speaking, people who have had little experience in reading zengo often struggle to comprehend their meaning. Not only do most zengo used in ichigyo mono come from ancient sources, written by famous Chinese or Japanese priests and teachers of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and others, but the one important line singled out from long sutras and treatises requires some knowledge of the whole. Without prior knowledge of the historical background and context in which the line was taken, interpreting zengo can be a challenge. Indeed, taken out of context, ichigyo mono can be as ambiguous as the contemporary conversation of couples or grandparents. Exchanges such as “I’m for fish” or “ I’m for chicken” can be puzzling unless understood that these are comments made on the way to a restaurant. “My daughter’s is a boy” or “My son’s is a girl” is equally enigmatic unless one understands that this conversation is between two sets of grandparents discussing the gender of their grandchildren.
Since ancient times, literature in Japan has always been regarded as secondary to the practice of Zen. This is reflected in the expression furyu monji (fu=not; ryu=standing; monji=literature), meaning that literature should not stand out and was secondary in Zen practice. Zenki (zen=silent meditation; ki=opportunity) was of paramount importance. In the process of constantly pursuing an answer to a koan—an enigmatic Zen conundrum—the sudden moment of the breaking point or “realization” would come at unexpected times, often during common daily activities or during training. Whether such deep and significant meaning can be found in the practice of shodo is subject to speculation. Certainly, this is not universal for all practitioners of shodo. However, in writing Zen statements and in the attempt to understand their meaning, spiritual energy is expended and vital forces allow an individual to create a work that goes beyond the craft of the brush. The works of these individual artists borders on abstract art.
This book is about how to read and develop some understanding of zengo. Detailed explanations, guidance and notes on how the statements can be perceived are therefore included. Although the bokuseki samples in the book are works by well-known Japanese Zen priests called zenji (zen=silent meditation; ji=master), a title bestowed only by the Imperial court on priests who have been outstanding in dedicating their life to Zen Buddhism, a professional, contemporary shodo artist was specially commissioned to reproduce the bokuseki in the kaisho style to allow ordinary people to read and write the statements in either the formal, square kaisho or the informal, cursive gyosho style.
This book also incorporates, in Chapter 9, the work of neophytes from a variety of backgrounds who take weekly lessons in shodo in my studio. For many of them, practicing shodo is an extension of their practice of zazen. Their work has been deliberately incorporated so that a wide variation in individual styles and nuances can be seen in the writing of the ideograms. Included in the book are instructions for writing these ideograms if the reader so chooses.
If a greater perception or insight into understanding the essence of Zen is gained from either reading about or practicing the shodo in this book, all who have participated in its compilation will be greatly honored.
CHAPTER 1
THE ART OF KANJI
The main difference between shodo (Japanese calligraphy) and Chinese calligraphy is that shodo employs three ways of writing characters—using kanji (ideograms) and hiragana and katakana (phonetic systems)—whereas Chinese calligraphy has basically retained a single method, termed kanji in Japanese, which is still used in China today. Moreover, the goal of Japanese calligraphy is not uniformity but the expression of individuality, an amalgam of the skill and imagination of the creator who has studied the combinations available made up of only lines or strokes.
Although written Japanese today may combine kanji, hiragana and katakana in a single sentence, within the kanji style there are several sub-styles that reflect differences in formality and purpose. .
As you will see, the kaisho style of writing an ideogram requires an architectural knowledge of the formation of the ideogram. The gyosho and sosho styles also require a sense of rhythm. But regardless of the calligraphic style used by the writer or the beauty and uniqueness of his or her creation, if an ideogram or series of ideograms cannot be read they no longer belong to the art of sho. This is because each ideogram has already been abstracted in the process of forming kanji. In shodo, the aim is to artistically elevate the kanji yet maintain the original meaning. To be able to do this, the shodo practitioner must be aware of the quality of each and every line, including those that might be accidentally created and yet are inherently exquisite. Strong lines instead of weak ones, bright lines instead of dark ones, clear lines instead of muddy ones, deep lines instead of shallow ones— all are prerequisites in shodo. One must also be aware that lines have a sense of rhythm as well as a sense of solidity or weight. Within the given space of white paper, the ideogram contains a three-dimensional massiveness that expands into untouched white space. At the same time, the practitioner must be able to exhibit a personalized technique that is both skillful and ingenious while expressing the meaning of an ideogram. The creative process in shodo, as in many other arts, is in many ways a “spiritual purification” of the creator.
What Is Kanji?
The Japanese term kanji derives from the ideogram for han, meaning “word from China.” This refers to the Han dynasty of China (207 BCE–220 CE).
Kanji was brought to Japan from China and Korea during the sixth century. The Japanese had already developed a spoken language by that time; therefore, for the sake of convenience, these newly-arrived ideograms were given two different pronunciations: the original sound from its Chinese use, and the Japanese way of pronouncing that same vocabulary item’s meaning. A major distinction between the kanji writing system and an alphabet-based writing system is that a single ideogram of kanji is a “word” carrying a specific meaning.
Two additional systems which are purely Japanese were developed from kanji: hiragana and katakana. These are phonetic systems, and are used like the English alphabet, in that each symbol in and of itself has no meaning. In the Japanese writing system, kanji, hiragana and katakana are combined to write sentences.
While both of the forms can be traced back to the original kanji, hiragana was developed from the sosho (cursive) style of writing, to become a graceful, flowing, semi-formal writing style known as the “grass” style. The graceful hiragana was commonly called the “women’s style” of writing.
Katakana, in contrast, was developed from what is known as the kaisho style, and reflected one simple portion copied from a kanji ideogram. Therefore the katakana symbols are more square in shape.
During the Heian period in Japan (794–1185 CE), all official documents by government officials, Buddhist priests, and in fact by all males, were written in the “square” kaisho style of writing. Moreover, only Chinese ideograms and compositional styles were used.
This separation of writing systems into male and female styles is unusual in the history of a written language. Until the latter part of the Muromachi period (1333–1573 CE), a combination of kanji and katakana was used to write in Japanese. But today katakana is reserved solely for writing foreign words.
Ro or Tsuyu (meaning “Dew” or “Dewdrop,” “Vain” or “Ephemeral” ) in the sosho style.
Korea, too, used kanji for writing but in 1443 the Korean king Sejong simplified the writing system in order to increase literacy in his country. He developed a system of writing based on the sounds of the Korean language, with symbols reflecting how the tongue, lips, and throat were positioned for each sound. Hangul is today a phonetic system of 24 main symbols; and while Chinese characters are still used in Korean academia, the general public writes and reads using hangul.
Until