Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1
Vietnam
Chapter 2
New Home
in Kofu
Chapter 3
Hong Kong
China,
&
Korea
Chapter 4
Yamanashi
Chapter 5
Society
Chapter 6
Hospital
Chapter 7
Nikko
Chapter 8
Holiday
Greetings
Chapter 9
Culture
Chapter 10
Holiday
Trip:
Kansai
&
Kyushu
Chapter 11
Mores
Chapter 12
Hankos
& Brush-
writing
Chapter13
Friends
Chapter 14
Festivities
Chapter 15
Okinawa
&
Nagasaki
Chapter 16
Hong Kong
&
Australia
Chapter 17
Special
People
&
Events
Chapter 18
Coming
to
Japan
Chapter 19
Letter to
Editor
Chapter 20
Teaching
English
Chapter 21 Hamamatsu
Chapter 22
Women's
Relation-
ships
Chapter 23
Reflections
on
Education
Chapter 24
Nephews'
Visit
Chapter 25
Thailand,
Korea
&
Home
Chapter 26
Taking
Stock
Chapter 12
Hankos and Brushwriting
January 26, 1996
Dear Ben,
How are you? We just saw pictures of you from Alyssa’s birthday party, and we saw you making terrible faces on a video that Robin sent us in Japan. It is good to see that you haven’t changed very much since we came to Japan. We were afraid you would be all grown up by now.
We miss you and wish you could come to Japan to see us, but we will be coming home before you know it.
We wanted to get you something special for your birthday for several reasons. One reason is that you gave us your permission to get married. Another is that both you and Tom are "rats" (nezumi in Japanese). Since this is the year of the rat it means you are special -- for this year.
A rat is a very good thing to be because it is thrifty and stores things away (sounds just like you!). The Japanese financial market has done better in years of the rat than any other time -- if you really care anything about the Japanese stock exchange (Nikkei). We are going to send you a little money in yen and you can watch the exchange rate for the US dollar against the yen and decide when to exchange it.
Rat Kite
We couldn’t find any more rat seals, because they quit selling them right after the beginning of the year. We were surprised because we thought we would be able to get them all year.
The gift we are sending you has been ordered. A 70-year-old craftsman is carving it just for you, and we will send it as soon as we get it. It is called a hanko. It is your own private seal.
In Japan everyone must have his or her own seal in order to open a bank account or do other business. A person (particularly a man) has several hankos. Some hankos are for everyday affairs and are made of bamboo or wood. If someone who is Japanese has a more common family name, they can pick up a cheap, ready-made hanko at a stationery store. More elaborate hankos are used for major business transactions, such as purchasing a car or a home. These hankos are beautifully crafted and carved from such materials as ivory, jade or rare wood. A formal hanko can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, depending on the craftsman and materials.
A hanko is used instead of a signature. We each have a hanko, which we use for different things. Uncle Tom’s is used for bank transactions and at school to sign in and to get his salary. Mine is used for signing calligraphy. The other day we went to the bank to transfer some money and the first thing the cashier asked was if we had our hanko. We didn’t and had to walk back to the apartment to get it!
The hanko we ordered for you has your name written in kanji (Chinese characters) which is the oldest continuous written language in the world. The characters are based on ancient picture writing and over time a very complex and sophisticated writing system evolved. There are more than 30,000 kanji. Each kanji has a meaning all by itself. When students learn a kanji, they learn its meaning, its pronunciation and the direction and order in which the strokes are to be written. Students must know 881 kanji by the time they are in sixth grade. When they finish high school they must know about 2000 kanji.
My calligraphy (brush writing) teacher, Mrs. Ogawa, helped us decide which were the correct kanji for each of our names. The kanji we picked out for your name are pronounced "Benjamin", with the "i" pronounced like a long "e". It means "person giving important speeches". Uncle Tom’s name means, "companion who protects or guards the truth." Marie’s means "truth." We couldn’t find any that make sense for most of the people we know. One reason is that the Japanese system of writing doesn’t have sounds for some of the English sounds we often use.
When we get home we will show you how to write some kanji if you are interested. There are five different styles. They are kaisho, gyosho, sosho, tensho and reisho.
Kaisho is what elementary children use and it is the most basic.
winter (fuyu) in kaisho
Gyosho is a little more rounded.
winter (fuyu) in gyosho
Sosho is sort of like the cursive equivalent for English. It is flowing and a little fancier than the others are.
winter (fuyu) in sosho
Your hanko will be written in tensho. It is squarer and the one used for the seal on Japanese money. (Look for it on the yen we send you.) The last one is reisho and it is not used very much.
The first kanji is tensho, and the last three are reisho.
I am not learning to write in tensho or reisho.
Another form of writing is hiragana. Hiragana is a unique Japanese system that is made of gana (kana) each of which has its own sound, (much like the letters in our alphabet). When the hiragana are put together they are sounded out to pronounce the word in Japanese. Another form of writing called katakana is used for words that come from English or other languages. Like hiragana, each symbol represents a sound. Since Japanese and English sounds are different, the words take on a different pronunciation when rendered in katakana. For example, "baseball" in katakana is pronounced "basu boru". It is all very complicated, but fun trying to learn.
winter (fuyu) in hiragana
Saori, (on the left), one of my young friends in the calligraphy class signed her name for me in romaji (the same as our letters), kanji, hiragana, and katakana. Now you know why people think that Japanese is a very difficult language to learn! And children must learn four ways of writing. Not just one!
Brushwriting is the most difficult thing I have ever tried in my life. It has many rules. A person kneels, with their body resting on their legs. That was very hard for me because my legs kept falling asleep in the beginning. One must sit with their back very straight, and the writing is done with the right hand even if he is left-handed (like you). There are many rituals in class that include bowing to the teacher when entering and leaving the class. All of the brushwriting utensils are kept in a special kit. Each item used must be placed correctly in front of oneself on the low table, before writing.
A special kind of ink, called sumi, is used. It is usually black and is made from soot and glue. It can be bought in a bottle to use, or people can make their own by using water, an inkstone, and an ink stick The inkstone is made out of a special kind of slate, some of which is found around the area where we live. A little water is poured onto the inkstone and then is mixed with the ink stick. Just making the ink is an art in itself. (I can't do it.) Sumi is permanent. If you get it on your clothes, it will never come out. Uncle Tom once saw a house built in 1948 that had a sign painted on wood. The unpainted wood wore away, but the part with sumi was still there.
Mrs.Ogawa is very patient and kind. She writes each character in orange sumi. Then I practice and practice with black sumi. Each time I think it is close to the way it should be, I take it to her and she uses orange sumi to make corrections. I must practice at home all week, and I still never get it right. Even though it is very difficult, I like the challenge. The people in the class are very special to me. They have become my good friends.
Calligraphy has been a major art form in Japan since the seventh or eighth century. It is considered to be an excellent way to develop a disciplined life and a calm being. Many Japanese believe that a person's character is reflected in their calligraphy. If it is done correctly it is considered to be meditative. That is one of the things I love the most about Japan. Many things are meditative and quiet.
We hope you like your hanko when you get it. It will come in handy when you visit Japan when you are older. But for now you can use it for anything you want. It will be the only one like it in the world. Have fun! We hope you had a happy birthday.
Love, Aunt Marie
If you are interested in some lessons in Japanese brush writing, here is a neat site.
