On March 4, 2015, 46 students explored “Shodo” the art of Japanese calligraphy during the Mitsui Lecture Series: "Think Ink 2"!

This year's event began with a brief introduction by Akiko Sharp, a Japanese instructor at the University of Calgary introducing the participants to aspects such as writing styles, teaching methods like “Terakoya” (small school for commoners during the Edo period), how calligraphy is presented in Japan today, and even some performance calligraphy! The attendees were able to learn about calligraphy and even try it out for themselves. After a demonstration by Calligrapher Mami Humphreys, ten students visiting from the Werklund School of Education from Hokkaido University of Education enthusiastically led the attendees in creating their own calligraphy artwork!

Since calligraphy is a part of the national curriculum in Japan, students from the Hokkaido University of Education were trained in calligraphy, some of them to a very high level. We were so fortunate to have “Sensei - teachers” of many “Terakoya” at the event. The students' artworks were phenomenal!

Feedback was incredibly positive, with many attendees saying they loved the opportunity to try calligraphy themselves and expressing their enjoyment interacting with the teachers and volunteer students from Japan.