 |
When and Where were Kanji
made? |
 |
Kanji was invented more than 3,000 years ago in China. Kanji
at first was picture characters. Over time Kanji was gradually
simplified, until it reached its current form.
|
|
Which countries are
Kanji being used in? |
|
China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan are using Kanji at present.
The shape of the letter is sometimes simplified, and new Kanji
is made in each country. |
|
Does Kanji tend to show
the shape of the thing it defines? |
|
In ancient China, objects of nature (for example, the
sun, the
moon or trees),
parts of the body (for example, the eye
or ear)
, an animal (for example, dogs
and cows),
and so on were illustrated with picture characters. Over time
these characters were gradually simplified. Then, Kanji became
to be regarded as a sort of the hieroglyphic. However, because
hieroglyphics couldn't express things in the same way as pictures
could, Kanji was invented by adding signs and letters which
were combined from the meaning and sound of the objects it was
meant to define. Kanji was introduced into Japan by China in
about the 5th century. Later, the Japanese invented its own
original Kanji as well. |
|
How do you write Kanji? |
|
The order of the strokes depends on each letter. The order
was gradually established during its development. As a general
rule, Kanji is written from top to bottom and from left to right. |
|
Do all Japanese write
calligraphy? |
|
Most modern Japanese don't write calligraphy in daily life.
However they do use Kanji in daily life when writing text. When
writing Kanji with pen or pencil, it is considered important
to write the shape of the letter beautifully. These days many
Japanese have learned to use word processors. |
|
Sometimes I have seen
calligraphy where the shape seems to be distorted or the letters
mixed up. Is this intentional? |
|
There are several handwriting styles in the calligraphy as
in the alphabet. Hiragana and Katakana are developed from Kanji
in Japan. The following are typical handwriting styles.
| Ten-sho |
Rei-sho |
Sô-sho |
Gyô-sho |
Kai-sho |
|
|
What kind of tools are
used to write calligraphy? |
|
They are a writing brush, Indian ink, water, inkstone and
Japanese paper. In addition, one uses a cloth which the paper
rests on, and also sometimes a paper weight to stabilize the
paper. |
|
What kind of Kanji is
appropriate to give to a friend as a gift? |
|
The character which is suitable for the gift depends on whom
you are going to give it, and why. Choose a suitable character
depending on the events as shown below.
For a housewarming..
For a wedding gift..
For the celebration of childbirth..
Why don't
you give a Japanese name to your baby?
For a grandparents' birthday..
For the opening celebration of a store..
For a graduation celebration..
|
