hello, yaponiya!

In 2024, Alina — our Japanese teacher — shared how she fell for calligraphy at a cozy little school here in Izumo, studying under 93-year-old Tanaka Sensei, who's spent 60+ years mastering the art. Two years on, she's still learning from him. But this time, Tanaka Sensei stepped in to help her run her own calligraphy workshop: 「書く。感じる。日本文化」, for international residents living in Izumo. Alina put it together with Izumo City Hall, with a group of students from Izumo Commercial High School joining in as assistants. People from different countries came together, and for almost everyone, this was their first time ever holding a brush. The workshop was a chance to slow down and actually feel something through brush, ink, and paper — getting a little closer to understanding Japanese culture along the way.

We went through the basics — tool names, and practiced three basic brush movements: • tome — stopping the brush with control • hane — flicking it upward • harai — releasing it in one long sweep Then each person wrote a word that means something to them.

When you write a word with a brush, you end up spending real time with it. What does "freedom" mean to us? What kind of beauty do we see in "sakura"? What feeling comes up when we write "heart"?

As Alina says: "I'm still not sure what a perfect first calligraphy experience is supposed to feel like. But I want students to feel the softness of the brush, breathe in the smell of the ink, and get a little swept up in the whole aesthetic of the stationery — and maybe end up loving Japan a little more."

💬 What word in Japanese would you choose to write? What word feels important to you right now? Share it in the comments 👇 #life_in_Japan