The beginning set consists of the following:

Brush (kengou fude) - 9 1/2"
Ink Stone (ramon ken) - 4" W x 6" H
Ink Stick (unyuu) - 1" W x 3 1/2" H
Japanese Paper (reiho hanshi) - 9" W x 13" H
Calligraphy Pad (shitajiku) - 10" W x 14" H
Learn Japanese Calligraphy: Lessons 1 - 24

The brush we have selected is called "kengou fude" which is a mixed natural hair brush consisting mostly of horse hair. The brush has a bamboo handle and shorter bristles (1 3/4") which have just the right amount of give and nicely maintains its shape.

The inkstone is called "ramonken" and is a natural stone that has been polished. The surface is such that it will extract the color and subtleties of the ink. This stone is great for the beginner and will last a life-time with proper care.

The paper we use is called "reiho hanshi" and is suitable for practicing. This pure white paper is machine made which reduces the cost. On the other hand this paper nicely takes the ink without excessive bleeding and the surface is soft and smooth which allow for perfect brush strokes.

Note that Japanese paper will have a smooth and slightly not smooth size. Practice should be done on the smooth side.

With your good brush you should only practice on this type of practice paper and not on other paper such as newspaper. Practicing on newspaper will flay the bristles and greatly reduce the longevity of your brush.

These twenty-four lessons comprise the first year of study for The Takase Shodokai Learn Japanese Calligraphy Series which provides the in-depth instruction needed to master Japanese Calligraphy. Starting with tool selection and proper usage, Takase Sensei guides the student through the fundamentals of Japanese Calligraphy using a combination of text, sample works, audio, video and frame-by-frame analysis.

All lessons are in English and knowledge of Japanese is not required.

CD-ROM require Microsoft Windows (tm).