Status of Forces Agreement Personnel learn to write Japanese calligraphy

Photo By Sgt. Douglas Simons | Status of Forces Agreement Personnel attend a Japanese calligraphy class Jan. 14 aboard Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan. The class allowed Japanese teachers to teach Americans how to write Kanji, one of the three Japanese writing styles. Approximately 13 people attended the class. (Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Douglas D. Simons/Released)  

CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, JAPAN

01.14.2016

Story by Cpl. Daniel Jean-Paul and Lance Cpl. Douglas Simons

Marine Corps Installations Pacific

CAMP FOSTER, Japan - Status of Forces Agreement personnel participated in a Japanese calligraphy class Jan. 14 aboard Camp Foster.

The students learned about the ancient Japanese character system called Kanji. According to Atsuko Kinjo, Kanji originated in China and made its way to Japan through Chinese merchants. The exact history of Kanji has been lost in its lengthy history, with many people believing it originated in China around 2000 B.C. During this time Chinese people relied on their gods to answer question they could not answer themselves. To communicate with those gods, Kings would burn the shells of turtles and scribes would draw the shapes and symbols that appeared. These shapes and symbols were the first Kanji characters recorded.

Two thousand years later, around 5 A.D., Chinese merchants and immigrants began to make their way into Japan. At this time Japan did not have its own written language, which meant that many Japanese natives adopted the Chinese symbols in order to communicate with the Chinese. Despite not having a written language, Japan already had an organized spoken language, which differed greatly from the Chinese language. To make the system of characters fit their language, the Japanese made many modifications and changes, giving birth to modern day Kanji and other character systems still in use today.

Today there are more than 50,000 Kanji characters, simply refered to as Kanjis, in the Kanji dictionary. By the time school children reach the sixth grade they are expected to know 1,006 characters and a total of 2,136 by the ninth grade in order to be considered fluent.

“Kanji is a large character system. Most people only know a small fraction of it,” said Hatsue Shiroma, also known as Kogyoku, a master teacher of Japanese calligraphy with 40 years of experience. “Kanji is more than a character system, it’s an art form.”
While the instructor’s primary mission was to spread knowledge of Japanese culture, students also took the time to share pieces of their culture with Kogyoku, according to Holly Cunningham.

“This was the perfect way to bridge the gap between the two cultures,” said Cunningham, a student and a Corpus Christi, Texas, native. “It gave the teachers a chance to learn about us while teaching us their ways.”
The class was a great way to stimulate their interest in learning more about the Japanese culture.

Understanding one another’s culture enhances the relationship between Japanese and Americans, according to Kohyoku.

“It’s a great way to make friends and explore Japanese culture,” said Kogyoku. “It develops mutual respect between the Americans and Japanese for each other’s cultures. and helps stimulate interest in learning more about the Japanese culture.”

MCCS holds a calligraphy class every January. For further information on the calligraphy class and any other culture classes contact Marine Corps Community Services Okinawa - Marine & Family Programs at 645-2104.

• Date Taken: 01.14.2016
• Date Posted: 02.01.2016 19:12
• Story ID: 187508
• Location: CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, JP
• Hometown: CORPUS CHRISTI, TX, US