TOKYO, July 9 (Reuters) - Back in the 1960s when then-college
student Kouichi Honda started learning Arabic in Japan, there were no grammar books,
hardly any language tapes and the Japanese didn't spend holidays climbing pyramids in
Egypt.
But 35 years later, dozens of Japanese, many with no knowledge of the Arabic language or
the Middle East, are signing up for Arabic calligraphy classes held by Honda, now 51.
``The Japanese are schooled in Chinese calligraphy from a very early age and are familiar
with script as an art form,'' said Honda, one of Japan's few, Arabic calligraphic artists.
``We can associate quite easily with the aesthetic aspects of writing, even if the writing
is Arabic, without having to rely on the precise meaning of the words,'' he said.
Written Japanese, a mix of Chinese characters and a 52-letter Japanese phonetic script, is
inscribed from top to bottom. By contrast, Arabic is a Semitic language which is written
horizontally from right to left.
Traditional Chinese and Japanese calligraphers use brushes. But Arabic calligraphers use
reed or bamboo pens to inscribe the graceful Arabic alphabet. Most of these are similar to
quill pens and are usually made by the scribe himself.
``There are an endless number of differences between the two written languages but people
are only beginning to realise the common aspects, such as the beauty of the lines created
by the words,'' Honda told Reuters.
Although he studied Arabic in university, Honda did not discover
Arabic calligraphy until he worked in Saudi Arabia as an interpreter for a Japanese firm
making maps for the kingdom's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
``We roamed the desert, recording bedouin names for wadis (desert river beds) and dunes
and a Saudi Arabian scribe would fill in the names on a blank map,'' Honda said. ``I
befriended the scribe and every night after work, he taught me the basics of Arabic
calligraphy by lamplight in a sand-filled tent in the middle of nowhere.''
When Honda returned to Japan in the late 1970s, he eked out a living teaching Arabic at
universities. He continued practicing calligraphy, inscribing banners for various Middle
Eastern embassy events and decorating the covers of instruction manuals of Japanese
products destined for the Arab world.
His ties with the embassies eventually helped him to enter his works in contests in the
Middle East. In 1996, he was chosen as one of the world's top five contemporary Arabic
calligraphers at a Kuwaiti government festival.
Arabic calligraphy had its golden age during the Ottoman Empire
(1299-1922), led by Turkish, not Arab, calligraphers.
In traditional works, lines from a poem or the Koran are surrounded by colourful,
arabesque designs.
But Honda's works have little decoration, much like Japanese calligraphy, and focus more
on the swooshes and swirls of the Arabic letters themselves.
Honda's works are often large enough to cover entire walls while traditional works are
smaller wall-hangings.
``I never went through an apprenticeship and I am based in Japan so it is easier for me to
break away from tradition, compared to other calligraphers,'' Honda said.
``But I am not trying to integrate oriental tastes with the Middle East, or much less,
Buddhism with Islam,'' he added.
``Over a thousand years, calligraphy masters have distilled the beauty of the alphabet
down to its present form and I too am fascinated by the aesthetics of the letters.''
Honda's 25-year infatuation with Arabic calligraphy has slowly
begun to make an impression in Japan, and his exhibitions and workshops draw large crowds.
Honda said he was at first surprised by the keen interest Japanese showed in Arabic
calligraphy, because he thought most Japanese associated the Middle East with stereotype
images of oil, terrorism and camels.
``I guess when given a chance, people, even if they know nothing about the culture or
geography, can appreciate conceptual things such as beauty, which is universal,'' he said.
``Perhaps my calligraphy will provide the Japanese with a chance to take an interest in
the Middle East, which could lead to a better understanding of a region and a culture
which is very different from ours.''
© Copyright 1997 Reuters Limited.
