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Category shotai

Sōsho

{{infobox Calligraphic style name=Sōsho kanjiname=草書 englishname=Cursive script, grass style chinesename=Ts'ao shu descended_from=tensho began=Han period, 206 B.C.-220 A.D. }}

sōsho (草書) is a style of Chinese calligraphy. It is also known as cursive script and "grass style", although the kanji 草 in its name means "wild" rather than "grass" in this case.

Sōsho is one of the three central calligraphic styles, along with kaisho and gyōsho, and it is the roughest and least readable of them. Styles of sōsho can be subdivided further into

  • old style,
  • dokusō (独草), where each character is separate,
  • renmentai (連綿体), where each character is connected to the succeeding one, and
  • kyōsō (狂草), which is even more cursive.

    • Sōsho forms of Chinese characters are the origin of the Japanese script hiragana, which developed from sōsho via a form of writing called man'yōgana. In Japan, sōsho was considered to be suitable for women, whereas reisho was considered to be suitable for men. image:sousho-example.jpg|Example of Chinese sōsho image:sousho-kankostar.jpg|Modern sōsho calligraphy

    References

  • The Art of Japanese Calligraphy

    • Links

  • {{googleimage|草書}}