Demonstration Art

Calligraphy

This week's subject, tora (tiger), has two different kanji characters representing it. The first is used for all but one special purpose. It and the other characters below are for those who want to practice their calligraphy.

The other tora kanji character is used exclusively with jūnishi, the Japanese Zodiac. There are 12 years in jūnishi, each represented by a different animal. Next year, for example, is the year of the tiger. The kanji for jūnishi is shown below. The three characters are respectively pronounced jū (十), ni (二), and shi (支).

Here is the kanji character for tora used with jūnishi.

Sketch

The sketch below was modeled on a papier-mâché tiger of ours from Japan. Here is a photograph of it.

It is typically put on display during Children's Day (kodomo no hi) on May 5, formerly called Boys Day (tango no sekku). A much more common item displayed during kodomo no hi is a helmet. Displaying a tiger may be unique to Okayama, my hometown. Here is my sketch for relatively simple practice.

Painting Demonstration

Except for the tiger's whiskers, the entire painting was done using mokkotsu-hō strokes.