Online Shodo Course

Thank you for taking interest in Japanese calligraphy, shodo, which I believe is one of the most sophisticated Oriental arts. I was born in a calligraphy family, and since childhood I have devoted most of my life so far to this Japanese traditional art. As a calligraphy master, called "SHIHAN" in Japanese, I have taught a great many people in Japan.

Why did I start this website? A very simple reason. That is because I want to make most of my knowledge, skills, and teaching experience for people around the world who are interested in Japanese calligraphy.

The greatest appeal of Japanese calligraphy lies in simplicity of expressing a variety of beautiful kanji forms only with black sumi ink and white calligraphy paper. As Japanese calligraphy is that simple, everyone will be able to enjoy it if only they learn the basics properly.

You can also enjoy Japanese calligraphy as an art. Kanji has a variety of beautiful forms, from simple to complicated. I believe the variety of beautiful forms, together with your personality, techniques, and creativity, will greatly stimulate your sensitivity.

You can also savor the exciting feeling of non-daily life because you use a writing brush, sumi ink, and other tools that you probably never use in your daily life. You can have experiences that you otherwise never have in your daily life by, for instance, writing with a calligraphy brush, smelling the mind-calming scent of simple sumi ink, or concentrating your mind.

You might say
"But still, Japanese calligraphy is too difficult; especially kanji is too tough to write, isn't it?"
But there's no worry about that.

I have also heard people round the world say these sorts of things.

"I want to learn calligraphy, but there's no school nearby. Where can I learn it?"
"Where can I buy calligraphy tools? And I don't know how to use them."

So I made up my mind that while teaching Japanese calligraphy in Japan, I would create such a course that people around the world are interested in Japanese calligraphy can easily start learning and enjoy it.

● Living in Japan. Grandmother, parents and brother are also Japanese calligraphers. From childhood, instructed by grandmother Shisui Shimoda.

● Acquired the title of Japanese calligraphy Master "Shihan", technically highest rank, at the age of 23. Serving as an instructor with 300 disciples at "Shimoda Shodo-Kai Association" that lasts for 40 years. Taught a total of over 150,000 people, including ordinary citizens.

● Works enthusiastically on the creative activities of calligraphy work and exhibits works at exhibitions by artists and citizens every year.

● Also working as a commercial calligrapher in a wide range of fields, including design for product packages using Japanese calligraphy, calligraphy performance in wedding ceremonies and fashion shows, and workshops for citizens.

EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND VIDEO LESSONS

Calligrapher SHIMODA will teach you in an easy-to-understand way through lesson videos on the Member-Only Website. You watch the video distributed to learn how to move the writing brush, how to write kanji, and how to use the calligraphy tools on the Member-Only Website. You can watch as many times as you like until you master them completely.

ONE TO ONE CORRECTION AND ADVICE ("MASTER'S ADVICE")

Japanese calligraphy master SHIMODA will correct the assigned kanji characters you wrote and give you advice for improvement. Just following her advice will dramatically change your kanji like you've never imagined. You can use this service 3 times. Master's Advice is easy to use: 1. Take a picture of the kanji you wrote with a smartphone or a digital camera. 2. Upload the image on the members site.

Due to the global spread of Coronavirus, it is difficult to deliver the calligraphy set outside Japan. Therefore, it is not currently possible to order the calligraphy set.

Besides writing brushes, ink stick, ink stone, calligraphy paper which is the most important "Bunbou-shihou"(4 treasures for writing) in Japanese calligraphy, SHIMODA has arranged tools for you to enjoy comfortable writing. So you don't have to find tools yourself. There is no need to worry about what to buy, either. She carefully selected tools so that even beginners will find them easy to use. Every tool is a quality product circulated in the Japanese market. (The design of each tool may be changed.)

Perfect Kanji models for you

The instructor SHIMODA selected the 10 kanji letters with outstanding beauty and especially created the writing models and added detailed explanations for those kanji letters for you to understand how to write them. Don't you think like this?

"Every Japanese calligrapher writes kanji letters with similar writing taste, right?"

The answer is "No". Kanji letters express his/her personality. The kanji letters written by SHIMODA who has continued to write Japanese calligraphy shodo for nearly 30 years and refined writing techniques are very beautiful, powerful and accurate. You can learn the perfect kanji by the writing models she offers. It is only this course that you can get these models created by her.

Write 2 major styles: "Kaisho" and "Gyosho"

You write 10 kanji with 2 major kanji writing styles: (1) orthodox "Kaisho" (regular script) style, (2) elegant "Gyosho" (semi-cursive script) style, which will extend your enjoyment. All kanji models are able to downloaded on the members website. Meet the beauty of the kanji models created by Saisui in the images below. (Click the image to expand.)

Order

Order the course on this website.

Registration

Click the "Return to Marchant" button on the payment completion page after you pay and you will move to our members registration page. Enter your favorite username and password to complete the registration.

*If you enroll in PREMIUM, we will send out the calligraphy tool set to you through EMS(Express Mail Service) from Japan in a week after you order. The tool set will reach you in approximately 1 to 2 weeks. (The number of days required for delivery depends on your country/region. In some countries, it may take more than one month for customs inspection and be necessary to pay tariffs.)

In fact, there is more that we want to tell you. We will give you 3 special privileges worth $200 if you enroll to the course. This is because going out is now a risk to us due to the worldwide spread of Coronavirus and we want to encourage you to enjoy Japanese calligraphy safely at home. We never offer you cheap and worthless privileges. All of them are created by shodo master SHIMODA only for the students of this course. (However, since they are very valuable privileges, we will stop offering them without notice.)

"The thing that really makes this course stand out from the competition is the option to have one's calligraphy corrected by Shimoda-sensei."

Now, there are other courses that offer the same feature, but what makes this course different is that one has the privilege to receive corrections from a renowned calligrapher! When I received my first correction, it felt like I was learning in Japan with Shimoda-sensei rather than online from the States. The advice are very helpful, as it points out errors that either I didn't notice or wasn't discussed in the video lesson. The lessons themselves are very much organized, so that I can tell when something is going to be discussed. Also, the kanji models this course provides are absolutely amazing! They are easy to understand, and useful tools to use whenever I want to practice without any Internet. I am extremely surprised on how much progress I made in a month. If I had the option to recommend this course to someone, I definitely would!

(5 stars)

Ian Millado, United States

I have never experienced Japanese calligraphy. Can I join the course?

Yes, of course! The course is intended for those who have not experienced Japanese calligraphy at all and beginners who have only a little experience. In addition, those who want to enjoy writing kanji letters with an Oriental brush and want to experience the charms of Japanese calligraphy such as concentrating your mind or relaxation while writing are also welcomed.

I'm not good at sitting on the floor Japanese style. Is it necessary to sit that way to practice Japanese-calligraphy?

There is no need to worry even if you have trouble sitting Japanese style. You can practice on a table while sitting on a chair.

I'm not sure how to use calligraphy tools.

Don't worry. Master SAISUI will explain that to you in the course.

Is the course really worth $278 on the plan PREMIUM?

We believe the course is well worth the price in view of the fact you can watch the video repeatedly, you can download master SAISUI's models for all assigned kanji characters and use the 3 times master SAISUI's Advice, Email Support for 3 months and get a full calligraphy tool set.

What payment methods are available?

PayPal and major credit cards are available. Even if you don't have a PayPal account, you can pay on PayPal with your credit card. You don't need the registration on PayPal. All major credit cards can be processed through PayPal.

Online Shodo Course

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