Why Japanese Calligraphy Brushes Are So Expensive | So Expensive

I love how all these Japanese stories are almost the same and show the same quality. Patience and humility. They spend decades learning a craft and still find the urge to learn more.

"It's about making a brush that suits each person." Imagine having a shop ala Ollivander Wands but for brushes.

He makes his craft look so easy yet, it's truly labour intensive. It's a pleasure to watch their talents being passed down generation to generation yet, the quality still remains amazing. No corners are cut, it's just pure talent and passion.

About the broken lines: I have just had the opportunity to speak to a professional Japanese Calligrapher. She told me that in the advanced levels of Japanese Calligraphy, the emphasis is on conveying the meaning of the letter or word through the way it's written, kind of like Abstract Paintings, rather than producing a perfect looking letter. In the beginning phases, you are expected to write without broken lines but later you can break the rules to convey more meaning.

Seeing how delicate the process is those brushes are definitely expensive.

"Why are your things so expensive." Japan: Quality France: cause it's French

Master brushmaker: “You don’t want the brush to produce broken lines.” Master calligrapher: Proceeds to make nothing but broken lines

i find myself becoming emotional watching this. I’m a third generation American calligrapher and photorealistic artist, and some of my earliest memories are with my grandmother, learning the form of my letters. As an adult, I take great pride in each one, as it represents her and my family. When in daily life I hand someone a list, I’m incredibly proud when they freeze and ask if I’m the one who wrote something so beautiful. Each mistake is by itself heartbreaking and a failure. I’ve spent weeks on a project just to slip and ruin a piece in such a way that no one else will notice, but that she would spot from across the room on a cloudy day. Yes, the brush matters. Yes, the ink matters. And i’m very touched that somewhere in the world exists those who would spend just as much time and effort to provide me with the materials I need to make my family proud.

Did calligraphy when I was in high school. It was a required but minor part of a subject. I found it tedious but everyone had praised me for my calligraphy skills and I've even joined a few contests for it (never won though). And I must say, the quality of calligraphy brushes makes a HUGE difference. In my experience, no matter how "good" I was, if my brush was trash, my result would be trash. My mom invested in a good quality calligraphy brush because she believes that if one is spending money, might as well go for quality, and it made such a huge difference for my amateur skills.

other than the brush itself, the next shocking thing is that he’s 70

As a silversmith I can clearly see why they want high end tools with precision. I sometimes use tools of 0.1mm to create symbols and runes etc. Really admire people who create quality.

This reminds me my very Western brushes, that i bought when i was a studdent at the art school. I had 2 sets: 1, "cheap" ( high quality synthetic), for mixing colors and trace rough lines of a drawing. Another set for the final work and fine details made with natural hair. Each brush costed around 20-60Euro apiece, in moden money. I have finished the art school 30 years ago and both my sets are perfectly functional, although the synthetic set has lost a lot in terms of shape and flexibility, the natural hair brushes still perfect like the first day.

HE'S 70? Damn he looks about 40, I hope I look that good when I get to that age.

Whenever I visit Japan, I notice it’s cultural emphasis on Craftmanship. It is a culture which truly honours the craft and its expert.

I have so much respect for those traditional, highly skilled craftsmen

Every time I watch one of these one of these videos, my mind gets blown yet again at the dedication artisans in Japan have for their craft. In the most flattering way possible, it’s absolutely insane

Simply stunning. As much as technology has advanced, human determination and dedication always amazes me.

Guess japanese people take 20 years for perfection in their way. Have seen many videos after subscribing this channel. But amazed to know that why everyone take that much time !!!!!!!

This is one of the reasons that my favorite sketching pencil is japanese made, The quality is unrivaled.

I love that he poured his passion into a brush for over 20 years, something that will be passed on for generations.