Kanji in parks?/ Unusual ways japanese practice kanji?

[Nameless]

Ok, Here is the story, chinese, practice hanzi in parks with water:
YouTube - ‪water calligraphy‬‏

I asked a native if the japanese do the same, however he told he had never seen that.

My question is, has anyone [those that live there] seen this anywhere in japan?

Also, what unusual [ not so obvious for us, foreigners ], ways of practicing the kanji/kana, do the japanese have?

I would google for answers, but I honestly don't know how to do it.

If anyone has a document regarding this, or if this is considered spam, feel free to:
A) Delete this topic.
B) Send me a link with the document that answers the question.

[ryuurui]

I think you are blending two different things.

Everyonje, to a degree, practices 習字 which means "studying characters", and it is done at grammar schools, mainly. That is not what the man on the video is doing, as he is writing calligraphy (書道, or 書法 in chinese). Shuuji (習字) is not art, its like western calligraphy - a craft - teaching you how to write pretty characters. Shodou (書道) is pure art, and even though there are rules to it, it has nothing to do with pretty charatcers.

In Japan - I have not seen anyone doing that (writing on a street). In Japan calligraphy is practiced at home, or during special studying meetings (勉強会). There are occasionally organised outdoor events. Like this:

Koji Kakinuma, Japanese Calligrapher/Artist

There is one guy in Ueno park writing kanji of people names, but despite an original handwriting (書風), he is lacking basics.

The guy on the video, on the other hand, is wicked (in fact both of them are, the Chinese bloke and the one i linked to).

If you want to read more about calligraphy, click on the links in my signature.

[Nameless]

Originally Posted by ryuurui

I think you are blending two different things.

Everyonje, to a degree, practices 習字 which means "studying characters", and it is done at grammar schools, mainly. That is not what the man on the video is doing, as he is writing calligraphy (書道, or 書法 in chinese). Shuuji (習字) is not art, its like western calligraphy - a craft - teaching you how to write pretty characters. Shodou (書道) is pure art, and even though there are rules to it, it has nothing to do with pretty charatcers.

In Japan - I have not seen anyone doing that (writing on a street). In Japan calligraphy is practiced at home, or during special studying meetings (勉強会). There are occasionally organised outdoor events. Like this:

Koji Kakinuma, Japanese Calligrapher/Artist

There is one guy in Ueno park writing kanji of people names, but despite an original handwriting (書風), he is lacking basics.

The guy on the video, on the other hand, is wicked (in fact both of them are, the Chinese bloke and the one i linked to).

If you want to read more about calligraphy, click on the links in my signature.

I have been reading it, and the more I do, the more I want to practice it.

Yes I think I confused the concepts, I thought people there were not calligraphers or practitioners of 書法, but rather people writing them for pure entertainment/practice.

This idea came to my mind, since I read about Japanese and Chinese forgetting kanji / hanzi due to the use of computers and cellphones.

Again, since I don't really know how to search it, I had no other way to know, but asking here.

Thanks for the link, I will read it...

Thus, rephrasing the question, are there any other clever ways to practice 書道/書法?

Edit: I didn't notice before that the guy is writing in cursive / semicursive ( at this point, I am unable to know the difference of those two).

[ryuurui]

Ah, not to worry, many native speakers cannot read cursive script.

Ok, I am a bit confused, so you are asking if there are any other ways of practicing the art of Far Eastern calligraphy or just learning charatcers. Again, htese are two different things. We do not practice calligraphy to learn the charatcers. Calligraphy (書道) is an art. Also, practicing calligraphy is done differently, and it is called 臨書 (rinsho) - i.e. copying classics (mainly Chinese ones). This is how you gainskill and deep knowledge of brush handling etc. Learning kanji/hanzi is not calligraphy.

It is true that Chinese and Japanese are fogetting kanji, but those who practice calligraphy are very rare, as it takes up a lot of time (every day). I, as a foreigner, am completely 珍しい (odd) to study it.

The guy on the vid is not practicing calligraphy, but writing a caligraphy - great difference. Shoot, if you have more questions.

[TalnSG]

I have had three teachers recommend the same basic principle as the water/pavement idea for practicing writing for Japanese, Korean and Chinese.

Basically its if using a brush and water on a piece of slate or unglazed tile. It works beautifully, convenient to carry and is more practical if it is for writing rather than painting signs or banners.

[Nameless]

Originally Posted by ryuurui

... writing a caligraphy - great difference. Shoot, if you have more questions.

I forgot completely, that it is a complex topic, sorry, I mean that, writing calligraphy, but the original question was aimed at anything: practicing caligraphy, writing caligraphy, practicing kanji... and so on.



If I can recall correctly, the Chinese tradition stated that the calligraphy, was meant to be with a set of rules, and it was a 'copyist' tradition, meaning that the characters were meant to look the same all the time.

However in japan [in modern times] , there were some ideologies stating that, there should be some freedom of expression, thus, there are some calligraphy works that involve new ways of portraying the characters.


Am I ill-informed? if not my question is: are there any forms of calligraphy works (written calligraphy) that would look too unusual (I am not saying this in a negative sense), regarding the materials employed, or the places where they are done?

[ryuurui]

Again, similarly to word "calligraphy" (which is a very unfortunate translation for shodou), the word "copying" (臨, which in Chinese means "to face") is also misunderstood. You study calligraphy through "copying", it is true, but the aim of copying is not to copy what is written exactly as it is. That would be a tracing copy, and those were made for a purpose of preserving rare masterpies, as it was done by EmperorTaizong of Tang and the masterpiece of Wang Xizhi - Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion. The whole idea of "copying" is to understand the energy, spirit, vigour and style of the artist, as this is what calligraphy is all about. Through such learning you catch the essence of calligraphy and its deep spirituality, as well as you improve your brush technique. You "face" what one had felt and wrote on a piece of paper, you sense it, and then try to pay tribute to it by studying it.

Calligraphers can gaze at lines for hours, trying to understand the hidden power. You watched the movie "Hero" with Jet Li? Where he says to the Qin emperor that he stared at the calligraphy of Broken Sword to comprehand the 14th way of writing the charatcer "sword" to discover his secret. This is exactly what I am talking about.

Technique is nothing without vigour, even most technically correct calligraphy can appeal dead, if its washed out of any passion. Why do you think, one of the best works in semi cursive script were the above preface and Lament for Nephiew Zhai by Yan Zhenqing. They are all covered in smuges and corrections, and for a laymen they look like a maze of crazy lines. Simply, it takes time to absorb and understand the depth of calligraphy, and it comes to you through copying masterpieces (rinsho)

Writing on a pavement is good and bad. The idea behind it is that a calligrapher should be able to write with anything, as a brush is the extension of his soul, and not the tool he write with. You dont write with the brush but contents of your mind, which again underlines the importance of personality in calligraphy. Also, dispite the fact that many ancient masters were so poor that they could not afford paper, and , like Huai Su of the Tang dynasty, they wrote with a finger dipped in mud on the walls of the monastery or palm leaves, it is believed that brush and ink are traditional ways of writing and calligraphy should be practiced that way for many reasons; opne of them is the line characteristics, which are very brush, ink and paper and inkstone dependant (that is why they called them four treasures of the study).

I will paste here a fragment from my book "Marvellous Ink" that is currently being translated into Japanese, that should explain more about 書.

"
Chapter I
Cocooned in Nothingness

(...)
Personally, I think calligraphy to be the most in-depth art form of meditation and philosophy of the Far East. It is extremely well disguised in its alleged simplicity, as if it was protecting its secrets through assumption that it will be ignored by those who live only to die.

Imagine, that during writing the only metaphysical connection between a calligraphers body, his mind and the paper is the tip of the brush. One could say that an ocean of emotions is being stirred by single floss. Picture the energy sparking during writing. Insane condensation of passion and feelings, pure heart’s images are being channelled by means of a few hairs　of the brush tuft. It is impossible to control it with muscles in your arm, it would be momentarily detectable.

Hesitation in sho makes the final work worthless, as it ruins the flow of 気 (ki, energy). Such sakuhin can be only used for self-correction and reflection on our weaknesses. Through long years of training, meditation and studying we train our body to respond subconsciously, and our mind to enter state of nothingness (mushin), or emptiness, by discarding any thoughts.

It is said that if one holds and operates the brush correctly, the mind recognises it and will be led by the spiritual presence of ancient masters. To become truly powerful, one needs to learn how to control himself first. The state of complete detachment is an incredible sensation, halting time and freezing world in place, allowing the artist to search into the depths of his soul, blinding him to all that is irrelevant. Subconsciously, controlling the brush, he tames the physical world allowing his mind to fully express itself. Such practice also assists a calligrapher in searching for his own style. Sho written this way is a raw mirror reflection of the heart itself.

Taming our emotions we stabilise both our mind and body, while our subconciousness leads the brush through paper, undisturbed as if in a sleepless dream, allowing us full expressiveness. Esoteric studies of calligraphy techniques in connection with their philosophical origins are a foundation for creating personal style, slumbering patiently under the lining of reality, like an ancient dragon.

Copying works of great masters for studying purposes to widen our knowledge of various styles, and deliberately using them as ours, are two different things however. Learning from classics makes us understand and appreciate different approaches. It awakens respect to the art and innovatory tries of our ancestors. Engaging power of will and mind to continue on a journey of discovering limits of imagination should be the aim here. Copying only achievements of others will cause us to move backwards in our studies, and our sho to appear bleached of originality, thus powerless and lacking its natural brilliance. Further, through “assembling” “borrowed” stimulants it will lose its uniformity, and be felt as inconsistent, kitschy or even vulgar.

There is a great story illustrating the above. Over the gateway to the Chinese city of Ling’an there was a large sign that read “Conquest of the Southeast Country,” written by master calligrapher Tu Zhuo (屠倬1781-1828). Passing time has caused a part of the second out of four characters to fade and it needed a touch up. Since Tu Zhuo could not be located, his student undertook the task. Officials of the county were more than satisfied with the final result. Sometime later, Wang Wenzhi (王文治1730 - 1802), a senior court officer, was passing the gate and stopped to read the sign. His famous words go:

“Those four characters look like three live dragons and one dead snake.”
The dead snake was a reference to the corrected character.
Three live dragons and one dead snake (三生龍一死蛇)

You can teach a ten year old kid to play the most difficult classical compositions on the violin, and even though the performance itself is technically flawless, it will come out dry. Alas, the child at such a young age has not enough life experience to understand what, and most importantly why, he or she is performing, let alone the knowledge of the composer himself, why and when the given piece was created, or the times he or she lived in. Real sho is more than art. It is life itself.
(...)

Copyrights: 2010 - 2011 Piotr Ponte Sypniewski
"

So, yes, calligraphy can be written with anything, once you understand how to redirect the energy, from your soul, onto the surface on which you are writing. Here is one of my works written with a paper tissue, because during March (hayfever in Tokyo) I hold them much more often than the brush ^_^

雲 a cloud


It is also true that Chinese calligrapy was much more strict than the Japanese one, but it is in due to cultural differences and artistic sense differences. That is why around 9th century Japanese calligraphy stops mimicing Chinese classics of the Tang dynasy (the most rigid and formal calligraphy ever) and 和様書道 was initiated. Its a subject river, I will be writing a lot about this o my blog, as well as on the third page I am creating now. Chinese modern calligraphy is more relaxed and avant-garde-like. This however, does not mean, that one can skip studying classics. If he or she does so, their calligraphy will be like that dead snake.