Beginners calligraphy masterclass with Keisho Nishina

This beginner’s class will introduce the foundations of Japanese calligraphy, including correct posture, how to hold the brush and basic brush techniques.

Participants will enjoy the fragrance of the ink, the feeling of the brush on paper and the quiet rhythm of writing simple Japanese characters.

At the end of the workshop, each participant will choose a single character or word that has personal meaning and create a finished shikishi (traditional Japanese calligraphy board) to take home.

Calligraphy is not simply the technique of writing beautiful characters. In Zen, there is a saying: “The brush reveals the person.” Every brushstroke reflects the writer’s mind, breath, and way of being.

For Zen monks, calligraphy was a means of expressing their spiritual state at the very moment they wrote. Such works are known as bokuseki (Zen calligraphy), treasured not only for their artistic beauty but also as direct expressions of the writer’s awakened mind.

The moment we take up the brush, we leave behind both the past and the future, and place our whole attention on this present moment.

By letting go of attachment and distraction, and quietly facing ourselves, each brushstroke becomes a natural expression of our true state of mind. One stroke follows another until they come together as a single work of calligraphy.