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Table of Contents
A Personal Invitation by the Autho
INTRODUCTION TO KANJI CALLIGRAPHY
WHAT IS KANJI?
THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF KANJI
STYLES OF KANJI
Kaisho
Gyousho
Sousho
OVERVIEW OF THE JAPANESE WRITING SYSTEM
Kanji Characters
The Roman Letter Alphabet (Romaji)
Arabic Numerals (Sanyou suuji)
Hiragana
Katakana
SPECIFICS OF THE KANA SYSTEM
GOJYUU’ON 10
Voiced Sounds (Daku’on)
Half-Voiced Sounds (Handaku’on)
Vowel Palatalization
Geminate Sounds
OTHER SOUND CHANGES AND WRITING VARIATIONS
Long Vowels
Small Characters
Sequential Voicing (Rendaku)
PRONOUNCING JAPANESE SOUNDS
THE REPEAT SYMBOL
ROMANIZATION METHODS
PRACTICING KANA
FORWARD
BUILDING BLOCKS OF ENGLISH
Level-1 Elements: Letters & Other Characters
Level-2 Components: Word Roots & Affixes
Level-3 Structures: Independent Words
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF KANJI
Level-1 Elements: The Strokes
Level-2 Components: Radicals
Level-3 Structures: Kanji Characters
RADICAL CHART
KANJI PATTERNS
RADICAL POSITIONS
KANJI CATEGORIZATION & LOOKUP METHODS
KANJI PRONUNCIATION METHODS
Onyomi
Kunyomi
Jinmeiyomi
THE BRUSH
INK & INDIA INK
THE INK STONE
CALLIGRAPHY PAPER
THE PAPER WEIGHT
THE BRUSH MAT
THE BRUSH HOLDER
WRITING POSTURE & HOLDING THE BRUSH
WRITING POSTURE
BALANCE OF THE SHOULDERS
USING THE BODY
HOLDING THE BRUSH
BRUSH PRESSURE & STROKE SHAPE
GENERAL
THE BRUSH STROKE
COMMON TRAITS OF THE 8 BASIC STROKES
The Head
The Body
The Tail
PRACTICING THE BASIC STROKES
THE EIGHT BASIC STROKES LIBRARY
BASIC STROKES PRACTICE PAGES
THE STROKE ORDER
GENERAL ORDER OF CONSTRUCTION
CHARACTER SHAPE VARIATIONS
ABOUT THE LIBRARY
WRITING PREPARATIONS
RENDERING THE CHARACTERS
SINGLE CHARACTER SECTION
DOUBLE CHARACTERS
CHARACTER INDEX
CHARACTER INDEX BY MEANING
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kunii Takezaki was born and raised in Koza City, Okinawa, Japan, and since opening a Japan Penmanship Education Foundation affiliated school in Ginowan City, she’s been busy spreading the message that everyone can enjoy the beauty of calligraphy.
| • 1998 | Received the Japan Penmanship Education Foundation’s Instructor Certification and granted the pen name “Gyokushu”. |
| • 1998 - 2001 | Became a lifetime member as an instructor in the Ginowan City Calligraphy Circle. |
| • 2000 | Received the 8th Level Instructor Certification, the highest level of achievement recognized for a Japanese shodo master. |