Samurai Journey: Culture Basics - Writing

Fujii Sensei set about helping Peri to understand the basics of how to write in Japanese. There are actually three types of writing in Japan: Kanji (which are the more traditional Chinese-looking characters most people think of when they think of "Japanese writing"), Hiragana (which is actually the most common for everyday written language) and Katakana (which is for foreign and cognate words adapted into the Japanese language). She spent the most time with Peri on learning to write the word "Haruko" (Japanese for "Springtime Child" -- which is the closest translation for Peri's actual name - Persephone), but started Peri out by writing the word "Eternity" as that one word utilizes all of the necessary brush-strokes for writing Kanji.

The symbols are absolutely beautiful, and Peri had a blast learning how to hold the brush, how to "write" from up to down and where to press and where to let it flow naturally. It's so much more like painting than what i think of as "writing", and definitely involves an artistry that helped me understand why it's such an art form in Eastern cultures.

As an additional point of interest, i was amazed that whereas our English writing tends to start and stop abruptly, writing in Kanji does not, and prefers to start, move and finish in natural and fluid strokes rather than in definitive starts and stops. In addition, the ink traditionally used for the characters is made from a soil combination that hardens into blocks and must be both moistened and then ground with a small pestle before yielding the necessary ink.

Below, i am holding up the Kanji character for "Haruko", and a short video of Peri attempting to write with the handheld brush is also included.