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真実一路 (One Straight Path of Truth) in regular script (kaisho), Japanese calligraphy model sheet

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One Straight Path of Truth

shinjitsu ichiro4 characters32 strokes

真実一路 (shinjitsu ichiro) means walking your own path straight and sincerely, without lies or tricks, following what you truly believe.

Free practice sheet

Regular script · PDF, 2 pages (model + tracing) · 261 KB

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Meaning

What means

A Japanese four-character idiom, yojijukugo, read shinjitsu ichiro.

LiterallyTruth, one road.

真実一路 means living honestly, without lies or deception, and following the path you believe in with a sincere heart. 一路 is a single road, followed all the way.

“My grandfather lived by shinjitsu ichiro, always honest in his work and in his words.”

When people write it in Japan. It is a good choice for a New Year goal, or for pieces about how you want to live and what you aim for.

true; genuine10 strokes · Taught in 3rd grade in Japan
real; truth; fruit8 strokes · Taught in 3rd grade in Japan
one1 stroke · Taught in 1st grade in Japan
road; path13 strokes · Taught in 3rd grade in Japan

Japanese children know every kanji here by 3rd grade.

How to write it

Brush tips for

Regular script (kaisho)

  1. In 真, make the 8th stroke, a horizontal, the longest. Keep the two strokes below it short, opening them left and right like legs.
  2. In 実, extend the 6th stroke, a horizontal, long. Use the 7th stroke, a sweep to the left, and the 8th stroke, a sweep to the right, to widen the bottom.
  3. 一 is a character of just one stroke. Do not let it get thin or small; write it thick, rising slightly to the right, and press to stop at the end.

Semi-cursive script (gyōsho)

  1. In 真, each horizontal inside 目 is linked to the next by a thin line, so the flow of the brush shows clearly.
  2. In 一, set the brush down firmly and draw rising to the right, then press down and stop at the end. It is a single line, so watch its thickness.
  3. In 路, keep the foot radical on the left (ashihen) narrow and give 各 on the right more room. Let the sweep to the right in 各 stretch big toward the lower right.

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.

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