''Bokuseki'' (墨跡) is a Japanese term meaning "ink trace", and refers to a form of Japanese calligraphy (''
shodō
also called is a form of calligraphy, or artistic writing, of the Japanese language.
Written Japanese was originally based on Chinese characters only, but the advent of the hiragana and katakana Japanese syllabaries resulted in intrin ...
'') and more specifically a style of ''
zenga
''Zenga'' is the term for the practice and art of Zen Buddhist painting and calligraphy in the Japanese tea ceremony and also the martial arts.
Definition
As a noun, Zenga is a style of Chinese and Japanese calligraphy and painting, done in ink ...
'' developed by
Zen
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
monks.
''Bokuseki'' is often characterized by bold, assertive, and often abstract brush strokes meant to demonstrate the calligrapher's pure state of mind (see ''
Samadhi
''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...
''). The aim in making ''Bokuseki'' is to represent ones single-moment awareness by brushing each word or passage with a single breath, ultimately realizing Zen and manifesting ones ''
zazen
''Zazen'' (literally " seated meditation"; ja, 座禅; , pronounced ) is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition.
However, the term is a general one not unique to Zen, and thus technicall ...
'' practice into physical and artistic action. Fundamentally ''bokuseki'' is a reflection of one's spontaneous action (see:
Buddha-nature, ''
katsu'') free from one's superficial or
rationally oriented mind.
Gallery
See also
*
Japanese calligraphy
also called is a form of calligraphy, or artistic writing, of the Japanese language.
Written Japanese was originally based on Chinese characters only, but the advent of the hiragana and katakana Japanese syllabaries resulted in intrin ...
**''
Zenga
''Zenga'' is the term for the practice and art of Zen Buddhist painting and calligraphy in the Japanese tea ceremony and also the martial arts.
Definition
As a noun, Zenga is a style of Chinese and Japanese calligraphy and painting, done in ink ...
''
**''
Hitsuzendō
is believed by Zen Buddhists to be a method of achieving samādhi (Japanese: 三昧 ''sanmai''), which is a unification with the highest reality. Hitsuzendo refers specifically to a school of Japanese Zen calligraphy to which the rating system ...
''
External links
East Asian calligraphy
Japanese calligraphy
Zenga
Japanese art
Zen art and culture
Buddhism in the Edo period
History of art in Japan
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ja:日本の書流#唐様