This week, Year 10 Japanese students had the opportunity to learn more about Japanese shodo (calligraphy). Students from the College visited the Japan Foundation Sydney and led by Michie Sensei, learned about the history of shodo and then worked toward creating their own kanji shodo ‘masterpiece’.
Students began with instruction about the five basic strokes of shodo, practicing these until they felt confident to start writing some characters of their own choosing. Students chose one character to master, practicing until they had created a final version, adding their name in katakana and a traditional shodo stamp to complete the process. Finally, a Japanese trivia game played out in groups. To finish the visit, students accessed an Asian supermarket, a Japanese variety store and had the opportunity to partake in some Japanese food of their choice for lunch.
In the process of completing these activities, students tested their understanding of Japanese, as Michie Sensei addressed the class using only Japanese. Well done Year 10 Japanese and thank you to the Japan Foundation Sydney, particularly Michie Sensei, for a wonderful excursion.
Mrs Fiona Byrne
Senior School Teacher - Languages Coordinator & Year Advisor
