Shodo
I went to a trial shodo, or Japanese calligraphy, lesson on Saturday, and then had my first proper lesson last night.
Living in central Tokyo it is quite easy to forget that one is living in Japan at times, so I wanted to do something Japanese and improve some of my skills at the same time. I am not really into Japanese swords - although I can see how people appreciate them as art forms, and I don’t find the idea of Japanese martial arts that appealing (I mean really judo gear stinks!) so I thought I would give shodo a try. And now that I am a bit more settled into work (must tidy that site up soon!) I have time to try some new things.
Another reason is that I would like to get better at writing Japanese. I write a bit in Japanese at work, business emails and the like, but it is all done on a computer (good old Ubuntu!) so I forget how to write the characters by hand - I think this happens to a lot of Japanese people to. And, earlier this year, we sent a wedding present to a friend in China who got married. She wrote back saying I write Chinese like a primary school student. Ouch!
Much more difficult than it looks would have to be my first impression of this Japanese art form. I think I can now draw a simple line. The idea basically is to become one with paper and brush and there is a long way for me to go to achieve that.
The image is from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Haruichiban.JPG. Calligraphy by Ishizaki Keisui, uploaded with author’s permission, http://www.sho.ne.jp/artists/a/html/ISHIZAKIkeisui.html.
Something to aim for!
4 Comments, Comment or Ping
Mary
Can you show us some of your drawings?
Oct 7th, 2008
simon
Thanks for asking, but they aren’t very good…
Will try to put some up soon.
Oct 9th, 2008
Katana Dave
I am not Japanese but I love almost everything about Japan. Even if I can’t actually write the Japanese characters legibly, I find them artistic, almost like images of little dancers doing their moves. Good thing you developed an interest in Japanese calligraphy - it’s something I also yearn for but can’t really find the time to learn the art. I guess I just have to settle with my own interests - Japanese swords and martial arts - both of which are not your cup of tea! But then again, to each his own.
Good luck with your new hobby!
Nov 17th, 2008
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