Japanese Calligraphy, Shodo, its Chinese Origins and Zen Link

Japanese calligraphy, known as shodo in Japanese language, is the calligraphy brushed in Japanese. As many different art manifestations in Japan, Japanese calligraphy has its beginnings in Chinese calligraphy. For many centuries one of the most praised calligraphers in Japan was Chinese born Wang Xizhi from the 4th century.

However, since the Hiragana and Katakana syllabaries were added to the Japanese writing practice, Japanese calligraphers began to create native Japanese styles of calligraphy.

Different Kinds of Japanese Calligraphy

The classic types are almost the same in Chinese calligraphy as in Japanese calligraphy. They are as follows:

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

2. Regular Script, kaisho in Japanese language, at times called Standard Script in English

3. Clerical Script, reisho in Japanese

4. Semi-Cursive, gyosho  in Japanese

5. Cursive, sosho in Japanese language, at times called Running Script in English

The Four Treasures

The four basic tools you use in traditional Japanese calligraphy are called the 4 Treasures and they are: brush, inkstick, rice paper - also called mulberry paper in the West- and  the inkstone to liquefy the new ink.

Chinese Calligraphy Origins and Outset in Japan

Chinese calligraphy goes back three thousand years, when pictorial representations or pictographs were engraved on bones generally with religious motivations. Eventually, in the Qin reign, the script was systematized as it had became an important tool for governing the Chinese state.

The Chinese way of calligraphy was brought to Japan around AD 600. Since then, in Japan calligraphy has been practiced continuously. It has formed its own ways particularly in the Zen school.

At Present in Japan students 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 emergence of performance calligraphy has made it a popular activity practiced together in clubs by young people. Performance calligraphy has also been introduced to the West and it seems to captivate many people.

Japanese Calligraphy and Zen

Zen has had a remarkable impact in Japanese calligraphy. The most common representation of the Zen school of Japanese calligraphy is the enso circle. The calligrapher depicts the enso circle of enlightenment in one single free-flowing stroke that can’t be modified or corrected.

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