calligraphy

We learned how to make a calligraphy brush from the masters of Kumanofude in Hiroshima

Who better to learn from than the very best?

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American’s Japanese calligraphy gets called “cultural appropriation,” Japanese Twitter disagrees

Messages of thanks and support come flooding in for shodo beginner.

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New capsule toy line recreates the subtle beauty of Japanese sake bottle design【Photos】

Japan’s most popular sake brand is part of the collection.

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Busty Japanese brushstroke calligraphy artist shares visual appeal in video series【Videos】

Shuji demonstrations teach viewers how to write names of hit anime series, popular kanji.

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Testing Japan’s gacha capsule toy calligraphy brushes – tranquility for just 200 yen【Photos】

Paired with a mini goshuincho, this is a small-size, small-price way to experience the inner calm of traditional Japanese arts.

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Tired of wasting paper practicing your kanji? Try these reusable water-activated practice sheets

Just water and a brush is all you need to practice Japanese calligraphy with these high-tech school supplies!

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Renowned Japanese calligraphy teacher ranks the top 10 kanji that foreigners like

Proves that we have a soft spot for flowers, wind, and little wavy boats.

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Watch this renowned Japanese calligrapher effortlessly write “the hardest kanji ever”【Video】

She makes all 56 strokes look easy.

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Beautiful Japanese artist creates masterpieces with stunning calligraphy performances【Video】

Watching this calligrapher at work is strangely thrilling and relaxing at the same time.

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The packing-tape calligraphy master visits us and shows us how to make our own sticky signs【Pics】

What better way to have a calligraphy master show off their skills than by writing “RocketNews24?”

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The one and only master of train station packing-tape calligraphy shares his story and inspiration

Say hello to Shuetsu Sato, the man whose handcrafted packing-tape masterpieces guide millions every day.

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Personified emotions from Pixar’s “Inside Out” get nifty kanji makeover in Japanese posters!

Fans of Pixar are sure to be eagerly waiting the release of the studio’s newest movie, Inside Out (or Inside Head as it’s being called in Japan). The film may have caused a slight stir on the Japanese Internet for having a theme that’s noticeably similar to that of the Japanese manga and movie Poison Berry in My Brain (Nonai Poison Berry), but Pixar’s new offering is bound to draw huge crowds when it comes out on June 19 in the U.S. and July 18 in Japan.

And one thing the movie certainly seems to have going for it in Japan is cool poster artwork. Check out these Japanese posters for Inside Out which feature beautiful kanji calligraphy representing each of the emotions that appear in the movie!

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Beautiful hiragana jewelry now available — express yourself by wearing Japanese letters!

If you’ve ever studied Japanese, you’ll know that the written Japanese language is basically made up of three types of characters: hiragana, the original Japanese phonetic alphabet, katakana, a variation of the same alphabet mainly used to write out foreign names and words (including foreign words that have been imported into the Japanese language) and Chinese characters referred to as kanji.

Now, calligraphy turns these letters into works of art on pieces of paper, but how would you like to be able to wear some Japanese characters as stylish jewelry? Well, that’s exactly what you can do with these beautifully formed earrings crafted by designer and calligrapher Saori Kunihro.

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Narita Airport attempts to woo international travellers with ‘Omotenashi’ welcome program

‘Omotenashi’, the spirit of Japanese hospitality, became something of a buzzword at home and abroad when Christel Takigawa used the phrase in her speech to the International Olympic Committee in 2013.

And it’s in this spirit that Tokyo’s Narita airport plans to extend an especially warm welcome to international visitors this year, as it renews its Omotenashi Program of special offers and cultural events for transferring passengers.

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Beautiful Japanese-Made Fountain Pens Make me Want to Learn to Write All Over Again

As a man whose handwriting could be defined as infantile at best, I can’t help but admire those who can wield a fountain pen like a paintbrush. Thanks to the bizarre way in which I hold my pen (I’m right-handed but people often ask if I’m a lefty purely because my grip is so odd), writing with any pen whose ink is wetter than a cheap ballpoint’s results in my hand turning blue and an enormous horizontal smear of ink across the page as if the letters were warping through time.

After seeing this short video from Japanese pen makers Namiki, though, I’m genuinely tempted to sit down and practice writing my ABCs all over again if it means that I can correct my awkward grip and learn to write as beautifully as this…

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