Learn Japanese Calligraphy Lessons 1 - 6

Good instructional video on brush calligraphy with many helpful tips on using the brush to get the lines and characters right. Only runs with Microsoft Windows and Media Player, and in my case, without sound. This does not launch in Media Player, but as an html page in IE. Basic coding is not a bad thing but if you are expecting big screens and complex functionality, this is a very bare-bones program. Still working on getting the sound to link up...

Learn Japanese Calligraphy Lessons 1 - 6 I like this CD very much, it really helps a lot to see a person using the brush when you want to practice japanese calligraphy. I wish it came with a simple, thin booklet for some of the terminology. I already have some books on this subject but a video helps a lot more.

BE FOREWARNED! There is NO AUDIO! However, the written content and videos are very useful.

If you have an interest in Japanese calligraphy, and don't live in Japan, this is probably one of if not the only device for learning it without a physical teacher in front of you.Takase Sensei has created an extremely detailed set of instructions for writing Japanese calligraphy. Other reviewers have mentioned they don't care for the fact that the discs don't cover a large number of characters. While covering a large number of characters may seem like how you would like information presented on Japanese calligraphy, this ignores one simple thing; there are only so many different strokes for all the characters. You don't need to cover 500 characters, only the unique strokes amongst all the characters. Please bear this in mind as you consider this product and the additional lessons.I purchased the entire set of lessons (1-24). In addition to covering strokes in different characters, the latter lessons also cover compound characters. The lessons may seem repetitive, but they are also presented in a fashion that are intended to be learned over a course of time. I believe Takase Sensei mentioned somewhere lessons 1-24 should be covered over a one year span. This may seem like a long time, but it should make more sense if you do the lessons as described. This is a very specific process and mastery can only come through practice and time.Japanese calligraphy is deceptively more complicated than it initially appears. As I said, it is a very specific process and is not really comparable as an art to anything in Western culture.I highly recommend this product and the accompanying lessons if this is something you wish to study.

I was surprised!`Learn Japanese Calligraphy' with Master Eri Takase is incredible!I have been interested in Japanese Calligraphy for years. I've purchased many popular books on the subject but was ready to give up in total frustration, not only because of the impossibility of trying to learn calligraphy strokes from a book but also because of the level of the Japanese language required. I was surprised and delighted to find in Takase Sensei's course strokes demonstrated, through videos, in minute detail, dynamically and almost exaggerated, and then frame by frame explanations and samples. There is no way to obtain this level of detail, and it is absolutely essential in calligraphy, from a book. Now I can actually see how it is suppose to be done..The videos showing students doing some of the characters, with Takase Sensei making corrections and suggestions, really helps me see and correct my own mistakes and bad habits. It is almost like having my own private instructor, available any time, day or night, there for me whenever I have time to study my calligraphy.Knowledge of Japanese isn't required but for those, like me, that are serious about learning the language too, I can improve my language skills as I learn Japanese Calligraphy. The translations given on the CD and the proper pronunciation of all terms are valuable learning tools.I do have to admit that I initially had trouble getting the video to play right but solved the problem after visiting the Shodokai forum. I found I needed to install version 7 of the Windows Media Player. Now it works like a charm.Another reviewer said that this is a valuable resource for the serious student and I whole-heartedly agree. The title of this course is a bit misleading in one respect. It is also a useful resource for those studying Chinese Calligraphy.

I have bought all the books but have been frustrated and finally here are all the details. The lessons start with a detailed discussion of the tools, what to buy and what to look for. Then video and explanations are given on posture, how to grind the ink and how to properly hold the brush. Finally each character is covered in great detail with very good quality video of Takase Sensei drawing the character. Then a step by step, point by point analysis of what is happening in the video is given. And what I really like are the student samples and corrections including actual size images of the corrections.Takase Sensei does not cover a large number of characters in this first CD-ROM and instead covers important characters in great detail. This course has it all and I am looking forward to the next CD-ROM.If you are seriously interested in learning Japanese/Chinese Calligraphy then this is the course for you.

As the other reviewers emphasize, the videos are an instructive way to show how to do it. The very detailed treatment of both the professional and the beginner examples well guide one to recognize typical mistakes. I can strongly recommend one to buy the first volume of the set.However, the next (and most probably the rest) of this presently four-volume set do not contribute that much. Six new characters per CD left me missing much more samples and model characters. And business is business - the CDs are almost empty and would well fit in a single disc.