[Proof] A boastful story about copying the 'Aiueo Chart' from a calligraphy textbook - using a pencil 《PDF》

Does it become a 'boast' because it is backed by substance?
Or do you call it a 'boast' even if it lacks substance...

While holding that question...

My love for hiragana is unstoppable.
The quest for beautiful hiragana never ends.
I am Nagano, the demon of the 'Hiragana Research Institute'.

I wrote the 'Aiueo Chart' from the Mitsumura Tosho calligraphy textbook,
aiming for a 100% perfect copy.

And
before that

Following the example of Seikan Kobayashi,
I live my life without saying the 'five precepts': 'complaints,' 'whining,' 'dissatisfaction,' 'slander,' and 'grumbling'.

(How persuasive!)

Not saying the five precepts in daily life
has become a habit, and I am used to it now.

What I often let flow from me is...
not slander.

Yes!
This is a massive one! My 'boasting' cannon.

The result
even though they are the same,
can you tell they are not the same?

Can you see that the 'Aiueo Chart' I wrote
looks better?
(Boast #1)

[Proof obtained from a 99% copy]

This is
◎ proof of my 'hand habits (good habits)'.
(Boast #2)

◎ proof of the '0.1 mm subtle difference' that I often talk about.

◎ This is proof that 'line quality' is more important than 'character shape'.

◎ This is proof that the appearance changes due to variations in 'pen pressure'
without changing the 'character shape'.

◎ The fact that I can write hiragana I don't usually write is
proof that if you have mastered 'how to look at a model,'
you can reproduce any character.
(Boast #3)

◎ The fact that the characters I wrote look better is
proof that I couldn't copy them 100% perfectly.
(That's no good...)(Self-deprecation #1)

◎ I was so focused on the character shape that I
unconsciously wrote the 'size of the character relative to the frame'
as 'appropriate'...
(That's no good...)
This is proof of my habit (a good habit). (Boast #4)

◎ This is proof of what I say: 'Even if people look at the same model and write, the resulting characters will be different for each person.'

As a 'basic model for calligraphy practice',
this should be sufficient.


('Should be'—the other party was the textbook itself)

It is sufficient for a child's 'first' hiragana practice.
It is also sufficient for adults
who write characters that are hard to understand.
(Watch your tone, watch your tone)

But,
if you are going to do the same 'look at a model and write' practice,
it's better to have a beautiful model from the start, isn't it?

Because you end up with the characters of the model you are looking at.
For better or worse. Truly.

Among calligraphy textbooks,
I think this 'Aiueo Chart' from Mitsumura Tosho is the best.

However,
I will not use this as a model. (Boast #5)
I don't want to become these characters.


While writing,
I made about three corrections (criticisms) per character on average.
It was extremely painful.
It was truly painful.
I rewrote it many times.
・They are characters I don't usually write
・They are not characters I want to write
・I might end up writing like this
and I became uncomfortable.


Rather than imitating the 'character shape' itself,
it was harder to imitate the slight differences in the movement of the 'lines'.

'No, you wouldn't write it like that'
'No, it wouldn't turn out like this'

gradually turned into
'No... this is dangerous, isn't it?'

'How does it end up like this?'
'Why are the lines so straight...'
and I felt my own

level of irritation (level of burning anger) rising.

For example, 'ka'

・The heights of the shoulders are not aligned
・The distance to the dot is too close
・All the horizontal lines that rise to the right in the first stroke are bulging...
Strictly speaking, this should undulate slightly.
・It is touching the center line...
I want it completely on the left side...
・The line that extends upward in the second stroke is short

This is dangerous.

Because
if you write all of these in an extreme way, they look like the ones on the right.

Basically, if you write the characteristics of a character (even a kanji) in an extreme way
and it looks strange,
then it is strange.

If it is strange, it means it is wrong.

This is one criterion for judgment when you don't know the rules.
(Though you end up relying on your own aesthetic sense.)

<<I say something similar about 'ka' and 'n' here.>>

At a quick glance, it's definitely not bad... it looks like I could write it...

However,
when I actually tried writing it,
I struggled with the difference from my own handwriting.


The only ones that didn't make my hand feel strained were
'i', 'ku', 'ke', and 'he'.

'Anyone can say anything if it's just talk.'
'Anyone can talk about theory.'
Really.
Actually, 'writing' is different...
It's also different from 'being able to write'...



I was able to feel, for the first time in a while, the difficulty of copying
characters that are not my own natural handwriting.
If it were the handwriting I wanted to have,

I could accept this pain,
but since I was copying 'handwriting I don't want to have' this time,

it was quite...
tough.
I will probably never write these characters again in my life.
(Boast #6)

(Is it refreshing when boasting goes too far...)

(No, that's not it)

Among the many 'ways to improve your handwriting',

- Encountering a beautiful model
- Learning 'how to look at a model'
(Becoming able to copy it perfectly)

You cannot leave these two out. They are essential.

Conversely, the representative reason for having poor handwriting is
'doing it your own way'.

The model is someone else's idiosyncratic handwriting...
And you are looking at the model in your own way...

When building a 'foundation', you don't need 'doing it your own way' at all.
Right?
Even if it's not about handwriting.

If you want to improve your handwriting,

・Make sure to follow the methods for improving your handwriting.
・Make sure not to do the things that make your handwriting messy.

That is it.

This applies to things
other than "handwriting" as well, doesn't it?

・Children who have just started writing
・People who write so poorly it's unreadable
・Self-proclaimed experts who write with all sorts of bad habits (in regular script)

for these people,
this is more than enough. (Sarcasm #1)

Since it is a calligraphy textbook,
it doesn't stray from the "basics,"
and compared to the models you find around,
it is much more correct
and much cleaner.
This is 50,000 times better than the models written by professionals with their own bad habits (self-proclaimed regular script). (Sarcasm #2)

You can learn almost all the "basics" of hiragana
from this.

【The "final" proof obtained from 99% copying】

◎"Understanding" does not equal "being able to do."

I was confronted with proof of that.

I can't write as well as the model as I thought I could...
I don't know until I try writing it...
It's so painful when it's not my own handwriting...

It was a good experience.


(Wait, that wasn't a "boast",
it turned into "sarcasm"...)

In this way, I once again

"raise the bar for myself"
"force myself to be strict," don't I.

By firing off these "boast cannons,"

at any time,
from anyone,
from anywhere,
I am imposing a rigorous challenge on myself
so that I am prepared
if someone says, "If you're going to talk that much, let's see your own handwriting."

《The hiragana I usually write》
It looks like this.
Please take a look at some of the articles in my "Mastering Hiragana" magazine.

"Hey,
just because
you have good handwriting
doesn't mean you can say whatever you want."

My master, the demon of regular script (the demon grandpa who appears rarely),
lived his life as a demon of regular script,
yet he doesn't say anything to me
about my regular script...


How strange...

The demon grandpa only talks about ethics...

How strange...

《Article mentioning who I think I am》

It is... a bit 'subtle' for me, but
since it is a model that is
a slightly improved version of the calligraphy textbook,
please use it if you can.

'My' Hiragana model (Boast #7)

Summary of Hiragana models (A full-effort boast)

Magazine summarizing Hiragana models (A boast with all my heart)

《Article touching on the size of characters relative to the frame》

《How to look at the models》

《Boast-sealed version》