Held “Postcard de Shodo” at Baba Kobo & Minato Saturday Market!
On May 5, 2025, the workshop “Postcard de Calligraphy” was held at the Grandma’s Workshop Exhibition, and on May 10, at the Minato Saturday Market.
The weather in May is not always stable, and the day of May 5 was a mid-summer day, while the day of May 10 was a light rain, making it a difficult environment for outdoor calligraphy. At the beginning of the event, we were worried that there might not be any participants today, but contrary to our expectations, many people participated. The event was especially popular with families with young children, and it became a warm time of exchange.
photo : at Minato Saturday Market
Once again, the theme of the workshop will be “One character drawn in Tensho-tai (seal script). We hope that participants will become interested in the depth of calligraphy and the origins of characters by experiencing a type of calligraphy that they do not usually have the opportunity to come into contact with. Participants will practice one kanji character of their choice on a piece of half-size paper, then write it on two postcards to take home.
Since it was the first time for them to draw seal script, we gave them a brief explanation of current and popular seal scripts, and then prepared a model of what kind of design they would like to create together with the participants on the spot. From children who were holding a brush for the first time to adults who had not held a brush for decades, all seemed to enjoy the art of jinshin-o woven by black ink, paper, and black and white lines.
photo : at Minato Saturday Market
Once again, the theme of the workshop will be “One character drawn in Tensho-tai (seal script). By having participants experience a typeface that they do not usually have the opportunity to come into contact with, we hope that they will be able to learn how to draw a character in Ten-sho-Tai.
Ten-sho-Tai is a prototype of hieroglyphic characters, and unlike “beautiful characters” in “Oshuji”, which must be reproduced exactly in the stroke and stroke order, it cannot be described in terms of whether it is skillful or not. It is a shape that cannot be described in terms of skill or skillfulness. This was appreciated as “fun like drawing a picture,” and it gave a fresh stimulus to those of us who were watching.
I feel that each character expressed on the small canvas of a postcard is filled with the individuality of each participant and the surprise that comes from the act of “writing. We will continue to offer workshops that help participants to realize anew the appeal of calligraphy and deepen their familiarity with traditional culture.
photo : at Baba Kobo Workshop Exhibition
