Water-dropper (calligraphy)

The first recorded Chinese characters written by Japanese people are believed to be an inscription on a sword found in the ancient Eda Funayama tomb.

These pieces were mostly sutras (Buddhist chants or mantras) and commentaries, written in a variety of scripts using brush and ink on paper.

The earliest extant handwritten text by a Japanese calligrapher is thought to be a sutra known as the Commentary on the Lotus, which is purported to have been written by Prince Shotoku (574-622), a regent to Empress Suiko.

In 607, Japan began sending monks to China to study Buddhism, and the practice, named kentoshi, lasted until the late ninth century.

The tea ceremony, developed from its medieval Buddhist beginnings by a merchant and Zen follower Sen No Rikyu, was much practiced.

As calligraphy spread out of the court, poets and tea ceremony masters started to show their unique talent.

[13] Matsuo Basho established a new form of poetry, the haiku, which aims to express the most complex human emotions with wit and insight, using only 17 syllables.

Many Obaku monks were poets, painters, and calligraphers, and it was their influence that led to the rise of zenga (zen painting).

This rich variety reflects the history of Japanese calligraphy: cultural influences have constantly been imported and assimilated to create something new and unique.