JOURNAL · IN THE MASTER'S WORDS
How to Become a Calligrapher — and What It Means to Live by the Brush
There is no licence to become a calligrapher; if you wish to, you may begin at any time. But to teach others, you must keep learning yourself — that alone is indispensable.
If someone wishes to become a calligrapher, where should they begin?
Even the word “calligrapher” is hard to define. I still remember Mr. Ito posing it to our university class: “How does one become a calligrapher?” When a student answered, “By getting into Nitten,” he thundered, “Fool — you become one by declaring yourself a calligrapher.” There is no licence required, as there is for a physician; if you wish to, you may begin at any time. Today many children and young people share their work on social media, so there is no need to overthink it. Yet to teach others, you must keep learning yourself — that alone is indispensable.
What are the realistic paths to making a living as a calligrapher?
It is a hard truth, but to live by calligraphy is difficult in this age — as it was for me, and for the young students I have taught. One path is to become a calligraphy teacher employed by a school. Otherwise, it is to become a professional at teaching what one has gained — a master of lessons. To live, as a painter or sculptor or potter might, by creating and selling one’s own works alone is, in this era, very hard for a calligrapher. There was once the craft of hikko — brush-work for hire, addressing envelopes and inscribing ceremonial envelopes — but in the age of the computer even that is fading. Truly, to make a living by calligraphy is severe.