Pop Japan

Also known as shodo, the Japanese calligraphy has been an ancient art that originated in the land where the Japanese language actually come from, China. During the 4th century, a Chinese was actually hailed as the best calligrapher in Japan. After a century, the Japanese writing system of hiragana and katakana were invented, giving the Japanese people a change to create calligraphy styles that could be now considered as really "Japanese" and not "Chinese."

The Japanese art of calligraphy has been said to be influenced by zen, wherein the artists only have one chance at the brush and the strokes may never be corrected.

Photo by Ayu Nabila. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en)

Tags: shodo, japanese calligraphy, china, japan, hiragana, katakana, zen, brush, art, tradition