Japanese Calligraphy, Shodo, its Chinese Beginnings and Zen Connection

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

Nevertheless, since the Hiragana and Katakana syllabaries were added to the Japanese writing practice, Japanese calligraphers started to produce native Japanese approaches of calligraphy.

Different Kinds of Japanese Calligraphy

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

1. Seal Script, tensho in Japanese, an time-honored style of calligraphy

2. Regular Script, kaisho in Japanese, also 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 named Running Script in English

The Four Treasures of Eastern Calligraphy

The 4 essential utensils you need for traditional Japanese calligraphy are the Four Treasures and they are: the brush, inkstick, rice paper - also known as mulberry paper in the West- and  the ink stone to liquefy the new ink.

Chinese Calligraphy Beginnings and Outset in Japan

Chinese calligraphy goes back 3000 years, when pictorial representations or pictographs were engraved on bones generally with religious purposed. Subsequently, during the Qin reign, the script was homogenized as it had became an important tool for running the Chinese state.

The Chinese tradition of calligraphy was brought to Japan around AD 600. Since then, in Japan calligraphy has been practiced unbrokenly. It has unfolded its own ways particularly in the Zen tradition.

At Present in Japan students train in the art of Japanese calligraphy and it can be studied in high school or universities along with other art subjects such as painting or music.

Finally, the emergence of performance calligraphy has made it a popular interest practiced together in clubs by the younger generation. Performance calligraphy has also been made known in the West and it appears to captivate many people.

Japanese Calligraphy and Zen Buddhism

Zen has had a significant influence in Japanese calligraphy. The most popular representation of the Zen style of Japanese calligraphy is the enso circle. The calligrapher brushes the enso circle of enlightenment in one single free-flowing stroke that can’t be modified or corrected.

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