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ひかり (Light) in regular script (kaisho), Japanese calligraphy model sheet

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Light

hikari3 characters6 strokes

ひかり (hikari) means light, the brightness that comes from the sun or a lamp, and it is often used as a symbol of hope and warmth.

Free practice sheet

Regular script · PDF, 2 pages (model + tracing) · 150 KB

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Meaning

What means

The Japanese word for light, written in hiragana and read hikari.

Hikari is light, the brightness that comes from the sun or a lamp and lights up everything around it. It is also used as an image of hope and warmth.

Written here in hiragana instead of the kanji 光, the word looks soft and round.

When people write it in Japan. Hikari suits pieces for the start of a new year, or any work that carries hope for a bright future.

Hiragana1 stroke
Hiragana3 strokes
Hiragana2 strokes

Written in kana, the Japanese syllables children learn first.

How to write it

Brush tips for

Three things to watch

  1. In ひ, draw a short line to the right at the start, then turn back. Make the bottom a large, round curve, rise to the upper right, then sweep down to the right.
  2. In か, end the stroke that turns from horizontal to downward with a flick to the left. Place the dot on the right apart from it, pointing to the lower right.
  3. Keep り narrower than the other two characters. Make the left stroke short, and bring the right stroke down long before sweeping down to the left.

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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