Lettering Project inspired by Japanese hanging scrolls. The Kakejiku was originally used to preserve Buddhist scriptures and images. The monks, who were influenced by Zennism, started using calligraphy on the Kakejiku. After this, the tea ceremony was born and different styles of the hanging scrolls emerged.  A mixture of poetic words were used to express the theme of the tea ceremony; giving the audience something to meditate on while drinking their tea. Over the centuries, the demands for the Kakejiku has declined, but can still be found as a decorative element in Japanese interior spaces. 

Japanese calligraphy is called shodō. Many practitioners feel that the "visible rhythm" of Japanese calligraphy embodies a "picture of the mind"--and calligraphers recognize that it discloses our spiritual state. 
 

“If your mind is correct, the brush will be correct."

It is also believed that the brush strokes reveal the state of the body and subconscious mind. Later, after Buddhism was introduced to Japan, shodō began to grow in popularity. During this period in Japan, Chinese characters were widely used to copy Buddhist sutras, and as a result, the earliest works of shodō are all related to Buddhism. It was not until the Heian Period (794 - 1185) that shodō finally began to deviate from Chinese calligraphy, a separation inspired by masters such as Ono-no-Michikaze (894 - 966) and Buddhist monk Kukai (774 - 835). At this time, Japanese-style calligraphy started becoming more cursive and rounded, giving rise to Japanese characters (kana), which eventually became the hiragana used today. Shodo inspired the development of Japanese characters.