Shodo 'Arabi

June 18, 2010 11:55 AM

Shodo 'Arabi. "An appreciation of calligraphy is a lifelong interest for many Japanese, and for some, acquiring proficiency at it is a lifelong study. Yet, over the past two decades, a few have quietly put down their fude and picked up a bamboo qalam to try their hand at calligraphy in Arabic, which, they often find, is not as alien as they had thought."
posted by chunking express (6 comments total)

the concept is nice somehow. feels like a haiku. thank you for posting this, i learnt something wonderfully unusual today
posted by infini at 12:20 PM on June 18, 2010

Neat, two languages I want to learn in a single post! This is fascinating.
posted by reductiondesign at 12:28 PM on June 18, 2010

I've kind of lusted after Honda's ocean/desert representations of Surat Ya Sin since I saw this in print a few months ago so I won't punish myself now by staring too much.
posted by Burhanistan at 1:07 PM on June 18, 2010

Yamaoka adds that it’s often difficult for students to put their motivations into words.

One of my latin profs was a well-respected paleographer and codicologist, and loved letterforms and manuscript arts of all kinds. I once noted a triptych-style art piece on his office wall that included an illuminated initial, some kanji, and a bit of arabic calligraphy, and he just smiled and said 'Someone has to love these poor letters.'
posted by eclectist at 3:02 PM on June 18, 2010 [1 favorite]

VERY cool!
posted by dendritejungle at 3:39 PM on June 18, 2010

At Yamaoka’s class in Osaka, I’m surprised to see Chieko Kinoshita, a woman I had seen in a Tokyo class just a few days before. She’s again unfalteringly drawing the madd lengthened stroke in the middle of the Fatiha, the opening verse of the Qur’an, time after time. I’m surprised to learn she is an office clerk from Hiroshima, which is some 850 kilometers (530 mi) and five hours’ journey from Tokyo. To come to Osaka today, she’s traveled 350 kilometers (215 mi). She is, Yamaoka says, “a very dedicated student.”


Wow. I am simultaneously envious and disturbed.
posted by edbles at 10:28 AM on June 19, 2010