A CHAIN OF CHANGES OF JAPANESE IN CALLIGRAPHY １
ーa lecture using Power Point for the exhibition
in foreign countriesー
1 - This is a character "wind".
We can see this character on the bone of ox
in 1500 BC.
2 - Can you see the birthplace of civilization
on the map? This is the river Tigris and this is
the Euphrates. In the rich land between these two
rivers,Sumerian lived in around 3000 BC.
They had a high technique of writing and had
influence on other tribes. HIEROGLYPH in Egypt
and Chinese characters came into existence.
Today I'll tell you about Chinese characters first.
3 - About 100 years ago,in 1899, at Anyang in China,
there was a big excavation.
They were the relics of the Yin dynasty in the year 1500 BC.
4 - There were many shells of tortoise and bones of ox.
In the oldest dynasty Yin, people carved the characters on
the shell of tortoise or on the bone of ox.
Can you see the character "wind" here,on the bone?
This character "wind" is the shape of a phoenix.
The ancients thought the wind blew when the phoenix
flew with a flap of the wings.
5 - At the same time, this bronze vessel was discovered there, too. These characters were
inside the vessel. This is a character "woman."It is the shape of "a kneeling person with
twisted her arms."
6 - I wrote this on the model of the character on the bronze vessel.