What's the shodo?

Japanese calligraphy is called Shodo in Japanese. Shodo means Japanese calligraphy, “Sho” means writing and “Do” means the way. Shodo is the way of writing Chinese and Kana characters with a brush in India ink. Good Japanese calligraphy possesses not only beauty, but also rhythm, as well as the character of the calligrapher and their emotional state. Shodo was practiced during the Edo period by the samurai. Shodo is one of the oldest traditional forms of art in Japan, and has been in existence since the 5th century. Japanese calligraphy developed from Chinese writing around 2,000 years ago, as at that time, Japan did not have a written form of language. People began adapting characters from Chinese into Japanese forms - and kana writing was developed between the 5th to the 8th century.

What's the difference between Japanese shodo and Chinese shodo?

Japanese calligraphy is a Japanese art and is translated to mean the way of writing. There are different types of brush strokes in Japanese calligraphy such as Kaisho - the block style; Gyosho - a less formal style than Kaisho, resembling a free flowing script; and Sosho - when one character flows into another, like the wind blowing the grass. Japanese calligraphy is like painting, possessing rhythm, emotion and a spiritual quality, using the shading of the ink and balanced placement of the characters on the paper.

This is how I do it.

It's not just an educational calligraphy. The goal is to enjoy art and meditation through calligraphy as listen your inner voice. For example, when you write the word "wind", it is better to draw while feeling the real wind than to just write it. That's how you value your five senses. And have fun to feel butterflies in your stomach and gratitude for your current feeling. In addition, After learning the meaning, etymology, origin, history, etc. of the wind, infuse the soul into the letters.