"Zen Buddhism and Japanese Calligraphy: Shodo" - With William Reed

Hosted by filmmaker Yujiro Seki, Carving the Divine TV is a series of Q&A sessions with Buddhist scholars and practitioners. These Q&A sessions explore the basic concepts of Buddhism, the history of Buddhism and of course Buddhist sculptures/sculptors (bustuzo/busshi) so that when viewers finally watch the documentary Carving the Divine - Buddhist sculptors of Japan, they will get the maximum value of the documentary.

As we deepen the understanding of Japanese Buddhism, we realize Buddhism permeates many aspects of the Japanese culture.  There is a reflection of Buddhism in the Japanese language, art, mannerisms, and so on.  So, if we wish to have a better understanding of Japanese culture and its people, learning something about Buddhism is a good idea.  Today, we have an incredible guest.  I mean really incredible…  We are going to have a Japanese calligrapher, Shodo Master, William Read.  He will talk about the relationship between Shodo (simply translated Japanese calligraphy) and Buddhism, especially Zen Buddhism.  

We will be asking important questions such as:

So what is Shodo? What is the difference between Shuji and Shodo?  

How’s the relationship between Shodo and Buddhism, especially Zen Buddhism? 

How does Shodo help the students of Zen have a deeper understanding of Koan? 

Can you show us some examples of Shodo so that we can visualize the concept that we’ve talked about? 

Can we do Shodo as a form of meditation?

What is the relationship between Shodo practice and Budo practice?

William Reed is from the USA, but is a long-time resident of Japan. Currently a professor at Yamanashi Gakuin University, in the International College of Liberal Arts (iCLA), where he teaches Calligraphy and Kanji Culture, as well as other courses related to Samurai Code and Culture, and is Co-Director of Japan Studies. As a Calligrapher, he holds the highest possible rank, a 10th-dan in Shodo and is Vice-Chairman of the Nihon Kyoiku Shodo Renmei, and is also a Certified Graphology Adviser from the Japan Graphologist Association. He has won numerous awards in International Competitions, and regularly participates in Exhibitions in Ginza Tokyo, and did a full private exhibition in the lobby of the Yamanashi Chuo Bank Headquarters. He has done live performances of Calligraphy on Stages, Historic Sites, for Martial Arts Magazines and Dojos, Sunto Shrines, and Zen Temples. He has published a book on Shodo in English, as well as two papers on Shodo for the Japan Creativity Society.

As a Martial Artist, he holds an 8th-dan in Aikido from the Aikido Yuishinkai. He has been Awarded the OSS Taisho, the Highest Award from the Scottish Samurai Awards, for contributions to education about Japanese Culture. He has written a bestseller in Japanese on World Class Speaking.

A regular television commentator for Yamanashi Broadcasting, he also has appeared numerous times on NHK World Journeys in Japan, and in documentaries as a navigator on traditional Japanese history and culture. He has appeared twice on TEDx Stages in Japan (TEDxKG) and Norway (TEDxTrondheim).