Japan's calligraphy is set to be formally registered as UNESCO intangible cultural heritage at a committee meeting in China this month, a listing that has drawn objections from some in the country the art form came from.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi welcomed the recommendation, FNN Prime Online reported. "I am truly delighted that shodo, an important part of Japanese culture, has been judged worthy of UNESCO intangible cultural heritage," she said.
The intergovernmental committee meets from the end of November. Registration would make calligraphy Japan's 24th intangible cultural heritage entry, after washoku and traditional sake brewing.
A household art form, and a shrinking one
Calligraphy remains a staple after-school lesson. At an Osaka classroom, children arrive after school and practice seriously. Students there range from 3 years old to their 90s.
“Calligraphy means learning characters and learning bearing. It is part of Japanese manners and culture. Passing it on to the future is our job and our role.”Miyata Tenpu, head of the calligraphy school墨庵, calligraphy instructor
The number of people practicing calligraphy fell from about 5.12 million in 2006 to about 3.81 million in 2021, according to a national survey.
Inbound tourists pick up the brush
Foreign tourists have become a new audience. On the 8th, Australians joined a calligraphy experience class in Kyoto's Shijo Karasuma.
Press harder and the stroke thickens. Lift and it thins. The brush behaves little like a familiar pen, and calligrapher Yamane Issei guided the group carefully.
“I don't understand the words or the characters, but it's cool that something like a picture becomes sentences and words.”an Australian tourist
“I feel this is a truly wonderful Japanese cultural experience.”another Australian tourist
Pushback on Chinese social media
In China, where calligraphy's roots lie, some have objected. Social media posts said brushes, ink, paper and inkstones — the four traditional tools — all came from China, and so did the characters.
The Communist Party-affiliated newspaper Global Times reported that Takaichi's celebratory post had stirred controversy.
Calligraphy is widely practiced there too. In a park, a man who has written characters there for more than 10 years traces old Chinese poems on the ground with water.
“I write almost every day. The ground is free. For Chinese people, calligraphy is enjoying traditional culture. It's like missing your parents.”the man writing on the ground
A Shanghai classroom takes students from 7 to their 70s, and enrollment has grown over the past decade. A private survey in China ranks calligraphy third among children's lessons.
“Calligraphy is very important in our traditional culture, but we no longer write characters in daily life. Then we start to forget something important that Chinese people should have.”a student at the Shanghai classroom
China's own calligraphy was registered as intangible heritage as "Chinese calligraphy" 17 years ago.
What makes the Japanese version different
Kenji Shimono, a professor at Hanagata University who studies the history of Chinese and Japanese calligraphy, said Chinese calligraphy reached Japan after the Asuka and Nara periods.
Japanese calligraphers studied Chinese work and absorbed it, he said, then softened it. The result kept Chinese characters as a base but loosened their forms and rounded their strokes.
From that came kana, the syllabary that produced today's hiragana, and Japanese calligraphy developed its own path from there.
“Shifting lines up or down on a single sheet of paper, or leaving space in the middle, is not seen in China. I think that is one of the features of Japanese calligraphy. It is a different way of grasping space from Chinese calligraphy.”Kenji Shimono, professor at Hanagata University
Intangible heritage status is not about where a practice originated, but about protecting culture rooted in daily life.
Next in line: onsen culture
Japan has another candidate in the pipeline: onsen culture, which has been selected as a domestic candidate for intangible heritage. Its review is expected in 2030.
Nobuhiko Toshimitsu, vice chairman of the national association of inns and hotels, said the appeal of Japanese hot springs is not yet known abroad.
“Soaking in an onsen lets you forget what bothers you and gives you the strength to push on tomorrow. I want people to feel Japan's onsen culture.”Nobuhiko Toshimitsu, vice chairman of the national association of inns and hotels