Japanese calligraphy
Inked character art
Japanese calligraphy is the art of writing Japanese characters with brush and ink, emphasizing aesthetic beauty alongside meaning.
Called *shodō* (way of writing), it developed from Chinese calligraphy but adapted to include Japanese scripts—hiragana and katakana alongside kanji.
The practice is considered meditative, with brush control, ink consistency, and paper quality all contributing to the work: She studied Japanese calligraphy for years before attempting her first scroll.
- inkstoneSlab for grinding pigment
- kanaJapanese phonetic writing system
- paperPressed pulp for writing
- inkWriting fluid
- brushBristled cleaning tool
brush stroke · seal · hiragana · line · wabi-sabi · Zen Buddhism · stroke · black · hanging scroll · black ink · flow · mark · sweep · balance · practice · temple · bamboo · meditation
- calligraphyblackletter, rotunda, uncial, italic, italic script
- brush calligraphyink brush, brush, brush pen, brushwork, horsehair brush
- paintingoil painting, watercolor, acrylic paint, oils, oil paints
- scrollshandscroll, hanging scroll, makimono, paper scroll, silk scroll
Japanese calligraphylaser printing
Toner fused by light
word processing · offset printing · movable type · text messaging · keyboard input
Japanese calligraphyscribbling
Illegible hasty writing
illegible handwriting · chicken scratch · shorthand · scrawl · graffiti