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| CATEGORIES ABOUT JAPANESE CALLIGRAPHY | |
| east asian calligraphyeast asian calligraphy | |
| calligraphy | |
| east asian calligraphy | |
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to Saichō 9th century]] BEFORE THE NARA PERIOD , Hōryū-ji Temple Written in 7th century]] The oldest existing calligraphic text in Japan is the inscription on the halo of the Bhaisajyaguru statue in Hōryū-ji Temple. This Chinese text was written in ''Shakeitai'' () style, famed in Six Dynasties . There are also bibliographic notes for the Lotus Sutra in same temple. This ''Hokkegisho'' () have been said to be written by Prince Shōtoku in 615 , but some scholars criticised this assertion. Hokkegisho was written in Cursive Script and good example to show the high skill to copy Chinese original texts in Asuka Period . ''Broken Stone in Uji Bridge'' () and ''Stone in Nasu County'' () are also typical examples in this time. Both of inscriptions were influenced by Northern Wei robust style. In 7th century Tang Dynasty established hegemony in China. Their second Emperor Taizong esteemed Wang Xizhi 's calligraphic text and this popularity influenced Japanese calligraphers. All of the original texts written by Wang Xizhi did lost, and some copies such as ''Gakkiron'' written by the Empress Komyo regarded as important sources to know Wang Xizhi's style. ''Soukou Shujitsu'' is the first text which shows Japanese unique calligraphic style. This Tanka text was written in 749 and shows some difference from Chinese calligraphy. HEIAN PERIOD Emperor Kammu moved the Capital from Heijō-kyō in Nara , first to Nagaoka-kyō in 784 , and then to Heian-kyō , Kyoto in 794 . This marks the beginning of the Heian Era . Chinese influences in calligraphy were not changed in the early period. For example, under the Emperor Saga 's reign royalty, the aristocracy and even court ladies studied copying Chinese Poetry texts in artistic style. Wang Xizhi's influences remained dominant, which are shown in calligraphies written by Kukai or Saichō . Some other Chinese calligraphers, such as Ouyang Xun and Yan Zhenqing were also became highly evaluated. Most notable admirers for each one were Emperor Saga and Tachibana No Hayanari . At the same time Japanese unique calligraphic style was emerging. Kukai said to Emperor Saga “China is large country and Japan is relatively small, so I suggest to write in the different way.” ''Cry for noble Saichō'' (), which was written by Emperor Saga for Saichō's death, was one of the example for such a transformation. KAMAKURA AND MUROMACHI PERIOD EDO PERIOD TODAY Calligraphy was adopted as one of the subject in Elementary School of Japanese Mandatory Education system. In high school, calligraphy is one of the alternatives among art subjects, with music or painting. Some universities such as University Of Tsukuba , Tokyo Gakugei University and Fukuoka Kyoiku University have the branch of calligraphic study and emphasize teacher-training programs with calligraphy. Japanese calligraphy also fascinated through the centuries many western artists, mainly appreciated calligraphers, who studied and practiced calligraphy as a parallel activity to their Arts. Since the later years of the 20th century, one notable name among them is the Italian Fernando Lembo Di Pino , also known as Yorukamome () or Ou An Sensei (). SEE ALSO REFERENCES
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