Calligraphy rules

A Chinese verse, which uses quatrains of four, five, or seven syllables or couplets serves as the basis of traditional Japanese calligraphy. Most of the time, a part of the Chinese poem selected would serve as the reference of a calligrapher’s work.

The partial description of the poem in Japanese is usually found to the right of the calligraphy. Red ink is used to signify the notations done by the artist. Several things can represent these notations.

Artistic balance of the calligraphy depends on the positions of the following elements: Kasure (patchy area); Nijimi (blotted area); thick and thin lines; large and small characters. The positioning the said elements together with the attractiveness of the script evaluates the artistic worth of the work.

Traditional or conventional Japanese calligraphy has a set of rules that are well defined and are needed to be complied with. For one, there must be at least one blotted area (nijimi) and one patchy area (kasure) in the piece. Another rule indicate that two blotted characters cannot be found next to each other.