How the three main script styles of Japanese calligraphy differ, what tensho and reisho are, and why beginners usually start with kaisho.
- Kaisho, gyosho, and sosho are the three styles most practiced in Japanese calligraphy today.
- Tensho (seal script) and reisho (clerical script) are older styles that came from China and are used mainly for seals, titles, and signs.
- Beginners usually start with kaisho because it shows each stroke clearly.
Next Step
Try kaisho with a brush
The beginner class is 60 minutes, guided in English, with a finished piece to take home.
Five styles, three in common use
Japanese calligraphy inherited its script styles from China. Five are usually listed: tensho, reisho, kaisho, gyosho, and sosho. Of these, kaisho, gyosho, and sosho are the ones most calligraphers practice today, and the ones you are most likely to see on scrolls, shop signs, and temple plaques.
A single character can be written in any of these styles. The meaning stays the same; what changes is how the strokes are formed, how fast the brush moves, and how much of each stroke is shown.
Kaisho: regular script
Kaisho is the most formal and precise of the three. Each stroke starts and stops cleanly, and the strokes are written one by one. Its role is often compared to block capitals in the Latin alphabet: it is the clear, standard form of a character.
Kaisho took its classical shape in China during the Sui and Tang dynasties. In Japan it was used for inscriptions and for hand-copying Buddhist sutras. It is the easiest of the three styles to read.
Gyosho: semi-cursive script
Gyosho is a little faster and looser than kaisho. Corners are rounder, and the brush often carries from one stroke into the next instead of lifting off each time. Most characters are still easy to recognize.
Gyosho became the basis of many schools of Japanese calligraphy. It sits between the clarity of kaisho and the speed of sosho.
Sosho: cursive script
Sosho is the most abbreviated style. Strokes are merged or reduced, and the brush moves quickly from one part of a character to the next. It began in China during the Han dynasty as a fast way of taking notes.
Because so much is shortened, sosho is said to be hard to read without training. Calligraphers usually learn it only after they are comfortable with kaisho and gyosho, since the abbreviations follow the structure of the regular form.
- Kaisho: separate strokes, clear structure
- Gyosho: rounded corners, connected strokes
- Sosho: merged strokes, fastest and least legible
Tensho and reisho: the older styles
Tensho, or seal script, is the oldest of the five. It was widely used in China during the Zhou and Qin dynasties and is rarely used for general writing in Japan. You will still see it on name seals (hanko) and in some titles.
Reisho, or clerical script, was common in China during the Han dynasty and has a broad, horizontal look. In Japan it was used mainly for large text on plaques and signs before it became an art form in its own right in the Edo period.
Which style to start with
Most beginners start with kaisho. It makes each stroke visible, so you can see where the brush should press, turn, and lift, and it uses the stroke order you would learn for writing kanji by hand.
Our 60-minute beginner class at Shitaya Jinja Kaikan follows this approach: brush practice first, then a final piece to take home, with guidance in English. If you are curious about gyosho or sosho, the teacher can show how the same character changes across styles.