WEEK NINE | JAPANESE LANGUAGE COURSE FOR BEGINNERS in London - with Guest Speaker: "Japanese Calligraphy"

JWeek Nine Japanese Language Element:
On successful completion of the class, students will be able to:

• Ask for directions anywhere and understand them!
• How and when to place the ni noun including ga arimasu and imasu
• Understand the Hiragana R-Line
• Describe objects, (by colour and size - small or large)
• Describe your health in more details, (you are ill, fine or recovery from the flu)
• Count from one to 90 without hesitation!

£235 for a Ten Week Course

JapaneseFlag Week Nine Japanese Cultural Element Calligraphy and Japanese writing Japanese calligraphy 書道 is an art form. It is most often written with ink, sumi 墨 on mulberry paper, washi 和紙 and it shares many Chinese writing styles and characters. The oldest existing calligraphic text in Japan is the inscription on the halo of the Bhaisajyaguru statue in Hōryū-ji Temple. This Chinese text was written in Shakeitai 写経体 style, popular in the Chinese Six Dynasties period.

Japanese calligraphy was influenced by, and influenced, Zen thought. For any particular piece of paper, the calligrapher has but one chance to create with the brush. The brush strokes cannot be corrected and even a lack of confidence will show up in the work. The calligrapher must concentrate and be fluid in execution. The brush writes a statement about the calligrapher at a moment in time. Through Zen, Japanese calligraphy absorbed a distinct Japanese aesthetic often symbolised by the ensō or circle of enlightenment.

Zen calligraphy is practiced by Buddhist monks and most shodō practitioners. To write Zen calligraphy with mastery, one must clear one's mind and let the letters flow out of themselves, not practice and make a tremendous effort. This state of mind was called the "mu-shin", or "no mind state", by the Japanese philosopher Nishida Kitaro. It is based on the principles of Zen Buddhism, which stresses a connection to the spiritual rather than the physical.

Before Japanese tea ceremonies (which are connected to Zen Buddhism), one is to look at a work of shodō to clear one's mind. This is considered an essential step in the preparation for a tea ceremony.