Shikishi – Japanese calligraphy and painting
A traditional Japanese art format used for calligraphy and painting
Shikishi is a traditional Japanese art format used for calligraphy and painting in ink, watercolor and mixed media.
This section presents a curated and growing selection of original shikishi works, organized by theme.
Selected works are available for purchase via Etsy.
Shikishi panels are created using high-quality washi and may feature ink brushwork, watercolor pigments or traditional mixed media techniques often enhanced with subtle decorative touches.
This section presents a curated and growing selection of original shikishi works, organized by theme.
Selected works are available for purchase via Etsy.
Shikishi panels are created using high-quality washi and may feature ink brushwork, watercolor pigments or traditional mixed media techniques often enhanced with subtle decorative touches.
New article
HISTORY OF THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN SHIKISHI FORMATS
From Edo Poetry Sheets to a Twentieth-Century Industrial Standard
From Edo Poetry Sheets to a Twentieth-Century Industrial Standard
The modern shikishi format — approximately 24 × 27 cm (about 242 × 273 mm) — is widely perceived as traditional. It is used for calligraphy, nihonga painting, commemorative inscriptions, temple works, and artistic presentation. Yet this size is not an ancient canonical standard. It emerged gradually through Japan’s modernization, the introduction of Western technologies, the development of the paper industry, and the standardization of commercial formats in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
This article brings together historical, material, and industrial evidence in order to trace how the contemporary shikishi format was formed and stabilized.
This article brings together historical, material, and industrial evidence in order to trace how the contemporary shikishi format was formed and stabilized.
View available works on Etsy