Kakizome (calligraphy) is a common activity to ring in the New Year among Japanese students. Tsuchi’s Japanese class seeks not only to teach the language, but also to provide our students with an understanding of the rich cultural background of our host nation. So we kicked off the first Japanese class of 2020 with a calligraphy activity. Students first decided their New Year’s resolutions and translated them into kanji characters. Then they prepared their own sumi ink by grinding a charcoal bar, and finally inked their own beautiful calligraphy. Examples of their work are highlighted in this one-minute film. For several students, this was their first experience writing in kanji. Tsuchi was very impressed with the results and we think you will be too!
