Venice Japanese Community Center

Inside the VJCC

Shodo

By Steven Sharp

Photo of japanese caligraphy

Shodo is the art of Japanese calligraphy. When translated into English, it means “the way of writing.” Shodo has been among the most respected art forms in the Japanese culture for many centuries. It requires focus, mindfulness, and relaxation. It requires precision, as each stroke of a character must be made in the correct order. Once the character is written, you are not permitted to correct mistakes or make changes.

Shodo has its origin in ancient Chinese symbols dating back to 2700 BC. By the end of the fourth century AD, tensho (seal script), reisho (scribe’s script), kaisho (block), gyosho (semi-cursive), and sosho (cursive) writing styles had all been developed. During the seventh century, Buddhist monks from China introduced shodo to Japan. Shodo gained widespread appeal and Japanese additions to shodo were created: the kana styles. Among these styles were manyogana, hiragana, and katakana.

A shodo practitioner requires many tools. The most important item is the fude or brush. There are two brushes, a larger one for the main characters, and a smaller one for the artist’s name. Sumi is the ink stick that is rubbed with water onto the suzuri, or ink stone, to produce black ink for writing. Hanshi is a special, lightweight form of paper made for calligraphy. The shitajiki is a soft, black mat that is used as a drawing surface. The bunchin is a metal stick used to weigh down the paper while writing.

The artistic ideals of wabi, sabi, shibumi and shibui are central to shodo as they are to all Japanese arts: from martial arts to fine arts. Although difficult to express in words, these four concepts suggest qualities such as balance, antiquity, simplicity, elegance and serenity.

Many people see shodo as the expression of the one’s ki or internal spirit. In Japan, shodo artists, who in addition were admired people, had their works studied and copied often. Those doing the studying and copying hoped to acquire the same admirable character traits as the artist.

As in other Japanese cultural disciplines, in shodo, there are different ranks attained through exhibiting one’s skill. Bunka Shodo student, Ms. Fusako Ogasawara, explained that there are six levels: sixth dan being the highest. Her group works out of a textbook sent from Japan every month. Once the work in the textbook is completed, it is sent back to Japan where it is evaluated for certification.
At the VJCC, there are two groups that practice shodo. Reverend Kanshu and Mrs. Hiroko Ikuta teach the Shodo group on Wednesdays, from 7:30 to 9:30 PM. Mr. Soki Ito teaches the Bunka Shodo group on Thursdays, from 7:30 to 9:30 PM.

The two groups share the honor of providing the various scrolls and banners displayed at events such as the VJCC Shinnen-Enkai celebration. You will be able to watch a shodo demonstration and view displayed works at the VJCC Festival next June. If you are interested in shodo, you can contact the group representatives listed in the Community News.

Visions for the VJCC

by Steven Sharp

Roseann Yoshida is a long time VJCC member. She first became affiliated with the Center in 1979 when her children began playing VYC baseball and basketball. She was also active with the Boy Scouts when her husband, Art, was Scoutmaster.

Roseann would like to see more interaction between the generations at the Center. We need both the wisdom and stability provided by our “older” members and the new and innovative ideas that the “younger” generation (40 to 50-year olds) may bring. “…This is the only way to insure the perpetuation of our community center.”

Roseann would like to see classes for the younger generations, taught by the senior membership. She feels it is important that the younger membership learn more about the Japanese culture, the history of the neighborhood, the meaning of “chi” or “ki” and how to apply it to our lives. “There is much that we can learn from our seniors and we should tap into this valuable resource.”