Discussion

Styles of Japanese Writing

Japan had no writing system of its own (it used Chinese in written communications) until Chinese writing was adapted to the very different Japanese language in the 7th century AD. This entailed adopting (and modifying over the centuries) a subset of Chinese logograms (kanji) and inventing two phonetic syllabaries, hiragana and katakana. Written Japanese consists of a combination of all three of these character sets as needed.

It is recommended that you review the information about the Japanese written language provided in A2.1 Written Japanese: Kanji, Gojūon, and Rōmaji before continuing with this unit.

It is one thing to use specific characters in written communications, but the style with which they are written matters, too. In English, for example, writing styles may be "print" or "cursive". The same characters can appear very differently depending on the writing style used. The same is true of Japanese which has five writing styles, all well developed in China before being imported to Japan.

Each character above is the kanji word for dream (yumi). The calligraphy examples I have been using in class are all in kaisho.

Tensho (Seal Scripts): This is the earliest form of Chinese writing still in use and was widely used during the Zhou and Qin dynasties (1046–206 BC). By the time it was imported into Japan, its use was very limited, even in China. The Japanese never adopted it except for special purposes. It's most common use is for hanko, signature blocks (seals), the Japanese way of signing documents.

Here is a larger sample of tensho callgraphy.

Kaisho (Block Scripts): This is the most commonly used and most recognized script. It is used for everyday writing.

Here is more kaisho writing using heavier strokes than the sample above.

Reisho (Clerical Scripts): This is a simplified version of tensho script, dominated by vertical and horizontal lines. It was originally used for slaves and the less educated. Today, it is used only for newspaper names and stone carvings like grave markers.

Gyōsho (Semi-cursive Scripts): This is a simplified and softer form of kaisho. It was developed as a faster way to write kanji and is still used that way by some older Japanese. Its primary use today is in calligraphy because of the beauty of its shapes.

This is a larger sample of gyōsho writing.

Sōsho (Cursive Scripts): These are the most abstract, and some find them the most attractive. Vertical lines dominate. This style is difficult to read even for specialists.

This is a larger sample of sōsho writing.

The Japanese writing style variations don't end there. In English, there are a great many fonts of printed writing. Characters may be "regular" or written in italics. They may have serifs or be san serif (like the print used here). Hundreds (at least) of named print fonts exist. Cursive can be as individual as the person writing it.

Likewise, each of the kanji styles above have variations. For example, here are four different ways of writing yume in gyōsho.

Hon'ami Kōetsu (1558 – 1637) 

Japanese consider calligraphy to be one of the artforms. Kōetsu, a master calligrapher, partnered with Tawaraya Sōtatsu (1570 – 1640) to produce illustrated poetry anthology scrolls. Together, they are recognized today as the founders of the Rinpa school of art. A segment of one of their poetry scrolls is shown below. Sōtatsu did the painting and Kōetsu did the calligraphy.

Chōbunsai Eishi (1756 – 1829)

Born into a well connected samurai family with close ties to the shōgun, Eishi was an ukiyo-e artist from the Kano school. He specialized in bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful people). The three prints below are from his series, "Beauties of the Pleasure Quarters as Six Floral Immortals", printed in the 1794 to 1795 timeframe.