The ancient art of Japanese calligraphy involves various techniques.
Japanese calligraphy is an art form that has been practiced for more than 3,000 years. Unlike Western calligraphy, it is not just a way of executing beautiful script; rather, it is an endeavor that is both a meditation and art form. Masterful calligraphy involves learning skill and technique and using those to make an art piece. The words become the art, and the way they are drawn, using only lines, gives nuance to the words. Though the characters are the same and principles of form are followed by each calligrapher, no two artists are identical.
Brushwork
The brushwork in Japanese calligraphy balances the character drawn with the entire composition. The artist tells his visual story through the execution of lines and curves, the amount of ink carried to the paper on the brush and the scale of the characters in relation to the other elements. Rhythm drives the energy as the artist makes strokes straight up and down. The characters must be expressed in full on the first attempt, with no touch-ups.
Scripts
Chinese calligraphy, the precursor to Japanese calligraphy, has five different scripts. Beginning calligraphers learn kaisho script first because it has a clear pattern and sequence of drawing the lines. That makes it ideal for learning handle the brush and ink. As they learn more, they work in the gyosho script. It is a semicursive form with rounded characters and a soft look. The calligrapher perfects the flow in the execution of the curves.
Mind and Body
Japanese calligraphy is more than drawing lovely characters with a brush. It is a whole mind and body discipline. Every action and nonaction goes into the process of brush writing. The energy created by the balanced mind brings the body into action and the brush to paper. Breathing, posture and movement are all part of each stroke of the brush. There are rhythms for each movement.
Tools
The tools of the trade for practitioners of Japanese calligraphy are brushes, a black ink stick, a stone for mixing the ink, red ink, a water well and a rest for the brush. The calligrapher rubs the ink stick into a drop of water on the stone. The paper is made from mulberry, rice, wheat, bamboo or hemp. The bristles of the brushes are animal hair from cats and dogs, deer, horses, goats and sheep. The artist works with a felt mat beneath the paper.
