Shodō – The Art of Japanese Calligraphy

Shodō (書道) literally means “the way of writing”, thus calligraphy is often understood as a ” way of life through writing “. This means that life is devoted to mastering the secrets of Far Eastern calligraphy, its various techniques, but most importantly, the spiritual aspect of it. It is one of the traditional Japanese arts that artistically expresses the kanji and kana characters using brush and ink, ancient Japanese writing instruments.

The purpose of shodō is to concentrate the mind and express from within yourself the writing. Even the same character or kanji can make a difference in strength, flexibility, thickness, etc., and can be appreciated from the point of view of how that kanji is arranged: how to carry the brush, the tone of the ink, and the meaning of the kanji. kanji.

Shodō came to Japan via China around the 6th or 7th century (Nara period). Although at that time its use was practical, it represented a very important part in the education of the Japanese noble class. With the passage of time its use also began to spread among ordinary people until reaching our days where it is deeply integrated into the life of the Japanese by writing letters with ink and brushes on ceremonial occasions (birthdays, marriages, funerals, etc. and cards of New Year .

As we said, originally writing in Japan was for practical use, even though they wrote with brush and ink, however, as the culture progressed, methods of aesthetic expression began to appear, which led to the art of calligraphy, that is. say the shodō .

Soon after, Japan began to “transform” a calligraphy style unique to Japan originated and that was the kana ( hiragana and katakana ).

Japanese calligraphy has techniques in writing styles, the most common are:

Kaisho楷書- It is the first font you learn in typography and calligraphy class. It is printed calligraphy.

Gyosho行書 or ” semicursive “, (written faster and looser)

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Sōsho , or “cursive” (a freer, more flowing method where the strokes are bent and curved)

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As a discipline that must be spiritually mastered, reference is generally made to the Zen teachings. Like the well-known Enso circle, in which the way you paint it would be how your life is right now.

To make a Shodo composition, the essential material is:

Inkwell A bowl for preparing ink.

Paper Normally the traditional washi paper is used 和紙

Ink You can use already diluted ink or make your own ink with an ink stick, called sumi , made mainly from soot and animal glue, sometimes with incense or medicinal scents. The ink bar is rubbed in the inkwell with a little water and thus the ink is created.

The traditional and best position is on the ground and you must be very focused to be fluent in the execution. You must pay attention to follow the order of strokes to achieve a perfect balance in your writing.

Japanese elementary schools have calligraphy as a compulsory subject. It is an option in high school, with club activities and in some universities there are special calligraphic study departments to prepare their students with teaching-training programs.

The following is a video that shows the smoothness and concentration in the strokes so that your composition is perfect.