Fudé

 
The Fudé-brush - a short bamboo pipe with a tassel of animal hair - was the original writing tool for the Japanese. It was invented in China about 2000 years ago, and until recently was the only utensil for character writing in China, Korea, and Japan. It is still widely used throughout the Orient.

Why is Fudé used? Because pens, ballpoints, and pencils with their hard tips are not appropriate for the true style of Japanese letters. They cannot convey the art of each stroke. Although the hard-pointed instruments are popular for practical use, students today in primary and secondary schools all over Japan must learn to write with Fudé.

The study of true, precise Japanese character-writing, therefore, begins with learning to use the Fudé-brush.

Fudé-writing reveals very delicately the motion of the person handling the brush. It's sometimes amusing to notice that with one and the same Fudé, different users can show widely different styles and motions. Manipulating Fudé is an art showing the character of its user.