Your Writing Style Is Important, and Good Writing Includes

Origami

Some say that Origami, or Japanese paper folding, began in China and came to Japan around the 6th century. People did paper folding for both recreation and other purposes. Origami is the art of making shapes from paper. You can make many shapes, animals, and other objects with paper. You don’t need special paper, and you don’t need special tools.

You fold the paper in different directions and ways to make objects. One of the most popular objects is the crane, or “tsuru,” in Japanese. It is popular because the crane represents long life.

Calligraphy

Calligraphy is an important part of Japanese life, and you only need a few special tools to write: brushes, special rice paper, ink, and ______.

To write, you should first prepare the ink, either pouring it from an ink bottle or rubbing the ink from an ink stone to create the ink. Next, you should dip your brush in the ink. Posture is very important, so you should sit straight up.

Your writing style is important, and good writing includes:

·  There is a good balance in both the characters in size and shape

·  Straight lines are strong and clear

·  Curved lines are delicate and mobile

·  The amount of ink on the brush, or lack of it, is consistent throughout

·  The size of the characters

·  There is a rhythm in the whole work

Calligraphy is like music.

There are several writing systems. Kanji, or Chinese characters, originally from China.

But around the 9th century, the Japanese developed an own writing system based on syllables: Hiragana and katakana. Of the two kana systems, hiragana is more cursive while katakana characters are more angular.

Hiragana and katakana each have 46 symbols which originally were kanji but were change to easier symbols over the centuries. When looking at Japanese writing, you can easily see the difference between: the complicated kanji and the simpler kana signs.

Among the syllables are 5 vowels (a i u e o). The rest are syllables combined by one of these vowels with a consonant (ka ki ku ke ko ra ri ru re ro...). One exception is the n.

Katakana is usually used for foreign words like “hamburger,” “x-ray,” and even English names.

Information from http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2047.html.

Kimono

Kimono is traditional clothing for men and women, and today it is usually worn during festivals, weddings, and other formal events. The yukata is a summer kimono often worn during festivals, and people sometimes wear it to relax when staying at a Japanese hotel. There are many rules to wearing a kimono, but all you need is the kimono and an obi (or sash belt). You usually fold the left side over the right. If it is too long, adjust the length and fold at the waist. Then, you tie the sash into a bow in the front of the back.

People often wear special shoes called geta when wearing a kimono.

Tea

Japanese drink many kinds of tea including green tea. For people who don’t drink caffeine, you can drink mugicha, or wheat tea. You can drink it hot or cold.