What do you teach in Japanese calligraphy?

To write excellent calligraphy we must forget ourselves and become the brush. One’s ego must not interfere. In 2023, let’s become the brush.

I teach my nieces to write calligraphy every year and for four years in a row, I have led them to gold medals. Few pupils learn calligraphy, so with practice, results are likely to be good. Regardless of the results, it is amazing how much more time one spends practicing, the more one’s handwriting changes.

Even if you are usually good at writing, you may not be able to write well. And vice versa. It takes time to tame the brush. And to make the brush work the way you want it to, you have to develop your mentality, technique, and sensitivity.

This year, my niece, who is in grade 5, is in special training. The first one was really bad. I taught her last year but she was back to square one. How far can I get her ability from where she is now? The bell rang for the start of the match.

Preparations: Watch the instructional videos on YouTube repeatedly. She wrote notes directly on the model.

Step 1: Mental training.

Niece: Oh, I hate this. No good.
Me: Right, you haven’t done it at all. There’s so much growth potential.
Niece: What do you mean?
Me: It means you have lots of possibilities, and it’s great to know that you are not good at it.

Step 2: Train sensitivity.

Me: Look here, see the blank space?
Niece: Oh, I missed it.
Me: Look at the length here, it’s one to two.
Niece, Oh!

Step 3: Develop the technique.

Me: At the beginning, press the brush in firmly, and in the middle, let the brush float a little, and at the end, stop the brush, and then bring it back a little!
Niece: Oh, I’ve done it!

Step 4: Give her a mental experience that is close to the real performance.

I took a video with my iPhone without interrupting. During the process, bringing the brush down rightward while releasing the pressure was done well. While shooting the video, I gave a thumbs-up. My niece’s eyes sparkled, she looked so happy! Then she finished writing four letters.

Me: You’re in the gold medal range!
Niece: Yay! Hitomi, you don’t praise me very often. The more nervous I am, the more focused I can write!
Me: Let’s write it on a piece of paper for homework at school while you remember your senses. Why don’t you have another piece of chocolate?
Niece: Yes!

The day’s training was over. However, she asked me to teach one more day. It seems I’ve motivated her a lot. The feeling that you can do anything is what I want to teach.