William Reed provides an insider’s view of the Art, based on his own journey over nearly 50 years from mystery to mastery in Shodo. He is a Professional Calligrapher, holding the highest rank possible in Shodo 10th-Dan, Certified Professor of Calligraphy, Numerous Awards in International Competitions, Regular Exhibitions in Ginza Tokyo, and is Vice Chairman of the Japan Calligraphy Education Association. He is a Professor of Calligraphy and Kanji Culture at the International College of Liberal Arts (iCLA) at Yamanashi Gakuin University in Japan, where he teaches Japanese and overseas students from over 30 countries. He also conducts a Shodo School providing lessons and demonstrations online. He regularly performs and demonstrates calligraphy in Japanese documentaries about the Samurai, and on Japanese television. He conducts live performances of Calligraphy on Stages, Historic Sites, Documentaries, Martial Arts Magazines and Dojos, Shinto Shrines and Zen Temples. He is the author of Shodo: the Art of Mind, Body, and Brush (Japan Publications, 1989), Shodo in the Digital Age (Japan Creativity Society, 2017), Enhanced Creativity and Concentration in the Mastery of Kanji (Japan Creativity Society, 2018), and Brush is the Sword of the Mind, a ongoing column with videos in Gekkan Hiden and on https://budojapan.com.
