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dogsbody70 08-15-2010 09:50 PM

interesting item re calligraphy lessons
 
Shuujiya-san Project: Understanding culture through calligraphy

ryuurui 08-15-2010 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dogsbody70 (Post 824513)

heh, i am meeting this guy on sunday this week. :D
I am hoping to contrubute to the project. We have spoken with Miura san and both are in agreement, that not only foreigners can be reached, but also the Japanese. It's is frightening how little Japanese know about calligraphy, which in a way is a path to discovering ourselves.
He seems like an enthusiast, so it makes two of us.

dogsbody70 08-16-2010 08:18 AM

thats good. I hope you can contribute.

AllI need is someone near me that can also teach. usually when I attend classes it is al very brief and hiragana.

I am surprised that not all japanese people are experts. I thought they were brought up with practicing calligraphy-- or maybe the shodo is far more artistic and spiritual.

ryuurui 08-16-2010 08:36 AM

They were brought up practicing 習字 not 書道, these are two very different things. They call shodou shuuji and that is simply wrong. Shuuji is a subject you can learn, where shodou is a way of life you learn from. 道 is a key word here, which points at a "way" or a "path". 

Many young Japanese can't even write by hand 常用漢字, let alone understand calligraphy.

dogsbody70 08-16-2010 10:37 AM

thank you again Ryuurui, when I think about it I suppose our calligraphy for the alphabet is not taught generally. One has to make an effort to learn how to write beautifully.

I think I understand what you are telling me. Very fascinating it is too.

thankyou. Ps My japanese friend explained to me that many young people are not taught calligraphy-- to write by hand. I suppose it is very time consuming-- but the handwritten calligraphy is so attractive. I like the hiragan and katakana. so much is very dramatic I feel.

I am wondering how numbers are written

ryuurui 08-16-2010 11:51 AM

Katakana and numbers (unless written in kanji) should not be used in 書道, as it is considered vulgar. That also goes to simplified kanji.

Kana is very beautiful, although it is a very demanding art. It requires mastery of 草書 (cursive style) especially that Japanese kana (and there are many more variations of it than just hiragana, such as hentaigana, to give one example) is based on it.

There is not enough time in one's life to embrace the vastness of the calligraphy world, even if you would have devoted yourself to it completely. Indeed, studying it is time consuming, but also very rewarding at the same time.

See, many people study calligraphy with an aim, such as reaching level of 師範 (instructor), where in fact sho ought to be aimless and selfless way of life. Ironically, 師範 level is a starting point of studies, and not its end. This shows how many people actually either misunderstands the whole philosophy if sho or simply they are not ready mentally to understand it.

ryuurui 09-25-2010 01:31 PM

well, we ve met and i am a part of the project now. There are few of us involved. Currently we are trying to organise a calligraphy event in Sensouji, oldest buddhist shrine in tokyo.

Senso-ji | About Senso-ji

I have also wrote a logo for us, which Miura san (founder of the shuujiya san) really liked. That is my first design for a Japanese entity.

Kanji in seal script, from top to bottom: 習字屋三


Etymology is quite interesting:

習 - two wings flapping together, which indicates repetition, plus mouth, merge both together and you'll have learning

字 kid under the roof, kanji are as complicated as kids, and there are also a tons of them about

屋 roof plus "come back and stay" - meaning a room, chamber

三 pictograph of three fingers

it is normally 習字屋さん but 三 stands for 3 "C" Communicating Culture through Characters

Also kanji for Miura name are 三浦, which is why i thought it will be interesting this way.

dogsbody70 09-25-2010 03:18 PM

HI Ryruuirui

Congratulation to YOu-- I love the logo. Lets hope everything takes off well and recruit many enthusiasts.

Please keep updating us.

ryuurui 09-25-2010 07:21 PM

thanks Babs, though we have not achieved anything spectacular yet, I am sure we will try:)

ryuurui 10-26-2010 08:37 AM

It looks like my calligraphy became a logo of 習字屋さん :)
Now let us hope that we can expand the project and organize some interesting events.

有言実行戦隊 Dookies ( ドゥーキーズ ): 習字屋さんアーカイブ


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