By Ryuya Nozaki
This is a calligraphy set which I used when I was an elementary school child. In this bag, there are brushes, ink, paper wait, pieces of thin paper, and felt mat. This smells like the ink that reminds me of my calligraphy experiences.
Calligraphy was brought to Japan from China in the 11th century and Japanese started to learn how to write. Since then calligraphy has been an important subject of education. Japanese children take calligraphy lessons in elementary school and junior high school as a required subject.
Currently Japanese do not use brushes and ink for regular writing, but letters drawn by a brush has special meanings. For example, Japanese perform kakizome, the first writing of the year, to show their new year resolutions on long sheets of paper in January.
Such letters are displayed on the wall because Japanese feel something spiritual in the brush drown letters. There are so-called a shodo performance, an exhibition where writers wearing white kimono and traditional black trousers draw powerful letters using an enormous brush on a sheet as big as a carpet, among calligraphy clubs at high schools.
The audience enjoy watching the exciting process of brush-drawn lines and dots turning to something spiritual. I am glad I took calligraphy lessons because I am able to admire the beauty of calligraphy.
Photo by Ryuya Nozaki
