The Five Scripts — Seal, Clerical, Standard, Semi-cursive, Cursive

Kanji have five scripts — the “five bodies” (gotai): seal (tensho), clerical (reisho), standard (kaisho), semi-cursive (gyosho) and cursive (sosho). Let us begin with the oldest: seal script.

Seal script — the oldest, still holding the pictograph

Seal script is the oldest of the five. Even those early, picture-like signs belong, broadly, to its family. Its finished form is the “small seal” (shoten), standardised by the First Emperor of Qin. Further back lie oracle-bone script and kinbun, the script cast into bronze vessels. In a word: the oldest script, still rich with the pictograph.

When the age of clerical script arrived, seal script left everyday use — yet its grandeur remained. It lives on in the titles carved on stone monuments (tengaku) and in the world of seals, tenkoku (seal-carving). In formal, mysterious settings, seal script endures.

Standard, semi-cursive, cursive — and a surprising order

In a word:

• Standard (kaisho): the formal script we use today — every dot and stroke distinct, squared and clear.
• Semi-cursive (gyosho): standard, loosened a little.
• Cursive (sosho): simplified further and written in a flowing, joined hand.

Because we learn kaisho first, it feels as if gyosho and sosho are “loosened” kaisho. History runs the other way: gyosho and sosho were born before kaisho. They arose from abbreviating and speeding up the earlier clerical script — cursive first, then semi-cursive. Standard script was the last to be refined. It is a fact few people know.

Which script to choose

For a finished work, the script is chosen to match its purpose and the mood it should carry: seal and clerical for gravity and formality, standard for clarity, semi-cursive and cursive for soft movement. Which script best suits your single piece — that is where a commission begins.

The world of scripts rewards the curious. For commissions or a calligraphy experience, reach us anytime.