Kataoka Sensei also corrects our work
and sends back her approval or criticism in
orange ink – a convention that every
Japanese schoolboy or girl is familiar with.
If something is really good, it gets crowned
with an orange spiral (see picture) – a sign, maybe, for a healthy flow of Ki.

To make sure we keep practicing between the seminars as well, Kataoka Sensei also supplies us with perfect templates (otehon) of kanjis that we are supposed to imitate as closely as we can during her absence.

Kataoka Sensei’s absence is where Ishiyama Sensei
steps in – for it is him who is teaching our Shodo group on a regular basis (approximately twice per month). In fact, he has to do all the “hard work” – and show us – over and over again – all the important basics, such as how to hold the brush and where to start a kanji – for each sign has its exactly specified stroke order. Ishiyama Sensei also shows us the energy of each kanji: where to put pressure, where to lift the brush and how, and where to make a circle in the air so that the Ki can continue to flow uninterrupted even when the