Long Time Expat In Japan
I love my sensei. She's a peach, really. She also doesn't pull punches. Been plugging away. Ranked up in kana a bunch of times, kanji a little less. But my pen writing just hasn't budged. Last month sensei likened my pen writing to that of stroke victims she knows. I think it is time to take … Continue reading Break Time
Last month, I submitted some hiragana that was in a really old style, more like really cursive kanji. It was a lot of fun because you can kind of see where modern hiragana comes from. To be honest, half the time I didn't know what I was writing. I just copied what I saw. Still, … Continue reading Hiragana
Last week I was out in Odawara for work, and I came across a little Shodo shop. It was tiny, and a bit messy, but the two old ladies running the place were really nice. I bought a new hanko there. They had a little stand with hanko, engraved seals. In calligraphy you sign your … Continue reading My New Hanko
Ok, so not Gangnam Style, but even better, Tei Dosho style! Tei Dosho, as they say in Japan, was a Chinese official during the Northern Wei Dynasty. In Chinese, his name is pronounced Zheng Daozhao, and he was Wei awesome. When was the Northern Wei Dynasty? Like 386-534 AD. He is way cooler than Park … Continue reading Tei Dosho style
The folks that run the Shodo ranking are pretty smart, I figure. I wrote about the ranking system before, kind of like belts in karate, yellow, purple, green, brown, black. There are twenty or so ranks. Getting to the first dan (like a black belt) is a long process, but achievable, with tiny incremental steps. … Continue reading December Shodo Level Up
I haven't been to church in decades, so I mean this in the secular, new year, commercial, presents, warm and fuzzy, Rudolf and Clarice (from the stop animation circa 1964) kind of way. So please eat too much ham, turkey, roast beef, goose, or Chinese turkey (love that movie - hope you catch the reference). … Continue reading Merry Christmas !
This month's kanji reads hakugan soushin in Japanese, or baiyan shuangxin in Chinese. Like a lot of these four character sayings, it evokes sense imagery and invites you to fill in the gaps. Hakugan (baiyan) means white goose. Sou (shuang) means frost. And shin (xin) means to believe, to know, to inform. Long story short, when … Continue reading November Shodo
Kanji I wrote earlier about Gan Shinkei (aka Yan Zhenqing) and his writing style. I kind of fell head over heels for this style. Sensei tells me that I will probably rank up with this submission. If so then that would be awesome. Kana has always been better for me, still not sure why. … Continue reading October Shodo
Amazingly, it's been a year since I started Japanese calligraphy. I started it because of my youngest. She was struggling with her kanji tests at school, and I saw it as a way to encourage her, and also a way we could spend our Saturday's together. About three months in, I decided to pursue it … Continue reading Shodo Anniversary
Kanji has been hard for me. I freeze up. I get stuck in my head, get tense. Thankfully, last month the kanji practice was a more fluid style. More freedom. Below is my kanji for next month (not the one that got me the level up). Still, you can see, I hope, a little more … Continue reading Level Up! Kana 7th kyu
B.S. Donovan 