. It is said that he even considered becoming ordained as a Buddhist monk. It is quite fantastic that he later created a string of Japanese martial arts. It isn’t how you would envision the creator  of the popular Aikido martial arts.

Despite everything, Morihei Ueshiba came from a lineage of samurais and his father would tell him all the time about the deeds  and audacity of his granddad. Ueshiba's father was involved in politics and one day he saw how the followers of a rival political group attacked his father. It was that day that he resolved to work on his body .

He learned jujitsu and judo, among other martial arts, but he didn't really make them his own for several years. At the time, the early 1900s, he was an infantryman in the Japanese army and he showed such capabilities that he was recommended for the Military Academy. Nevertheless, he left the army and went back to the family farm. In 1912 he moved with his wife to Hokkaido, an island in the north of Japan.

Morihei Ueshiba's aikido took inspiration from older martial arts practices from Japan. One of them was Daito-ryu Aiki Jutsu, which he practiced seriously with sensei Takeda Sokaku in Hokkaido. It was then and with Takeda as his teacher that Ueshiba started taking the study and practice of martial arts wholeheartedly.

After Morihei Ueshiba left the island of Hokkaido, he got to know Onisaburo Deguchi who taught him the Omoto-kyo religious practice derived from traditional Shinto. Deguchi's pacifism and his spirituality made a significant impact on Ueshiba. This would contribute considerably to the spiritual doctrine of Aikido.

Uesiba created the Aikido martial arts between 1925 and 1942 and gave it different names. During these years, he had some spiritual experiences and grasped  that the true purpose of a real warrior wasn't to defeat the enemy but to prevent slaughter.

In 1942, he moved to Iwama from Tokyo and started a dojo and the Aiki Shrine. He began calling his practice Aikido for the first time. Aikido is usually rendered as The Way of the Harmonious Spirit, The Way of Unifying with Life Energy or Ki.

He taught the Aikido martial art for circa twenty years and he became known as O Sensei, meaning Great Teacher or Great Master.

In spite ofhis pacifism the Japanese government decorated him a few times. Before his death in 1969 Aikido had already spread to Europe, Australia and the United States. Today Morihei Ueshiba's Aikido, or the Art of Peace, is practiced all over the world.

Ueshiba created a method that has helped innumerable people across the world. A number of decades after his passing, Aikido practitioners still see him as their supreme teacher, their Sensei, their master.

Aikido T-shirt

Zen EnsoT-Shirt with Original Enso Circle Calligraphy

Meditative Zen Enso Circle t-shirts and apparel show your Zen habits in an artistic form. The popular Zen Enso on t-shirts and apparel is a splendid form of Japanese zen art that will inspire you and anyone who see it when you are wearing the Enso Circle t-shirt swearshirt or hoodie.

In Zen Buddhism the Zen Enso Circle is seen as a symbol of enlightenment, infinity, the universe -the ultimate meditative state, the pursuit of enlightenment. Actually , an Enso circle can express many concepts in Zen Buddhism such as the endless circle of birth, death and rebirth or form and emptiness.

There aren’t rigid, definite rules to draw a Zen Circle as an enso embodies your state of mind when you shape and create it. An Enso Circle can be peaceful or vibrant, calm or stormy, expansive or sober. There are no two ensos alike. A famous Enso Circle by Fukushima Keido, a Japanese Rinzai Zen master who passed away in 2011 had the form of a triangle, but the Zen master considered it an enso all the same.

Most Zen ensos start at the lower left, but they can be drawn from any point of the circle. Creating a Zen Circle isn’t about drawing a perfect; imperfect  is perfectly fine, because it is people who brush the universal circle. The ink doesn’t have to be deep black all around the circle either, it can fade or vary, and can be wet or dry. Finally, the Zen Enso may be open or closed as well.

The Zen Circle has become one of the most popular images of Zen art, at least in the West, and the symbol of Japanese Zen aesthetics and spiritual arts.

Traditionally, the tools and principles used for brushing an enso are the same as in traditional Japanese calligraphy: brush, ink and rice paper. Usually, you brush a circle in one fluid stroke and once you have created the enso, you don’t adjust it in any way. It is what it is at that moment, which is like saying the expression of your mind at that very moment.

Brushing an Enso Circle is a spiritual practice that anyone can incorporate into  their lives. It is the Way of the Brush, as Japanese calligraphy is understood.

Health and Happiness

What do happiness, contentment, Depression and anxiety have in common? Well they are all feelings or emotions and they are all expressions of how you are feeling. Many people don't think of happiness and depression as being in the same category.
Being happy and healthy go together, you have no doubt heard the expression that "laughter is the best medicine". Laughing makes you automatically feel happy and this improves your mental health.

When you are feeling stressed out, anxious or depressed your body releases hormones that prevents some of your vital organs from working effectively. For example stress can actually damage your liver due to over production of hormones. Many people who are depressed gain weight as your body senses a change in your well being and starts to store fat.
Research has shown that people who are happy with their lives live much longer. Being 

happy also has a direct link to the way you think. Positive thinkers are more likely to feel happier than negative thinkers.
So how do you achieve this wonderful state of happiness?
Well first off you should look at your diet and see what you are eating on a regular basis. Eating a healthy well balanced diet releases good hormones called endorphin's which make you feel good. These are the same hormones which are released when you exercise, again another great way to find happiness and contentment.
Surrounding yourself with positive thinking people is another good way to feel better. Studies have shown that couples who are happily married actually live longer than those who aren't as happy.
Helping others is a wonderful way to do something good and can make you feel happy. Small kids are at their happiest when sharing things. Have you ever watched young children play? They just love sharing their toys and snacks with everyone in sight.
Think about what things you enjoy doing for yourself. Doing for yourself can make you feel good such as soaking in a hot bubble bath or enjoying a massage. Actually a massage is a great way to relax your entire body and leaves you feeling fantastic.
Make time for yourself as your mood will reflect on those around you. If you are feeling down your kids will pick up on it. When you are happy they are too. By making time for your own happiness you will automatically infect happiness on everyone around you.