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青空 (Blue Sky) in regular script (kaisho), Japanese calligraphy model sheet

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Blue Sky

aozora2 characters16 strokes

青空 (aozora) means a blue sky: a clear sky without a single cloud, and the fresh, cheerful feeling that goes with it.

Free practice sheet

Regular script · PDF, 2 pages (model + tracing) · 245 KB

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Meaning

What means

The Japanese word for Blue Sky, written with 2 kanji and read aozora.

Aozora is a clear blue sky with no clouds in it. The word also suggests a fresh, cheerful mood, like the feeling of a fine, sunny day.

When people write it in Japan. Aozora is a popular word for pieces from spring into summer and for seasonal practice.

blue; green8 strokes · Taught in 1st grade in Japan
sky; empty8 strokes · Taught in 1st grade in Japan

Both kanji are taught in 1st grade in Japan.

How to write it

Brush tips for

Three things to watch

  1. Among the horizontal strokes in the top part of 青, make the 4th stroke the longest.
  2. Keep the 月 at the bottom of 青 tucked inside, narrower than the long horizontal stroke above it.
  3. In 空, write the hole radical at the top (anakanmuri) wide. Make the last horizontal stroke of the 工 at the bottom long, so the character sits firmly.

Stroke order

Follow the vermilion stroke, frame by frame.

Stroke order data: KanjiVG by Ulrich Apel, CC BY-SA 3.0.

How to practice

Trace first, then copy

  1. PrintPrint both pages at actual size, on US Letter or A4. Page 1 is the model. Page 2 is the tracing sheet.
  2. TraceTrace the outlines with a brush pen. Or lay thin hanshi paper over the page and trace with brush and ink.
  3. CopySet the model beside your paper and copy it stroke by stroke. Look at the model more than at your own paper.

Free for personal practice and classroom use. Please do not sell or re-post the files. Share a link to this page instead.

Ready to write ?Model + tracing sheet · US Letter or A4 · free
Cover of Japanese Calligraphy for Beginners by Sanayuki Morita

While the sets are on their way

The book is out now.

Japanese Calligraphy for Beginners takes you from holding the brush to writing whole words, step by step, in English. Every model inside was brushed by our teachers.

Starter Set, $72.99 with the book, brush, ink and paper: coming soon.

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