(or ) are

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese

lettering style Lettering is an umbrella term that covers the art of drawing letters, instead of simply writing them. Lettering is considered an art form, where each letter in a phrase or quote acts as an illustration. Each letter is created with attention to de ...

s invented for advertising during the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

. The main styles of are , found on paper lanterns outside restaurants; , used to label and drinks like and ; , literally "cage letters"; , a thick and rectangular

seal script Seal script, also sigillary script () is an ancient style of writing Chinese characters that was common throughout the latter half of the 1st millennium BC. It evolved organically out of the Zhou dynasty bronze script. The Qin variant of se ...

; , often used on flyers for performances such as

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought ...

and ; and , a mix of and .

() characters are the ones used on (hanging paper lanterns), such as the ones commonly seen outside a stand in Japan.

() characters have little "whiskers" () on them. This style is used for and signs as well as being a common style for labels. While this -esque script appears fluid and spontaneous, it follows a strict ruleset based on the Chinese-originating "7–5–3 pattern". The brushstrokes must appear as seven distinct bristle lines, with narrower passages requiring five, and three as the stroke terminates.

() literally means "cage letters". The characters are thick and square in shape. It is usually used in inverted form or sometimes as an outline.

() is a very heavy, rectangular style used for making
seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: Earless seal, or "true seal" Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...
s.

() or simply , or , is a style is used for publicity and programmes for arts like kabuki and . Invented by , the name derives from Okazaki's nickname, .

A style specifically associated with kabuki.

(), , or style of lettering is used for

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a '' rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring ('' dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by t ...

wrestling advertisements and programmes.

The name () literally means "letters for " — Japanese theater. A combination of and , it was used for posters and flyers, as well as in performances (e.g. ), , and . Unlike other calligraphic styles, allows and even encourages multiple brushstrokes in order to fill in the characters as much as possible.

References

External links

sci.lang.japan FAQ: Edomoji
{{writingsystem-stub CJK typefaces Japanese calligraphy Japanese writing system Japanese words and phrases