草書

• 読み: そうしょ
• ローマ字: sousho
• 漢字の分解: 草 (sō) — rough, draft; 書 (sho) — writing, script
• 発音: /so.ː.ɕo/

意味

Cursive script; running hand calligraphy. A highly abbreviated and flowing style of Chinese and Japanese calligraphy that is difficult for the untrained eye to decipher.

One of the five main scripts of Chinese calligraphy (楷書, 行書, 草書, 隷書, 篆書), 草書 is the most abbreviated and fluid. Characters are written with minimal pen lifts, strokes are merged, and forms can deviate greatly from standard block script. While aesthetically prized for its vitality, it is largely unreadable to non-specialists. In Japan, the hiragana syllabary evolved directly from 草書 forms of specific Chinese characters (草仮名).

例文

1. 草書で書かれた古文書を解読できる専門家は今や少ない。
2. 書道の道を極めると、最終的には草書の美しさに引かれていく。
3. 草書の起源は中国の漢代にさかのぼると言われている。

使い方ガイド

場面: calligraphy, palaeography, art history

トーン: scholarly

起源と歴史

From 草 (sō — rough, unfinished) and 書 (sho — writing, script). The 'rough' or hastily executed quality of the abbreviated characters gives this script its name, contrasting with the regular, upright 楷書 (regular script).

文化的背景

時代: Han dynasty origin, classical Japan

世代: Calligraphy students, scholars

社会的背景: Cultural