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  3. Brushed in Light: Calligraphy in East Asian Cinema

Brushed in Light: Calligraphy in East Asian Cinema

Markus Nornes
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Drawing on a millennia of calligraphy theory and history, Brushed in Light examines how the brushed word appears in films and in film cultures of Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and PRC cinemas. This includes silent era intertitles, subtitles, title frames, letters, graffiti, end titles, and props. Markus Nornes also looks at the role of calligraphy in film culture at large, from gifts to correspondence to advertising. The book begins with a historical dimension, tracking how calligraphy is initially used in early cinema and how it is continually rearticulated by transforming conventions and the integration of new technologies. These chapters ask how calligraphy creates new meaning in cinema and demonstrate how calligraphy, cinematography, and acting work together in a single film. The last part of the book moves to other regions of theory. Nornes explores the cinematization of the handwritten word and explores how calligraphers understand their own work.
  • Cover
  • Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Dedication
  • Contents
  • Acknowledgements
  • Introduction
  • Chapter 1. Shufa/Seoye/Shodo
  • Chapter 2. Transformations
  • Chapter 3. Defining Calligraphy
  • Chapter 4. Force and Form
  • Chapter 5. A Prop Unlike Any Other
  • Chapter 6. The Shimmering Smudge
  • Conclusion: Brushed in Light
  • Bibliography
  • Index
This open access version made available by the University of Michigan, TOME initiative.
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Published: 2021
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license
ISBN(s)
  • 978-0-472-90243-9 (open access)
  • 978-0-472-13255-3 (hardcover)
Subject
  • Asian Studies
  • Media Studies

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Vertical calligraphy of the author’s name with a red seal from the artist in the bottom right.

Frontispiece

From Front Matter

Calligraphy with rough edges.

Introduction Title Image

From Introduction

A color photo of a city street focused on numerous signs with calligraphic text.

Fonting the City (Zì li chengjian, 2015)

From Introduction

Figure 0.1. Calligraphic writing is ubiquitous in the daily life and built spaces of East Asia and has been for millennia. In contemporary cities, most of this carved calligraphy was replaced by photographic enlargements, neon, and lettering mimicking the calligraphic. Wallace Chan’s Fonting the City (Zi li chengjian, 2015) is a lovely documentary about the gradual displacement of hand-brushed signs by digital fonts in Macao.

A Japanese gravestone with a calligraphic character carved into it. Many bottles and containers of alcohol are placed in front of it.

Grave of Ozu Yasujiro

From Introduction

Page 4 →Figure 0.2. The famous grave of Ozu Yasujiro has only the single calligraphic character 無, or “nothing.” It is surrounded by calligraphy one encounters in daily life, as in films, from the prayers on wooden strips to the labels on the offerings of sake.

Two images, with the smaller foreground image on the right displaying white calligraphy on a multicolored background. The larger background image, to the left, shows similar black calligraphy on a white and patterned background.

People Whose Work is Necessary Murder (Hissatsu shigotonin, 1972-)

From Introduction

Figure 0.3. Itomi Keinan’s famous calligraphy for People Whose Work Is Necessary Murder (Hissatsu shigotonin, 1972) and the scroll painting a friend gave me, evidencing the iterability built into calligraphy. A wedding present, Itomi left out the characters for “necessary murder”; however, the vigorous movement of Itomi’s body during the act of inscription is viscerally palpable and points to the show’s violence.

A montage of film title screens using calligraphic and stylized text.

Titles by Akamatsu Hikozo

From Introduction

Figure 0.4. Titles by Akamatsu Hikozo include (starting from upper left): Fireworks (Hanabi, 1997), Face (Kao, 2000), Dolls (2002), Water Boys (Wata boizu, 2001), Hikari (2017), The Chrysanthemum and the Guillotine (Kiku to girochin, 2018), This Road (Kono michi, 2018), One More Time, One More Chance (Tsuki to kabetsu, 1996), The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (Yuki yukite shingun, 1986), Zen (2009), Sekigahara (2017), International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo saiban, 1983), The Eel (Unagi, 1997), Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (Seiei o mamoribito, 2016), and Kids Return (1996), and An Artist of the Floating World (Ukiyo no gaka, 2019).

Black calligraphic writing on a white sheet, with an ink-covered chopstick beneath.

Akamatsu Hikozo’s beloved writing instruments

From Introduction

Figure 0.5. A disposable chopstick, one of Akamatsu Hikozo’s beloved writing instruments, sits on the original calligraphy for Brother (2000). Its tips are bulbous from layer upon layer of dried ink.

A film still of red calligraphic text over the background of an empty four lane street.

Akamatsu Hikozo’s beloved writing instruments

From Introduction

Figure 0.5. A disposable chopstick, one of Akamatsu Hikozo’s beloved writing instruments, sits on the original calligraphy for Brother (2000). Its tips are bulbous from layer upon layer of dried ink.

Two images, with the larger image on the left showing dense, white calligraphy above white roman text, on a black background. The smaller image on the right shows three, white calligraphic characters arranged vertically on a black background.

Examples of the pictographic qualities of the Chinese character calligraphy

From Introduction

Figure 0.6. These examples capitalize on the pictographic qualities of the Chinese character. The intertitle writer for Japanese Girls at the Harbor (Minato no Nihon musume, 1933) uses lettering to turn the character for mountain (山) into a pictograph of three peaks. On the left, calligrapher Tong Yang-tze uses calligraphic techniques to bring out the pictographic character for “face” 臉 for Tsai Ming-liang’s 2009 film.

A film still of white calligraphic text over the background of two people standing on a hill overlooking a hilly, rural landscape.

Genealogy (Jokbo, 1979)

From Introduction

Figure 0.7. Many Korean films use the hangul for “end” (끝) rather than the Chinese character. This is from Genealogy (Jokbo, 1979) by Im Kwon-taek, one of the directors in Asia that deeply cared about the calligraphy in his films.

A film still with white calligraphic text in the center, inside a white circle, with vertical lines of calligraphic text on the left and right side.

The Water Magician (Taki no shiraito, 1933)

From Introduction

Figure 0.8. The end title for Mizoguchi Kenji’s The Water Magician (Taki no shiraito, 1933) uses cursive calligraphy and is ornamented with ioriten, the squiggly lines framing text which indicate period and invoke the narratives of traditional theater and song.

A film still of white calligraphic text over the background of a man lying on his back, with blood on his face.

Afraid to Die (Karakkaze yo, 1960)

From Introduction

Figure 0.9. With delicious irony, the vanquished character in the yakuza film Afraid to Die (Karakkaze yaro, 1960) played by Mishima Yukio stares at “the end” title.

A film still of white calligraphic text over the background a man touching his face. The calligraphic text covers his eyes and much of his face.

Face of Another (Tanin no kao, 1966)

From Introduction

Figure 0.10. The main character in Face of Another (Tanin no kao, 1966) spent much of the film with bandages wrapping his face. At the end, his face is still covered, this time by calligraphy—his eyes peeping out of two holes in the character.

A film still of red calligraphic text (vertical) and red roman text (horizontal) over the background of an ornate courtyard and entrance, with two men fighting unarmed.

Warriors 2 (Zan xian sheng yu zhao qian hua, 1978)

From Introduction

Figure 0.11. The contrast between the calligraphy and the English typeface is striking at the end of Sammo Hung’s Warriors 2 (Zan xian sheng yu zhao qian hua, 1978).

A stylized portrait of an ancient Chinese man, with long hair and a beard. He is depicted with four eyes, with one set placed above the other. There is vertical, black calligraphic text on the upper right and left of the image.

Portrait of Cang Jie

From Introduction

Figure 0.12. Cang Jie is the mythical creator of Chinese characters. His monstrous appearance hints at the unique visuality of the Chinese character—its wonderful multidimensionality. The first input method for Chinese computing was named for him.

Black calligraphic text with rough edges.

Chapter 1 Title Image

From Chapter 1

Two film title screens with white roman text on black backgrounds.

Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (1924) and Faust (1926)

From Chapter 1

Figure 1.1. Blackletter calligraphy in the silent films Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (1924) and Faust (1926).

Two film title screens with roman text and sepia coloring.

Intolerance (1916) and Christopher Columbus (1949)

From Chapter 1

Figure 1.2. Intolerance (1916) and Christopher Columbus (1949) use variations of a humanistic hand, the latter with illuminated letters and the appearance of vellum.

A film still of a man dressed in formal clothes, in between two curtains, with vertical calligraphic text over the left and right edges of the image.

The Cheat (1915)

From Chapter 1

Page 20 →Figure 1.3. Native speakers clearly wrote the calligraphy for The Wrath of the Gods (1914). The medallion on the right says “Ince” in katakana, and the left has the characters for “company.” In contrast, most Western films use faux calligraphy for East Asian writing.

Two film stills, with the one on the left showing a schoolroom of young boys giving the Nazi salute, with white roman text at the bottom. The image on the right shows a book, with roman and calligraphic text on the cover.

Why We Fight: Prelude to War (1942)

From Chapter 1

Figure 1.4. America’s two enemies are othered through a calligraphic strategy in the propaganda classic Why We Fight: Prelude to War (1942), using blackletter for the Nazis and faux calligraphy for the Japanese.

Two images, with the one of the left showing a film still of red calligraphic text over red roman text, on a black background. The image on the right shows a part of the same calligraphic text, by a different artist, in black on a white background.

Goodbye Dragon Inn (Busan, 2003)

From Chapter 1

Figure 1.5. Tong Yang-tze, one of the great calligraphers in Taiwan, included a tribute to the fourth-century master Wang Xizhi (right) in her title for Tsai Ming-liang’s Goodbye Dragon Inn (Busan, 2003).

A film still of traditional Japanese room, with a man entering on the right side and a short screen on the floor, in the middle. On the far wall, in the middle, is a scroll with black calligraphic text.

Tokonoma in Harakiri (Seppuku, 1962)

From Chapter 1

Figure 1.6. The tokonoma in Harakiri (Seppuku, 1962) displays a stunning bokuseki, probably written by Teshigawara Sofu. It is the character 喝, or katsu; this is the word Zen masters say—“Ka!”—when they strike a disciple caught sleeping during meditation. Note that in this modernist work, the calligraphy is perfectly centered.

A photo of a calligrapher leaning over a large white piece of paper, drawing thick calligraphic text. At the left of the photo, are additional brushes, bowl of ink, and other supplies.

Calligraphy Japonaise (1956)

From Chapter 1

Figure 1.7. Eguchi Sogen, one of the first modernist masters, paints with a fistful of brushes in Peter Alechinsky’s Calligraphy Japonaise (1956).

A film still of white calligraphic text over the background of ornate gateways.

Title card in Harakiri (Seppuku, 1962)

From Chapter 1

Figure 1.8. Teshigawara Sofu, the founder of the Sogetsu school of Ikebana, wrote the title calligraphy for Harakiri (Seppuku, 1962).

A set of four images of calligraphic characters.

Face of Another (Tanin no kao, 1966)

From Chapter 1

Figure 1.9. Teshigawara Sofu’s title calligraphy for Face of Another (Tanin no kao, 1966) is a stunning riff on clerical style.

A film title still of black calligraphic text over the background of decorated paper.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring (Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom, 2003)

From Chapter 1

Figure 1.10. Hangul calligraphy on a lovely paperscape, from the title of Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter . . . and Spring (Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom, 2003).

A film still of red and black calligraphic text alongside black roman text, over a blue background.

The Bow (Hwal, 2005)

From Chapter 1

Figure 1.11. The title for Kim Ki-duk’s The Bow (Hwal, 2005) uses calligraphic hangul (활). By unconventionally extending the final strokes and painting them in black, they transform into the Chinese character for “bow” (弓).

A film still of two sets of black calligraphic text, with smaller sets of text to the lower left and right.

Kagemusha (1980)

From Chapter 1

Figure 1.12. Nobel Prize-winning novelist Kawabata Yasunari gifted his own calligraphy for the adaptation of Snow Country (Yukiguni, 1957). The two broad strokes framing character for “country” turn it into a closed, bounded space.

A still of white calligraphic text over a black background.

Stereopticon card of Osaka’s Dotenburi entertainment district

From Chapter 1

Figure 1.13. Umehara Seizan’s calligraphy for Kagemusha (1980); along with Im Kwon-taek and King Hu, Kurosawa Akira was one of the directors who cared deeply about the calligraphy in his films.

Black calligraphic text with rough edges.

Chapter 2 Title Image

From Chapter 2

A stereopticon card, showing a historical street with pedestrians walking underneath banners and flags covered with calligraphic text.

Chushingura: Heaven and Earth Episodes (Chushingura: ten no maki, chi no maki, 1938)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.1. At its invention, cinema was seen in relation to popular amusements from traditional storytelling to new technologies of vision like the stereopticon. This stereopticon card shows Osaka’s Dotenburi entertainment district in 1904. The large banners advertise “the world’s longest color film.”

A black and white photo of an old theater, with a crowd gathered in front. Calligraphic text covers the numerous boards over the entrance way and the paper lanterns in front.

Teikokukan in Kyoto

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.2. The Teikokukan in Kyoto, when it was showing Makino Masahiro’s Chushingura: Heaven and Earth Episodes (Chushingura: ten no maki, chi no maki, 1938). The theater is covered with calligraphy, from the title on the lanterns to the all-star cast above the entrance. Courtesy of the National Film Archive of Japan.

A blue-red-white colored program, with calligraphic text in the center, anchor and red sun to the left, and the Imperial Japanese flag to the right.

Program at Kyoto’s Teikokukan

From Chapter 2

Page 36 →Figure 2.3. Spectators at Kyoto’s Teikokukan received programs like this one, which combines calligraphy and lettering. Courtesy of the National Film Archive of Japan.

Three film stills, showing intertitle screens and their calligraphic text descriptions.

Typical calligraphic intertitles for the silent films

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.4. Typical calligraphic intertitles for the silent films The Goddess (Shennu, 1934), Chushingura (1903), and A Public Prosecutor and a Female Teacher (Geomsa-wa yeoseonsaeng, 1948). Chushingura courtesy of the National Film Archive of Japan.

A detail of an intertitle screen’s calligraphic text, white on black.

Original calligraphic intertitles for the silent films

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.5. In the silent era, intertitles were brushed on black cards with white ink made from shells. Few of these cards are extant. The top example survived because Kawai Productions in Kyoto used it as a script cover. The bottom example comes from an unknown film and was preserved in an album owned by actor Onoe Monya. An art deco variation of clerical style, it shows the care with which these brush styles were conceived and executed. Courtesy of the National Film Archive of Japan (top) and benshi Kataoka Ichiro (bottom).

The inside cover and title page of a book. The inside cover page has white calligraphic text on black and the title page has black calligraphic text on yellowed paper.

Original calligraphic intertitles for the silent films

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.5. In the silent era, intertitles were brushed on black cards with white ink made from shells. Few of these cards are extant. The top example survived because Kawai Productions in Kyoto used it as a script cover. The bottom example comes from an unknown film and was preserved in an album owned by actor Onoe Monya. An art deco variation of clerical style, it shows the care with which these brush styles were conceived and executed. Courtesy of the National Film Archive of Japan (top) and benshi Kataoka Ichiro (bottom).

Two film stills showing white calligraphic text on a black background. The image on the left has a stylized checkerboard hallway and elements.

Tokyo March (Tokyo koshinkyoku, 1929) and Orochi (1925)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.6. Some titles echoed modernist art movements like art deco and expressionism. Here are Mizoguchi Kenji’s Tokyo March (Tokyo koshinkyoku, 1929) and Futagawa Buntaro’s Orochi (1925).

A woman in a kimono with a paper parasol, with calligraphic text written on it, standing in front of trees.

The Masseurs and a Woman (Anma to onna, 1938)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.7. The calligraphic parasol in Shimizu Hiroshi’s The Masseurs and a Woman (Anma to onna, 1938) indicates the hot springs setting and class.

Four images showing subtitle cards for films, using white calligraphic text on black and grey patterned backgrounds.

Subtitle cards

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.8. In the talkies era, subtitles were brushed on black cards for optical printing. These cards are by Tamura Yukihiko, Japan’s first subtitler. Courtesy of the Toyota City Museum of Local History.

A film still showing two men and a woman sitting on the floor of a room, with a desk and bookshelf around them. A calligraphy scroll is on the wall to the left, while the right side of the still has white calligraphic text for the subtitle.

Spring of Korean Peninsula (Bando-ui bom, Korea, 1941)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.9. Spring of Korean Peninsula (Bando-ui bom, Korea, 1941): Both the scroll (left) and subtitle (right) are brushed, but one is so cursive it is virtually illegible while the other is designed for easy reading. The scroll is in Chinese, suggesting an upper class family, but the subtitle for this Korean film is in Japanese, the language of the colonizer.

A film still showing two individuals moving away from the viewer into a lit area, while white calligraphic subtitles are placed at the bottom of the image, with a white dot placed above them.

Street Angel (Malu Tianshi, 1937)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.10. Street Angel (Malu tianshi, 1937) includes subtitled songs with a bouncing ball cueing audience participation.

A film title still of red calligraphic text over an abstract background.

Battles Without Honor or Humanity (Jingi maki tatakai, 1973)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.11. Conventionalized calligraphy for the yakuza film evokes slashing blades and drops of blood: Battles without Honor or Humanity (Jingi naki tatakai, 1973).

Six images showing various storage areas, containing props of wood planks, scrolls, paper lanterns, and paper fans with calligraphy on them, as well as brushes and ink bowls.

Props departments of East Asian cinema

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.12. Props departments of East Asian cinema; clockwise from upper left: Shanghai, Seoul, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo, and Beijing.

A film title still of white calligraphic text over a black background

Throne of Blood (Kumo no sujo, lit. Cobweb Castle, Japan, 1957)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.13. Starting with Throne of Blood (Kumo no sujo, lit. Cobweb Castle, Japan, 1957), Kurosawa Akira used famous calligraphers for his films’ titles. For this one, calligrapher Kaneko Otei chose a brush with fraying hairs that created stray lines like cobwebs. It announces the film as an eerie ghost story.

A film title still of black calligraphic text above black roman text, with a red calligrapher’s seal in the lower right corner, over a white background

The Swordsman (Xiao ao jiang hu, 1990)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.14. King Hu was one of Asia’s directors who deeply cared about calligraphy, usually writing his own for his films; for The Swordsman (Xiao ao jiang hu, 1990), he even affixed his seal at the lower right.

A film still of a woman wearing a kimono seated behind a short table, alongside a wood-burning stove. Behind her, to the left, is a wall covered in black calligraphic text.

Double Suicide (Shinju ten no Amijima, 1969)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.15. Double Suicide (Shinju ten no Amijima, 1969): the woodblock print-inspired production design of Awazu Kiyoshi envelops characters in a calligraphic space.

A film still of calligraphic text painted along the edge of a closed eyelid.

Gewaltopia Trailer (Gebarutopia yokokuhen, 1968)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.16. The title of Gewaltopia Trailer (Gebarutopia yokokuhen, 1968).

Two images, with the upper image being a color-coded spreadsheet of calligraphic characters. The lower image is a film still taken from the above sheet, with white calligraphic character on a blue background.

Everything Visible is Empty (Shiki soku zeku, 1975)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.17. Everything Visible Is Empty (Shiki soku zeku, 1975) is an experimental film copying and performing the Heart Sutra. The calligraphy is by director Matsumoto Toshio himself. Matsumoto organized each shot placement using the color-coded score above the image. Courtesy of Matsumoto Toshio.

White calligraphic text at the bottom of a starry background, above samples of computer-generated calligraphic text in the same style.

Examples of fonts based on calligraphy

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.18. When computers displaced brushed subtitling in the 1990s, font designers imitated the calligraphic styles that were established sixty years before (see fig. 2.3). This font is based on the hand of veteran subtitle writer Sato Hideo, who created two versions. VP Pachi imitates the gaps and shortcuts of acid-etched subs; VP Yakikomi models photo-chemical, printed subs. Courtesy of Sato Hideo and Font Alliance Network.

A film poster with black and white calligraphic text, as well as red roman text, over an image of three men bloodied and fighting, wearing white shirts and black suitcoats.

Die Bad (Jukgeona hokeun nabbeugeona, 2000)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.19. Die Bad (Jukgeona hokeun nabbeugeona, 2000); this poster design, with flourishes mimicking the spitting blood, marks a turning point in Korean title design.

A film poster with red and white calligraphic text, and red roman text, over an image of a man in a dark jacket and white shirt holding a knife in his left hand and a bound individual with green hair by the throat with his right hand.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Boksuneun naui geot, 2002)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.20. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Boksuneun naui geot, 2002)—the final character’s spike was designed to work against the knife in the film’s poster. Courtesy of CJ.

Two film posters, with red calligraphic text for the titles and white, yellow, and red for detail text. The poster on the left is set over a man and woman in period attire, while the poster on the right is set over a woman holding a sprawling man at her lap.

Pieta (2012)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.21. Choi Ji-Woong modeled his calligraphy for Kim Ki-Duk’s Pieta (2012) on a logo for Jane Eyre (1943), which he found on a flyer from his personal collection. Courtesy of Propaganda and Kim Ki-Duk.

A film title still with three calligraphic and roman texts, in various colors, over a background of a misty river and several sailing ships.

Red Cliff 2 (Chi bi Part II: Jue han tian xia, 2009)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.22. Red Cliff 2 (Chi bi Part II: Jue han tian xia, 2009) uses a collage of characters from ancient masters.

White calligraphic text on a faintly patterned black background.

Rubbing of a stele with calligraphy for “A Poem for General Pei” by Yan Zenqing’s (709-785)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.23. Rubbing of a stele with calligraphy for “A Poem for General Pei” by Yan Zenqing’s (709–785), one of the most famous calligraphers in history. A designer borrowed the character for “war” (戦; bottom middle) for the logo of Red Cliff 2 (Chi bi Part II: Jue han tian xia, 2009; fig. 2.22). Courtesy of the Taito City Calligraphy Museum.

A series of images showing an animated sequence (clockwise from upper left) shows a blood vessel crystalizing into calligraphic white text.

Drug War (Du zhan, 2012)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.24. Johnny To’s Drug War (Du zhan, 2012) combines the same Yan Zenqing character for war with the character for “poison” brushed by Yuan Dynasty scholar and calligrapher Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322; upper left). The animated sequence (clockwise from upper left) shows a blood vessel crystalizing into cocaine and sprinkling into the shape of the film’s title.

A series of images (right to left) showing a calligraphic character appearing, then slowly rotating and adopting details reflecting the seasonal progression.

An animated calligraph (生)

From Chapter 2

Figure 2.25. An animated calligraph (生) by calligrapher Sisyu and Team Labo appears out of the ether, then slowly spins from winter, through spring to summer.

Black calligraphic text with rough edges.

Chapter 3 Title Image

From Chapter 3

Four film stills with black or white calligraphic text on a grey or black background.

Calligraphic stills from films of Yoshida Kiju

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.1. Yoshida Kiju prefers the “coolness” of type, which activates spectators and resists their desire for a hint about the movie to come. Clockwise from upper left: Flame and Women (Hono to onna, 1967), Eros Plus Massacre (Erosu purasu gyakusatsu, 1969), The Affair (Joen, 1967), and Good for Nothing (Rokudenashi, 1960).

A film still showing an arm with a calligraphic character cut into it, alongside the bedsheet which has calligraphic characters written on it in blood.

A Woman Named Abe Sada (Jitsuroku Abe Sada, 1975)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.2. Based on an actual incident, the main character of A Woman Named Abe Sada (Jitsuroku Abe Sada, 1975) castrates her lover, paints their names on their futon with a finger dipped in his blood (“Sada, Kichi Alone”), then carves her name into his arm.

A film still with white calligraphic characters on a black background.

Failan (2001)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.3. The wispy characters of Failan (2001) were achieved by using tissue paper rather than brush, matching the melodrama of the weepie.

A film poster with white calligraphic text in the bottom right, over a background of a man and a woman sensually embracing in slight undress.

Ardor (Mil-ae, 2002)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.4. For Byun Young-ju’s Ardor (Mil-ae, 2002), Oh Seung-wook’s calligraphy mimics the sensuous curves of the lover’s bodies.

Four film stills depicting calligraphic text written on (clockwise from upper left) a face with eyes closed, a back of someone laying face down, arms and chest being written on, and a chest with dense writing.

Examples of painting on skin

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.5. Painting on skin, rather than paper, is usually connected to magic spells (clockwise from upper left): Kwaidan (1964), Ugetsu Monogatari (1953), Brave Archer (She diao yingxiong chuan, 1977), and Hanging Tree (Janyeomog, 1985).

A film still with a wide entrance, with calligraphic text on the two windows on either side of the open entry, as well as on a sign further inside. A man in a coat and hat stands just outside the door, smoking. A woman stands just inside, behind the window on the left, in a red coat and striped sweater. Another individual can be seen in silhouette, further inside.

Platform (Zhantai, 2000)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.6. Substituting glass for paper, Jia Zhangke exploits the special qualities of cinema to turn glass frames within the film frame into traditional couplets in Platform (Zhantai, 2000).

A film still with calligraphic white text on a background of ornamental black and white.

Chushingura (1941)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.7. Chushingura (1941) uses an ornamented background, which Thomas Lamarre calls a “paperscape.”

A film still with black calligraphic text on a textured white background.

Akitsu Onsen (1962)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.8. The paperscape from Yoshida Kiju’s Akitsu Onsen (1962) is textural, not pictorial; the calligraphy is by Shinoda Toko, one of the most important modern artists of Japan.

Two photos, with the image on the left showing a long, open dresser shelf, with calligraphic scrolls inside. Two partially unrolled scrolls lay atop the dresser, slightly askew; one has black calligraphic text on sepia background, while the other has black calligraphic text on a red background. The image on the right shows a detailed image of ink and paper, which is speckled with black.

Scroll paintings in props department of the Shanghai Film Studio

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.9. A thirty-foot long, double-sided cabinet in the props department of the Shanghai Film Studio is chock-full of scroll paintings. The scroll on the left features seal script; the one on the right uses a red paperscape with flecks of gold. On the right is a close-up of another work painted on a paperscape specific to cinema: the brand-new paper has been lightly sprayed with ink to give it an antiqued appearance onscreen.

A photo of ceramic cups covering a table, with two inkstones set on top of them; a larger one in back and a smaller, glossier one in front.

Well-used ink stones and brush cups from the props department of Namyangju Film Studio

From Chapter 3

Page 66 →Figure 3.10. Well-used inkstones and brush cups from the props department of Namyangju Film Studio, near Seoul.

Two film stills with the one on the left showing a woman in a wheelchair touching a large, smooth stone while a man in a chair watches her. The image on the right shows a younger woman lounge against the same stone while a man in a chair watches her.

Inkstone (Yantai, 1996)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.11. Inkstone (Yantai, 1996) centers on an old Chinese woman who owns a bed-sized inkstone. Flashbacks to her youth (right) bring out the erotics of the fourth treasure.

A film still showing an open sliding door, with calligraphic text written on both sides of the door and doorway. A woman in black clothes stands in the doorway, with a woman in a kimono standing further beyond.

The Affair (Joen, 1967)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.12. In The Affair (Joen, 1967), director Yoshida Kiju has his actor read this poem as she writes it on the fusama, otherwise most viewers could not read the cursive grass-style calligraphy.

A film still showing a man in red clothes painting a large, red calligraphic character on a very large sheet on the floor, inside a wooden room.

Hero (Yingxiong, 2002)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.13. Set in 227 BC and centered on an assassination attempt on the First Emperor of Qin, Zhang Yimou’s Hero (Yingxiong, 2002) is filled with scenes of writing. This major prop uses seal style, which achieved a relatively unified form by this moment in history.

Four film stills showing several scenes (clockwise from top left) of a calligrapher showing his brush, writing on someone’s back, writing on someone’s forehead while their arms are outstretched, and another man standing one-legged atop a table.

Magnificent Butcher (Lin Shirong, 1979)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.14. Kwan Tak-ming, as the kung fu master Wong Fei-hung, turns the brush into a weapon in a spectacular fight scene from Yuen Woo-ping’s Magnificent Butcher (Lin Shirong, 1979). He paints the character 殺 (“kill/murder/slaughter”) on his enemy’s chest, humiliating him rather than killing him.

A photo of two red personal seals with white calligraphic text on a white paper background.

Personal seals of Kurosawa Akira

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.15. The many personal seals owned by Kurosawa Akira (黒澤明) always used ancient seal style. The one on the right also has his English initials, AK. Courtesy of the Kurosawa Digital Archive.

A film still of faintly orange calligraphic text on a black background.

Yellow Earth (Huang tudi, 1984)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.16. Yellow Earth (Huang tudi, 1984) uses clerical style to infuse a sense of enduring history into the opening of the film, which is set during the Japanese invasion of China. In the first line, the effect of seeing a modern date (一九三七年九月) in ancient script is striking.

A film intertitle still of yellow calligraphic text on a yellow-brown background.

Backward Flow (Gyakuryu, Japan, 1924)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.17. An intertitle from Backward Flow (Gyakuryu, Japan, 1924) renders a quote from a famous Noh play in grass style. Now such cursive writing requires special training to read: 千代のためしのかずかずに何を引かまし姫小松.

A film title still with white calligraphic text on a black background.

Lady Jang (Janghuibin, 1961)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.18. The title card for Lady Jang (Janghuibin, 1961) uses semi-cursive walking style for the characters 張禧嬪.

A film still with blue calligraphic text on a yellow-brown background.

An Autumn Afternoon (Sanma no aji, 1962)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.19. Ozu Yasujiro’s An Autumn Afternoon (Sanma no aji, 1962) uses standard-style calligraphy, which was deliberately written at a slow pace, laid with care, stroke by stroke.

A film still with white calligraphic text over a background of tall, wind-blown grass.

Onibaba (1984)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.20. Onibaba (1984) deploys an eclectic style with wispy strokes to echo the grass of the screenscape while simultaneously setting the stage for the film’s ghost story.

A film poster with white and red calligraphic and roman text, over a background image of several people and logs laying across a train track leading towards a city. A barricade can be seen further on.

Petition (Shang fang, 2009)

From Chapter 3

Page 74 →Figure 3.21. Director Zhao Liang asked the famous art critic and patron of Chinese modern art Li Xianting to write the title for Petition (Shang fang, 2009). After the production, Zhao had the original mounted and proudly displays it in his studio.

A film still with red calligraphic text on a white background.

House of Flying Daggers (Shi man mai fu, 2004)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.22. The characters for House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu, 2004) were written with great velocity, exemplifying a favorite saying of Chinese calligraphers: “Loose enough for a horse to pass; tight enough to stop the wind.”

A film still with white calligraphic text on an abstract black and grey background.

Grandmaster (Yidai Zongshi, 2013)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.23: Wong Kar-wai’s Grandmaster (Yidai zongshi, 2013),

A film title still with white calligraphic text on a black background.

What Time is it Over There? (Ni na bian ji dian, 2001)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.24. Tong Yang-tze’s title for Tsai Ming-lian’s What Time Is It Over There? (Ni na bian ji dian, 2001) has a strange V-shaped design, evoking the hands of a clock.

A film still of calligraphic text being written on a sheet of paper, with the brush visibly on a downstroke.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.25. When the deceptively dangerous Zhang Ziyi writes Michelle Yeoh’s name, she deforms the character 俞 through impressive cursive shorthand, giving it the distinct appearance of the character for sword—劍—and revealing her secret martial arts training.

Four film stills showing several scenes (clockwise from top left) of a woman speaking towards the viewer with a man in the background looking away, the woman speaking to the man facing her overlaid by black calligraphic text on white paper, a water splat on a black calligraphic character, and numerous sheets of white paper with black calligraphic text.

Red Cliff 2 (Chi bi, 2008)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.26. (clockwise from upper-left): In Red Cliff 2 (Chi bi, 2008), a husband bids farewell to his wife as he departs for battle. They make love in the rain, and a single raindrop falls on one of her practice sheets for “calm/quiet/peace” 平安, landing squarely on the radical for “woman” 女.

Four film stills showing several scenes of numerous white paper sheets with black calligraphic characters on them, being rearranged by a figure seen over their shoulder.

Shuffled papers in Red Cliff 2 (Chi bi, 2008)

From Chapter 3

Figure 3.27. (clockwise from upper-left): In a subsequent scene, her practice sheets are blown onto the floor. The husband shuffles the paper around. When the sheets for 乃 and 子 combine to make 孕, he realizes she is with child.

Black calligraphic text with rough edges.

Chapter 4 Title Image

From Chapter 4

A row of the same black calligraphic character on a white background, written in different styles.

“Crushed” characters by various ancient masters for 書, “to write.”

From Chapter 4

Figure 4.1. “Crushed” characters by various ancient masters for 書, “to write.”

A film still of black calligraphic text on a grainy gray background.

Crushed characters in a diegetic letter in The Water Magician (Taki no shiraito, 1933).

From Chapter 4

Figure 4.2. Crushed characters in a diegetic letter in The Water Magician (Taki no shiraito, 1933).

A film still of two individuals standing side-by-side in period clothing, with face-covering paper hanging from their hats, covered in red calligraphic text.

Mr. Vampire (Jiangshi Xiansheng, 1985)

From Chapter 4

Figure 4.3. In Mr. Vampire (Jiangshi xiansheng, 1985), the illegible charms of this Hong Kong comedy don’t need to be read.

A photo of an old and yellowed book opened to pages showing charts and details of calligraphic characters. A purple and white pamphlet has been paper clipped to the interior of the left page.

Model book from Toei Uzumasa Studio

From Chapter 4

Figure 4.4. This model book from Toei Uzumasa Studio in Kyoto is a source book assembled ages ago in the prop department to guide art designers. It has models for all manner of sign, fan, menu, lantern, and other props, specifying proper content and calligraphic style depending on object and time period.

Large and messy red calligraphic text on a white background.

Zhe Teng: According to China (Zhe Teng, 2010)

From Chapter 4

Figure 4.5. Were Chinese characters painted by the principles of abstract expressionism, the result would be akin to Wang Wo’s Zhe Teng: According to China (Zhe Teng, 2010), where the individual stroke does not call for attention

A film still of white calligraphic text over a background of a hand gripping the hilt of a sword, held at someone’s waist.

Kill! (Kiru, 1968)

From Chapter 4

Figure 4.6. Most films with a title and subject matter like Kill! (Kiru, 1968) would use spiky, violent strokes. This calligrapher builds the swelling desire to kill into the thick strokes of his title—which literally and ironically means “killing a human with a slicing blade.”

A film still of black calligraphic text on a white sheet, framed by shadows, with white subtitles outlined below.

Patriotism (Yukoku, 1966)

From Chapter 4

Figure 4.7. The strokes in the title of Patriotism (Yukoku, 1966) pull apart as if they could tumble in a heap, imparting anxiety and doubt, calling into question the very nature of “patriotism.”

A film still of red calligraphic text (vertical) and red roman text (horizontal) over the background of an bamboo forest, with two men fighting unarmed.

Warriors 2 (Zan xian sheng yu zhao qian hua, 1978)

From Chapter 4

Figure 4.8. The pre-title sequence in Warriors 2 (Zan xian sheng yu zhao qian hua, 1978) ends with this freeze-frame, the line of characters displaying a symmetry echoing the screenscape. The characters also become progressively smaller toward the middle, propelling the eye across the frame.

A film still of a man in white traditional clothes, seated at a small table, with calligraphy-covered screens behind and diagonally across from him. A man in blue and white approaches from the right, from outside.

Chunhyang (Chunhyangjeon, 2000)

From Chapter 4

Figure 4.9. In Chunhyang (Chunhyangjeon, 2000), as in other films, Im Kwon-taek typically places characters in front of screenscapes of calligraphy.

Four film stills showing various characters in the foreground, with screens covered in calligraphic text behind them.

Examples of analogues to the screenscape with props, in Korean period films

From Chapter 4

Figure 4.10. Korean period films often create analogues to the screenscape with props. Here are typical examples (clockwise from the upper left) from The Villainess (Aknyeo, 2017), The Happy Day of Maeng Jin-sa (Maeng Jin-sadaek gyeongsa, 1962), Genealogy (Jokbo, 1979), and Madame Freedom (Jayu buin, 1956).

A film still of a man kneeling in the center of a room with an arm out to a row of men at left, with his back to a mostly off-screen row of men at right. A screen with calligraphic text appears behind the left row of men and far in the back of the room.

Ginpei from Koina (Koina no Ginpei, Yuki no Wataridori, 1934)

From Chapter 4

Figure 4.11. Calligraphic screens are relatively unusual in Japanese cinema. However, one scene in Ginpei from Koina (Koina no Ginpei, Yuki no Wataridori, 1934) has both, screens along the left edge and a massive scroll in the right-hand tokonoma.

A film still of a bicycle resting against a wall and the calligraphy scroll hanging there, set apart from a larger traditional room.

24 Eyes (Niju-shi no hitomi, 1954)

From Chapter 4

Figure 4.12. A present sits in the honored space of a tokonoma in 24 Eyes (Niju-shi no hitomi, 1954), the vertical stroke of the calligraphy carefully displaced from the very center of the frame.

A film still of someone holding a calligraphy-covered umbrella, standing in front of a broken gate. Numerous poncho-wearing individuals can be seen in the background, running away.

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (Zatoichi to Yojinbo, 1970)

From Chapter 4

Figure 4.14. The strong image of the calligraphic umbrella tilts the composition in Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (Zatoichi to Yojinbo, 1970).

A film still of a rainy and muddy street, with several pedestrians and their calligraphy-covered umbrellas viewed from above.

Staging Actors in Kill! (Kiru, 1968)

From Chapter 4

Figure 4.13. Kill! (Kiru, 1968): staging actors’ movement starts with the calligraphic props.

A film still of two men in suits sitting on the left and right side of the image. Between them, in the background, is a shelf full of various items, including a display plate with calligraphy on it.

Brother (2000)

From Chapter 4

Figure 4.15. In Brother, the two yakuza may be arranged with perfect symmetry, but the calligraphic plate is pushed ever so slightly off-center.

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