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Create beautiful gifts, stationery and decorations that incorporate the elegant, centuries-old art of Japanese calligraphy. Developed since the sixth century, practised by the royal elite and Buddhist scholars, and packed with spiritual meaning, Japanese calligraphy has its own style: simple, elegant and gentle. Starting with a history section that illuminates thousands of years of calligraphy with inspiring examples, the core of the book is a clear step-by-step guide to creating stunning calligraphy. The 15 projects, from a greetings card to painting calligraphy motifs on river pebbles and linen hangings, represent authentic uses of Japanese scripts. The combination of simple strokes and meaningful characters that makes up each of these unique projects means you can create artworks that will give you and your loved ones truly enduring results. A clear materials section shows you exactly what you need to start, while the comprehensive techniques chapter demonstrates how to hold the brush, create characters and write pieces. Also included are 100 of the most popular Western first names, plus a series of greetings, sentiments and poems, including haikus and Zen proverbs, so you can personalise your projects.