Shodo: A Way of Writing
Alisha Tolman, staff writer
In our society, Japanese and Chinese characters are making an appearance more frequently.
In the fashion industry, characters are featured as design elements on shirts, necklaces and baseball caps.
They appear on Japanese cartoons and packages.
Many people buy merchandise decorated with the characters, but don’t know what they mean. Students at Utah State University now have the opportunity to find out the meaning in a new course offered by the Language department – Japanese Calligraphy or Shodo, which literally translated means “way of writing,” said the course instructor, professor Atsuko Neely.
In the course, students will learn to write some of the characters that comprise the Japanese written language. This entails a study of Kangi, or ancient Chinese characters which the Japanese borrowed and continue to use, and Hiragana and Katakana, both of which are types of characters that stand for phonetic symbols rather than actual words, Neely said.
“I hope to give students an overview of what the Japanese written language is about,” Neely said. “I want to share my love of the language and the beauty of this art with my students.”
In Japan, calligraphy is studied for years before one can teach it, Neely said. Neely’s father taught Japanese calligraphy, and Neely began learning at the age of four or five.
“By the time I was 15, I was able to get a teaching certification,” Neely said.
Neely realizes that the art takes a good deal of practice, but hopes that by limiting the class to 20 students, she will be able to devote personal attention to each.
Neely sees Japanese calligraphy as a form of self expression in addition to linguistic communication. “To carry out what you want to express, you must have certain amount of skill,” Neely said.
To develop the skill of writing characters, students in the course will use a brush rather than a pen, Neely said. “Japanese and Chinese calligraphy is much more fluid in nature than Western calligraphy. To express that feeling, a brush is more appropriate.”
Neely’s course objectives include teaching students to recognize quality calligraphy, to learn to write calligraphy and what she calls her “ulterior motive.”
“I want to gain student interest in the language courses as well,” Neely said.
Japanese Calligraphy or Shodo is offered in one section on Wednesday nights from 6-7:40 p.m.