Ink Brushes
Since ancient times, people in Japan have devoted themselves to the traditional art of calligraphy, shodo. Writing characters with ink on paper, they create works that express the inherent beauty of the Japanese written language. In shodo, brushes are used for applying the ink to the paper. The expressiveness of the characters derives from variations in the speed and force that the calligrapher uses to move the brush. The brushes themselves are simple objects, made from bundles of animal hair or other materials bundled together and fixed to a shaft. The actual materials used will depend on the style of calligraphy that is desired. Around 80 percent of Japanese ink brushes are produced in Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture. There are numerous workshops in this town where skilled craftsmen still make the brushes by hand in the traditional way. On this edition of BEGIN Japanology, we examine the history, development and contemporary applications of ink brushes, introducing these simple implements that have been so essential to the development of Japanese writing and painting.
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows
General Hospital
General Hospital, which celebrated its golden anniversary on April 1, 2013, continues its tradition of passion, intrigue and adventure that takes place in the fictional town of Port Charles in upstate New York. The glamour and excitement of those who have come to find their destinies in this familiar seaport town intertwine with the lives, loves and fortunes of beloved, well-known faces. As always, love, danger and mind blowing plot twists continue to abound on General Hospital with contemporary storylines and unforgettable characters.
Children Ruin Everything
Children Ruin Everything is one couple's efforts to reclaim a piece of their old lives which are continually thwarted by their young children in surprising and absurd ways. But somewhere in the toy-filled, pee-stained wreckage of what they once had, they find a new life that's pretty good, too.
Doctor Who
The Doctor and his companion, Ruby Sunday, travel across time and space, having adventures from the Regency era in England to war-torn future worlds, from the dawn of human history to distant alien worlds. Throughout their adventures in the TARDIS – a time-traveling ship shaped like a police box – they encounter incredible friends and dangerous foes, including a terrifying bogeyman and the Doctor's most powerful enemy yet. And everywhere they go, they find adventure, terror, fun, chases, joy, and monsters.
The Count of Monte Cristo
Edmond Dantes, a nineteen-year-old sailor was falsely accused of treason and is imprisoned without trial in the Château d'If, a grim island fortress off Marseille. After many years of captivity he finally escapes and, under the identity of the Count of Monte Cristo, he plans to take revenge on those who have wrongly accused him.