Aside from taking a calligraphy class, are there any online resources that explain cursive writing? For example, how are the stokes simplified, etc. Which strokes are allowed to run together and which must be separate? I thought it would be a cool thing to look into, but haven't had much luck as with either Japanese or English google. Any resources, semi-cursive or cursive, would be appreciated!
Great find on that website! At least its a starting place! I did some experimenting in class trying to make my handwriting 'flow' but it was a miserable failure. Everything I did to emulate cursive or even semi-cursive ended up turning into scribbles. However, the website still leaves me wondering what to do with complex (kanji-wise) words like 秘密. Are there rules of thumb regarding which lines you can connect and which to leave separate? Or must one learn each kanji's cursive equivalent separately? I would assume it's not the last one, but from some of the stuff I've looked at, it sure seems that way.
I will also have to see about getting that book; although it's only semi-cursive, that's step up from the block-like printing or whatever I am limited to.
Holy Crap! I can't even recognize anything on the opentype.jp page! Cool font though!
Everyone's suggested great resources, but I'm wondering about something. Should I just buy one of the dictionaries that show the different forms and try to emulate the kanji in them? Or is there a sort of technique. I was thinking something like a systematic approach like RTK. Ie, this is how the 'sun' radical looks when written in 草書. Something like a set of stroke order diagrams in this manner would be nice, one that just showed each of the radicals. Although I guess one can just pick up a dictionary and find the individual parts... I still think its difficult to pick up the flow of the characters from the pictures themselves, sort of like how you cant know the stroke order of a kanji just from looking at it (w/o prior knowledge.)
japanesecalligrapher would be so much more helpful if you could search by kanji! Also, it doesn't look to be cursive or semicursive, just regular printed characters... ;(
Also, in http://nikkosart.com/lessons.asp, the first cursive tutorial shows 書 in 楷書 and then shows two scribbles and calls it 草書... Is it seriously simplified that much!? I can see how the 草書 version of 美 works, but the 書 one?
Last edited by HououinKyouma (2012 October 24, 5:24 pm)
I found one useful website that seems pretty thorough. It doesn't seem to specifically address 草書 or 行書, but it does a good job of teaching basic 書道. I haven't had time to look at it fully though, but it has everything from how to fine-tune hiragana to posture. If you're into 書道, check it out. It's in Japanese though.
http://cert.shinshu-u.ac.jp/gp/el/e06e1/class0.html
Last edited by HououinKyouma (2012 October 24, 8:35 pm)
rich_f
Member
From: north carolina
Registered: 2007-07-12
Posts: 1708
If you want to learn 草書, then you first need to learn 楷書 and 行書. It makes a big difference if you understand *why* they look like that by learning how to write to more "legible" forms, and get good at writing all kinds of characters in a flowing motion. That flowing motion is really important for good 草書, and that only really comes from a LOT of practice and a LOT of familiarity with the brush and the characters.
You don't necessarily have to find a Japanese 書道 teacher, although it helps, you can also do just fine learning from someone who's well versed in Chinese calligraphy, too. Just pick up the kana later on. (And that's really yet another skill to learn, too...)
I got a lot more out of learning from someone who's done it for 30+ years vs. trying to figure it out from a book. And when I found a Japanese teacher to teach me kana-based calligraphy (which has its own unique cursive style), I also found someone who's a great conversation partner-- she teaches in Japanese, so I work on 2 skills at the same time. It can really be an invaluable experience that way.
Right now, she's teaching me 江戸文字. Why? Because it's fun.
EDIT: Books have their uses, too, but having a real teacher to ask questions saves a lot of time.
Last edited by rich_f (2012 October 24, 10:33 pm)
