Archive
Activities
Thank you for rating this article
The Way of Writing
2010-08-03 11:09
What:
Shodo demonstrations and workshop
Where
: Grimaldi Forum
When:
4-7 August 2010, afternoons and evenings
Admission:
free
Painted in black ink on mulberry paper, beautiful Japanese and Chinese scripts are not just writings but objects of great beauty, strongly connected with the spirituality of Zen Buddhism and the simple directness of
Japanese design.
The art of Shodō was introduced into Japan in the first century AD, and was strongly influenced by the the arrival of Buddhism in the sixth century.
Shodō, the Japanese art of
calligraphy, is widely practised in everyday life in Japan - the combination of characters (hira-gana and
kata-kana) expressing creative beauty on a visual and
spiritual level, as well as reflecting the country's cultural history.
Now you have a chance to learn the art yourself at a four-day workshop in the Grimaldi Forum designed to complement the
Kyoto-Tokyo exhibition
Yoko Takenami has been fascinated by the art of the Japanese written character since an early age. In 1990, she earned a master's degree (shihan) in calligraphy awarded by Zen-Sho-Gei, one of the largest specialist institutions in Japan, and continued her studies under the direction of Kakko Nishii and Shisen Bota.
In 2004, she published her book 'The Simple Art of Japanese Calligraphy', an English paperback version of which came out in 2009.
As well as her work as a freelance interpreter for the BBC, Yoko continues to run her very successful workshops and demonstrations of Japanese calligraphy, and is pleased to be offering introductory classes in this specialized yet accessible art form at the Grimaldi Forum this week.
Programme
Wednesday 4 August: 5-7pm
Thursday 5 August: evening workshop 4-10pm
Friday 6 August: 4-7pm
Saturday 7 August: 4-7pm