science

Kakizome

Kakizome is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kakizome rather than just read about it. In short: Kakizome (書き初め, literally "first writing") is a Japanese term for the first calligraphy written at the beginning of a year, traditionally on January 2. Other terms include kissho (吉書), shihitsu (試筆) and hatsusuzuri (初硯).

Key takeaways

Kakizome belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kakizome to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kakizome from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kakizome (書き初め, literally "first writing") is a Japanese term for the first calligraphy written at the beginning of a year, traditionally on January 2. Other terms include kissho (吉書), shihitsu (試筆) and hatsusuzuri (初硯). Traditionally, kakizome was performed using ink rubbed with the first water drawn from the well on New Year's Day. Seated facing a favourable direction, people would write Chinese poetry containing auspicious words and phrases such as long life, spring, or perennial youth. These poems were then often burned. In modern times, people often write out auspicious kanji rather than poems. School pupils up to senior high school are assigned kakizome as their winter holiday homework. Each year on January 5, several thousand calligraphers gather at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo's Chiyoda-ku for a kakizome event that is widely covered by media. The kakizome paper is usually burned on January 14 in the Sagicho festival. If the burning paper flies high, it is said that the person will be able to write a more fair hand.

References Gail Benjamin: Japanese Lessons: A Year in a Japanese School Through the Eyes of an American Anthropologist and Her Children. NYU Press 1998, ISBN 978-0-8147-1334-1, S.120 New Year's In Japan - City News Urayasu, 2006-1-1, no. 105

External links Examples of children's kakizome Washi: Japanese Papermaking Workshop Archived 2016-07-22 at the Wayback Machine - Teacher's Guide des Robert C. Williams Museum (Georgia Tech), p. 22 Kakizome contest in Tokyo - news notice on ABC The Newsletter of the Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix - Issue January/February 2009

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kakizome

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kakizome claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kakizome before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kakizome ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kakizome

In research: Kakizome appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kakizome in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kakizome is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics January observances, Japanese calligraphy, New Year in Japan, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kakizome outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Kakizome in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kakizome means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kakizome out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kakizome in simple terms?

Why does Kakizome matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kakizome?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kakizome.