Our Japan information is divided into three sections:

• Calligraphy: All about Japanese writing, and an introduction to the beautiful Japanese art of Calligraphy. This section includes tutorials on writing Japanese characters, an explanation of the art of Calligraphy, an exhibition from a contemporary Japanese calligrapher, software for surfing the web in Japanese and even a free Japanese word processor!
• The game of GO: An introduction to the marvellous Japanese board game which is so simple to learn and yet so interesting that many devote a lifetime to studying its intricacies. Here you can learn to play, buy books to further your skill and even play live games via the internet with people from all around the world.
• Japanese Culture: A few selected links to pages on the internet which we have chosen as truly informative and representative of the wonderful culture of Japan.

CALLIGRAPHY

• Introduction to Calligraphy A brief introduction to the essentials of the art of Japanese Calligraphy. This introduction explains the difference between good calligraphy and bad and explains some of the concepts. There is also a brief history of calligraphy, some notes on Japanese poetry, and a selected reading list.
• Mukon Ohmori - Work of the Japanese calligrapher In 1994 the Japanese calligrapher Mukon Ohmori presented an exhibition of his works in London. On these pages you will find his opening speech, which describes his techniques and ideas, and photographs of the entire exhibition.
• Japanese Writing Tutor A complete guide to writing the Japanese language, with good animated illustrations of the characters. There are 3 "alphabets" in Japanese. Hiragana, used to represent the 48 sounds of Japanese in normal writing; Katakana, the same but for foreign words and official notices; Kanji, which are Chinese characters used for complete words. There are 48 hiragana 48 katakan and many thousands of Kanji characters.
• Japanese Word Processor We get many requests for a translation of english words into Japanese characters. Owing to the volume, we are unable to respond, but you can do it yourself easily with Glenn Rosenthal's excellent free Japanese Word Processor, which contains also an excellent English-Japanese dictionary. Download the zip file here. It is released for free under the GNU Public Licence. This is the most recent version, 1.50.
• A simple dictionary for getting Japanese character equivalents of English words can be found at Jeffrey's Japanese<->English Dictionary Server. This will be useful for people wanting Japanese characters for designs, tatoos, etc.
• Resources for Learning Japanese. An excellent list of links to web resources for learning Japanese.

The Game of GO

• The easiest way to learn is probably from Mindy McAdam's excellent How to Teach GO. Although, as the name implies, intended as an aid to teachers it is actually a self contained rapid course in GO, the best I have seen, with excellent illustrations. You should be playing within half an hour at most. More than 25 million people currently play Go, most of them in the Far East. Europe may have as many as 100,000 players; the United States perhaps 20,000. Players from more than 30 countries compete in the annual World Amateur Go Championship.
• An alternative method of learning is Hiroki Mori's The Interactive Way to GO. A different approach, but equally well presented and illustrated. The choice between this method and the method in "How to Teach GO" (above) is a matter of personal preference. Both are good. Maybe try them both.
• Books on GO are another approach and there is a growing number of excellent introductory books. We have selected the best, which are shown in our GO Book List.
• Playing GO on-line is a good way of getting experience and help from existing players. You play in real time and there are always lots of people from all round the world, of all levels, waiting to play.
  You will need a program, called a "client", which shows the board and the moves on your screen. It is really just like playing on a real board with a person sitting opposite.
• GO and the Arts. The IGS Art Gallery. Some beautiful examples of Japanese art involving the game of GO. This is a marvellous collection which encapsulates much of Japanese culture.

Japan and its Culture

• Michi Online Journal of Japanese Cultural Arts is a gathering place for everyone interested in the cultural arts of Japan. It is both an electronic journal and a collection of online resources for the Japanese arts community. There are also links to web sites with information on Japanese cultural arts. Michi Online: Journal of Japanese Cultural Arts is published by the Sennin Foundation, Inc., a federally tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation.
• The Tea Ceremony explains this marvellous activity which says so much about traditional Japanese culture and Zen Buddhism. As was elegantly stated on an old web page that no longer exists: "The traditional arts - tea, calligraphy, flower arranging, the martial art - were all originally taught without texts or manuals. The goal is not the intellectual grasp of a subject, but the attainment of presence of mind."
• Kabuki for Everyone is an excellent introduction to this aspect of Japanese culture. Kabuki is a traditional form of Japanese theater. It was founded early in the 17th century by Okuni, a shrine maiden who brought her unique and lively dance style to the dry river beds of the ancient capital of Kyoto, and over the next 300 years developed into a sophisticated, highly stylized form of theater. Here you will find the sights and sounds of Kabuki as well as a great deal of information.
• GO and the Arts. The IGS Art Gallery. Some beautiful examples of Japanese art involving the game of GO. This is a marvellous collection which encapsulates much of Japanese culture.
• What is ZEN?An exploration of this intriguing system of philosophy.

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This document was last updated 14 July 2019

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