Takezaki Kunii - An Introduction to Japanese Kanji Calligraphy

Ancient Chinese proverbs frequently take the form of the yonji ikku , an expression made with a unique series of four kanji characters.

During the Liang Dynasty (504 C.E.), Emperor Wu ordered the writing of a 1000 character scroll comprised of 250 consecutive yonji ikku proverbs with no repeated characters to be used for kanji study by his children.

Since that time, Japanese Calligraphy masters have made it a tradition to complete such works to hone their skills.

This scroll was rendered by the author in a single six hour sitting in 2005.

19.3 x 52.8
(49 cm x 134 cm)

This is a reproduction, created by the author, of a Chinese Gi Dynasty (240 C.E.) engraving that shows a variety of characters rendered in the three sacred scripts of Chinese calligraphy, kobun ( ), tensho ( ), and reisho ( ).
17.7 x 23.2
(45 cm x 59 cm)

Sprinkled with gold leaf on a violet background, Dance is reminiscent of the liveliness of many Okinawan festivals.
13.4 x 24.4
(34 cm x 62 cm)

In my effort to spread the joy of calligraphy around the world, people often request famous Japanese themes or historical figures. This is one that I think everyone will understand.
26 x 41.3
(66 cm x 105 cm)

A Personal Invitation by the Author

Due to its limited natural resources and proximity to Japan, China, Korea, and other South East Asian nations, Okinawa has been involved in international trade and commerce for many centuries. As a result of this experience, thousand of Okinawans have emigrated to many nations all over the world.

Its a shame that many of the second, third, and fourth generation children born of these emigrants seldom have a chance to be exposed to the culture, writing, and language of their ancestral homeland.

As a practicing calligraphy instructor, Ive noticed an increase in the number of non-Japanese students who have an interest in learning how to write kanji and speak Japanese. I tried to locate a book written in English from which they could both study calligraphy and learn the basics of the Japanese language, all to no avail.

To my students, the descendants of Okinawans living abroad, and all those interested in Japanese kanji calligraphy, I truly hope that this book will help you experience the enjoyment of calligraphy, as have so many others before us.

Kunii Takezaki, Gyokushu
September 21, 2005
Okinawa, Japan

THE MODERN JAPANESE LANGUAGE

OVERVIEW OF THE JAPANESE WRITING SYSTEM

The modern Japanese language, especially, the writing system, is very complicated compared to English and most other western languages.

First of all, it uses a total of five different types of writing scripts: kanji, hiragana, katakana, Roman letters, and Arabic numerals.

Kanji Characters

Though the majority of kanji ( ) characters are of Chinese origin, some were created in Japan, while others have been simplified for use in Japan. Generally speaking, we can treat all kanji alike regardless of their origin.

Though over 60,000 kanji characters are known to exist, most of these are obsolete Chinese characters. Modern Japanese uses between 2,000 and 3,000 kanji. Currently, the public schools teach the Jouyou Kanji ( ) which is a list of 1,945 characters often encountered in daily life in Japan.

Kanji is typically used for Japanese words and words of Chinese origin.

The Roman Letter Alphabet (Romaji)

Romaji ( ) refers to characters that originated in Rome, or what we call the Roman letter alphabet. The Roman letter alphabet was first introduced to Japanese during the sixteenth century and was used to preach sermons in Japanese by foreign missionaries who couldnt read kanji or kana. This is its main usage.

In Japan, even though many English and European words are written in their native Roman letter script, its main purpose is to provide a method for those who cannot read Japanese kanji or kana to read Japanese words with Roman letters.

Arabic Numerals (Sanyou suuji)

The Arabic numerals ( ) such as 1, 2, 3, etc. were adopted in Japan about the same time as Roman letters. The name sanyou suuji means numerals for calculation, so as you can guess, mathematics, financial documents, price lists, and the like, are normally written in Arabic numerals.