What is Calligraphy?

Calligraphy is an art of writing using a brush and Chinese ink

The purpose of Calligraphy is that a person concentrates on his/her mind and expresses his/her internal aspects by brush style typeface. It creates difference in the intensity, flexibility, and thickness even for the same letter. It is the oriental figurative arts that one appreciates it in terms of sensing different creation of intensity, flexibility, and thickness even for the same letter, and a completed condition, a brushstroke, a tone, a beauty of the entire arrangement, and a meaning of the letter.

It has a long history and has been developed in Chinese cultural regions by using the Chinese characters. The Japanese Calligraphy originated in the arrival of the Chinese characters, then the transcription of a sutra became very popular with the rise of the Buddhism, and finally it was developed rapidly with manufacturing method of paper and Chinese ink brought by Doncho (a Buddhist monk).

In Japan, various schools and penmanships of Calligraphy were created because the Japanese Calligraphy was developed as a distinctive style in close relation with the creation of Kana (the Japanese syllabary).

By holding a large scale of Calligraphy exhibition since the Showa period (1920’s), Calligraphy has established its position as a modern art and an imaginative writing method was added to the Calligraphy technique as the art work.

Since early times, Calligraphy was taught at temple schools as a basic study of “Reading, Writing, and Abacus”. With this tradition, there are many Calligraphy schools and Penmanship schools in Japan. Although the instructors tended be older ages, the circumstance has been changed slightly because a young male chirographer appears on TV programs and magazines for young people. With the development of computer technology, “Design Calligraphy” has been established as a Calligraphic category at the same time when the entry level of Calligraphy became lower as Calligraphic art work being created by using computer. “Design Calligraphy” is to design Calligraphy by computer processing for various products such as household goods, interior products, and nameplates, and it gets attention as a new occupation related to Calligraphy.

Digital Calligraphy

Design Calligraphy by computer graphic processing technology is distinctively called “Digital Calligraphy”. Because the combination style of Calligraphy and personal computer is simple/convenient and can carry out a wide range of creative activities, it is taught at culture center (school for skill learning) and learning course for citizens in various regions. It is also utilized for school education in terms of enhancing effectiveness of learning motivation and writing familiarity.

Art Calligraphy

Calligraphy transformed for writing familiarity and deviated from the Calligraphic definitions is called “Art Calligraphy”. “Art Calligraphy” means it gets away from the value of traditional artistry or ignores a letter shape and the technique of Calligraphy, and infuses Calligraphy with entirely free writing; therefore, it makes a clear departure from “Calligraphy” as art work. The words of “Heta-uma (Looks like a bad Calligraphy but it might be a meaningful Calligraphy depending on how you look at it)” are categorized as “Art Calligraphy”. A plan or a project for Calligraphy with writing performance or for playing with characters is distinctively called “Recreation Calligraphy”.

Commercial Calligraphy

Compared to “Calligraphy” as art expression developed by traditional works, “Commercial Calligraphy” is an art work created for advertisement or commercial design appealing the attraction for customers and the visual comfort. As a result, the advanced studies are conducted from the perspectives of engineering, human engineering, and psychology.

精神を集中させ、心の内面を書体によって表現する事を目的としています。 同じ文字でも強さやしなやかさ、太さ等の違いが生まれ、その文字の整い具合や、筆の運び方、墨の濃淡、全体の配置の美しさ、そしてその文字の持つ意味といった観点で鑑賞する東洋の造形芸術です。

漢字を用いた中国文化圏で古くから発達し、日本の書道は漢字の伝来に始まり、仏教の興隆に伴い写経が盛んになり、曇徴が紙や墨の製法を伝えたことにより、書道は急速に発展した。

日本では仮名文字が作られたこととも関連して独特のものに発展し、様々な流派や書法が生まれた。

昭和時代（1920年代）からの大規模な書道展の開催により、書道が近代芸術としての地位を確立したことから、その芸術作品としての創作方法も書の技法に加わった。

昔から「読み書きソロバン」として、寺子屋などで習字が指導されてきた。この伝統の下、多くの書道教室・習字教室が存在している。指導者は高齢化の傾向にあったが近年、若手の男性書家がテレビ番組や若者向き雑誌に登場するなど、やや様変わりしてきた。 コンピュータの発達とともに、コンピュータを使って書作品を加工したりする敷居が下がるのと時を同じくして、デザイン書道と呼ばれるジャンルが確立してきた。これは書作品を生活雑貨やインテリア、表札などの多様なものにコンピュータ処理などを経てデザインしていくもので、書にまつわる新しい職業として注目されている。

CG加工の技術によったデザイン書道は、特にデジタル書道と称される。PCの活用と結びつけるスタイルは、手軽でしかも幅の広い創造的な活動が行えることから、各地域においてはカルチャーセンターや市民講座など、学校教育では子供たちの学習意欲や文字に対する親しみを高めるという学習効果から授業で活用されている。

書道を親しみやすく変形させたものや、書道の定義からずれたものは全てアート書道と呼んでいる。アート書道は、古典に則った芸術性から離れ、正しい字形や筆法などを無視し、ひたすら自由な書という意味が込められ、いわゆる芸術の「書」・「書道」からは一線を画している。「へたうま」などの文字はアート書道に分類される。パフォーマンスを伴ったり、文字で遊ぼうという企画などは、特にレクリエーション書道とも呼ぶ。

古典作品を元に発達させた芸術表現である「書」に対し、「商業書道」は、集客性や快適性などを訴求して制作された広告・デザイン用の書作品である。そのため、工学、人間工学、心理学的な見地から高度な研究が行われている。