As part of the “Japanese New Year Festival”, which is being held in Sarajevo, a workshop dedicated to Japanese calligraphy was held on Saturday.
The participants of this unusual educational event had the opportunity to get acquainted with the basic techniques of the art of beautiful writing – Japanese calligraphy (shodo) – working with a brush, writing characters (kanji, kana) and the rules and placement of characters on paper.
The Japanese language lecturer and workshop host, Nozomi Miyanoya, told FENA that calligraphy in Japan is not only something that is done by experts but it is also present in schools and in wider society.
“In Japan, there is a tradition that every year in January after the New Year, we do the so-called ‘kakizome’, which represents the first calligraphy of the year that expresses certain wishes or how you want to live through that year,” explains Miyanoya.
She clarifies that the aim of the mentioned workshop is to get acquainted with Japanese calligraphy in a relaxed atmosphere, without being overly burdened by its philosophical/spiritual meanings.
Miyanoya expressed her expectation that similar events related to Japan, its culture, tradition and historical heritage will continue to be organized.
She reminded that this was not the first time that a workshop of Japanese calligraphy was held in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that similar events have been realized before, including competitions.
The Japanese New Year’s festival was organized as part of the cooperation between the University of Sarajevo – Faculty of Philosophy and the Embassy of Japan in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In addition to the Japanese calligraphy workshop, the festival will include screenings of Japanese films, an exhibition of traditional Japanese games, an exhibition and trying on kimonos, as well as a tasting of washoku (traditional Japanese food) prepared by the personal chef of the Japanese ambassador, Masami Kinefuchi.
Photo: Fena
