Calligraphy strokes stroke order basic lines eight strokes

Strokes

Every handwritten Japanese character is made up of separate strokes, from one to as many as thirty-three. In cursive writing, some or all of these strokes may be connected in a single continuous line.

Stroke Order

It is important to write the strokes in a character in the proper order. Using the right stroke order helps keep the shape of the character proportional and uniform.

Basic Lines and the Eight Strokes

Most characters can be written with some combination of the two basic lines--horizontal and vertical--and the eight strokes used to write the character for "eternity" (ei).

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