Strokes of the Brush: Fude and Fudeshi in Premodern Japan
Figure 1: The completed fude from trial #1 and trial #2.
Project Overview
The fude originated in third and fourth century China as a part of the calligraphy and brush painting traditions [1]. Fude, which stems from the Japanese fumite or fumide, describes the calligraphy and sumi-e paintbrush and translates to “the hand that writes” [2]. Consequently, the word fudeshi describes the brush maker, a shokukin–master craftsperson–who constructs a variety of fude for masters and students of brush-based arts [3]. Through the reconstruction of a fude, a tool used in sumi-e, my project explores how fudeshi learned the craft of fude making from their master craftsmen predecessors and how they incorporated Zen Buddhist philosophies into their constructions. By identifying how brush makers learned to make fude and locating Zen Buddhism within this craft, the aim of this project is to highlight the role of fude in premodern Japan.
Background Information on the Fude
While the fude maintains its origins in China, throughout the fourth and fifth century, “Buddhist monks, traders, government officials, and immigrants brought Chinese writing to Japan (via the Korean peninsula)” [4]. This transfer of craft knowledge between China and Japan shifted the Japanese approach to literacy. Prior to this interaction, the Japanese used “crude brushes” for communication. After the Chinese introduction of the tapered, flame-shaped brush, the Japanese readily “develop[ed] their own system of writing,” record keeping, and artistic expression (such as sumi-e) [5]. Emulating the Chinese writing system, the Japanese monarchy used writing–enacted by the fude–in combination with Buddhism to consolidate power, recording state histories and drafting laws [4]. Given that monks, samurai, and other government officials each desired their own unique calligraphy and painting instruments, fude workshops quickly flourished [2]. The two regions historically most popular for their fudeshi are Nara and Kumano.
Figure 2: Sparrow-head fude from the Nara period (710-792). Flecked bamboo handles decorated with ivory, gold, and silver. Shoso-In Imperial Treasure House. Nara, Japan. While these brushed were preserved because of their connection to the palace, most fude have a specific lifespan and are disposed in ritual ceremonies.
The Various Parts of a Fude Head
The fude is a versatile tool that can be constructed in several ways based on its writing or painting purpose. More specifically, menso (feature) fude are for fine work, saishoku (color) fude are for coloring, kuma (ink) fude are for outlining, and sakuyo (delineation) fude are for precision coloring and shading techniques [5]. Despite their different uses, the same components comprise each fude head. The parts of the fude head include: 1) the koshi (loins), 2) the hara (belly), 3) the kata (shoulders), 4) the nodo (throat), and 5) the inochige (hair of life) [2]. As the word inochige suggests, fude historically have been regarded for having their own life. When the “hair of life” wears down, the fude becomes defunct and is discarded ceremonially [1].
Figure 3: Image illustrating the 5 main parts of a fude head. The only section missing from this illustration is the kata (shoulders).
“Of all the treasures owned by the scholar, the brush is the most alive but also the most short-lived. To mark this link, this intimacy, the Japanese have a strange, centuries-old custom: brushes are buried in a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine. Because, for the Japanese, brushes have their own life and soul, the calligrapher watches over their spirit in order to ensure their benevolence.”
Although synthetic hair is widely used throughout fude construction today, the craft, greatly impacted by the cheap production of writing utensils in China, is a dying art [4]. Unlike other Japanese crafts such as house-carpentry, whose approaches have changed via “conservative innovation,” “the fude and the brushmaker’s techniques have not” [5]. With this understanding of fude construction in mind, my reconstruction seeks to begin resolving the following questions:
1) How do fudeshi learn the craft of fude making from their craftsmen predecessors?
2) As exemplified by Tachibana Minko’s illustration of the “Koboshi” fude workshop and craftsmen Tanabe Yoshio’s belief that fude making must be learned through the act of making mistakes, how did craftsmen teach fude making to their “assistants” in premodern Japan?
3) Given that the Fudenosato Kobo Museum, an institution dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of fude from the Kumano region of Japan, advertises itself as a location where “people, culture, and nature live in harmony,” what is the greater significance of the fude to Japanese culture? Like the art of sumi-e, does fude construction also stress the importance of seeking harmony with nature?
The Steps of Fude Construction
My reconstruction was inspired by an illustration by 18th century Japanese woodblock printer Tachibana Minko.
Figure 4: Japanese woodblock printer Tachibana Minko’s illustration of the Koboshi fude workshop (18th century).
Within this illustration, Minko depicts the fude making process and its unknown origins. On the right side of the image, Minko represents a master craftsman’s male assistant dressed in “a kimono decorated with chrysanthemums” [5]. Kneeling in front of a wooden board, which holds the individual hairs that will eventually make up the fude head, the assistant bends over, intently combing the hairs to refine them. Additionally, there is a smaller wooden block on the top left corner of the larger wooden board. Since the thin, black hairs already appear to be cut, this smaller block is likely a measuring instrument that the assistant used to cut the hairs to the appropriate length for the fude. Next to the smaller wooden block, two piles of newly cut hair sit on the board, suggesting that the workshop will construct several different fude heads.
While the right side of the image depicts the preliminary steps of fude making, the left side of the image depicts the final steps of construction. Here, the master craftsman of the “Koboshi” workshop leans over a wooden table and “test[s] the flexibility of a large-tufted fude with a lacquered handle” [5]. At the same time that a metal comb, blades, and a small vase filled with fude of various sizes occupy the table, the craftsman feels the tip of his newly constructed fude in his hands, squinting his eyes to decipher its quality. In addition, Minko prints a blue and white bowl filled with water on the floor. This detail, in combination with the comb, blades, and other fude, indicate the master craftsman has reached the end of his fude construction process.
Because Minko did not illustrate all the steps of fude making, I turned to the following secondary sources to ground my reconstruction.
Reconstruction Guide for Trial #1
Materials for Reconstruction #1
Figure 5: Materials used for trial #1.
Wooden boards
Wooden ruler
Scissors
Metal comb
A ballpoint pen cap
Exacto Knife
Small hair iron
Bowl of water
Kitchen towel
Paper
Hemp cord
Horsehair
Bamboo sticks
Waterproof sealant
Electrical tape
My Interpretation of the Steps for Reconstruction #1
1) Choose and sort the hair for the fude head.
2) Cut off any animal skin still attached to the hair.
3) Organize the tips and roots of the hair to face the appropriate direction.
4) Divide the hair into piles of different lengths.
5) Use ash and heat to remove remaining oil on the hair.
6) Roll the cleaned hair into a leather cloth.
7) Align the tips of the hair by tapping them with a wooden board.
8) Remove the hairs that are upside down.
9) Cover the hair with paper to prevent disorganization.
10) Submerge the paper-rolled hair in water to dampen it.
11) Remove the paper and comb the hair to remove stray hairs.
12) Cut and mix different length hairs to produce a flame shaped fude head.
13) Comb and remix the hairs seven times to establish the core of the fude.
14) Use a small cylinder to measure the size of the fude head.
15) Roll an additional thin layer of hair around the outside of the fude head.
16) Tie the hairs together with hemp and singe them.
17) Prepare the handle for the fude head by rolling it.
Figure 6-15: Images from reconstruction trial #1.
Reconstruction Guide for Trial #2
Figure 16: Screenshot of the Fudenosato Kobo Museum’s tab “The Fude Making Process.”
Materials for Reconstruction #2
Wooden boards
Wooden ruler
Scissors
Metal comb
Exacto Knife
Small hair iron
Bowl of water
Kitchen towel
Paper
Hemp cord
Horsehair
Bamboo sticks
Waterproof sealant
My Interpretation of the Steps for Reconstruction #2
Preparation
1) Choose the right hair by hand and adjust the hair’s length for the fude head.
2) Remove the oil and dirt to refine the quality of the hair.
Sprinkle rice-hull ash over the hair and apply heat with an iron.
Wrap the hair in deer skin and massage it well.
3) Comb the hair well and remove any remaining fluff.
4) Remove any damaged hair or hair facing the wrong direction.
5) Divide the hair for the fude into five parts (koshi, nara, kata, nodo, inochige).
Cut the different parts of the fude head to make sure the hairs are even.
Mix the hair and assemble into one piece for the fude head.
Dai-Shigoto
6) Soak the hair in water to remove any irregular hairs.
Lay the fude head flat and repeatedly fold to mix it.
Remove unusable hair and trim and comb the hairs.
Glue the hairs together with seaweed glue and lay in a flat sheet.
7) Form the fude head by measuring the size with a fude collar (a small cylinder).
8) Wrap better quality hair around the core of the fude head.
Allow the fude head to dry.
Tie the fude head with linen thread at the root.
9) Singe the knot at the end of the thread.
Finishing
10) Insert the fude head into the bamboo handle by rotating the handle.
11) Apply glue to the fude to ensure the brush’s material integrity.
Remove access glue with a piece of thread.
12) Engrave the signature of the workshop on the fude handle.
Both trials maintained the same overall structure, but there were a few differences. In the first trial, I wrapped the fude head hairs in paper to keep them together while I wet them, used a pen cap to measure the fude head’s size upon its completion, and fixed electrical tape to the outside of the handle. Despite the fact electrical tape is not a material found in premodern Japan, I thought it could mimic the black cylindrical measuring tool which connects the fude head to the handle. Differently from the first trial, to create the flame-shaped fude head in the second trial, I combed glue throughout the strands of hair. Furthermore, rather than using electrical tape to mimic the connection between the fude head and the handle, I inserted the fude head into the handle with hemp cord and glue. Lastly, unlike in the first trial where the handle was blank, I engraved the handle with “Gabi’s Fude Workshop” in Japanese during the second trial.
Process
As I researched fude construction and its history, due to lack of tacit knowledge, inaccessibility of certain materials, and cost constraints, I had to think of substitutes for some of the materials or opt to exclude them entirely. Additionally, I chose to eliminate some steps of the reconstruction because the materials arrived properly prepared. For example, I did not sprinkle ash over the hair to clean it. This was because I purchased horsehair via Amazon and it was already clean upon its arrival. I also chose to not buy different, extra hair to wrap around the chosen hair of the fude head. The hair for wrapping is usually of higher quality and originates from a small animal, making it harder to procure [6].
The following materials were substituted (substitutes are located within the parenthesis):
● Black measuring cylinder (ballpoint pen cap)
● Leather cloth (kitchen towel)
● Metal comb (metal pet hairbrush)
● Hanashi blade (scissors)
● Iron or heated metal (straightening iron for human hair)
● Graver (Exacto knife)
● Seaweed glue (waterproof sealant)
The reconstruction of the fude raised several questions for me across both trials. While I was completing the first trial, I specifically wondered the following:
1) The narrator of the video says to “mix” the hair. How do I mix the hair? What does “mixing” mean in this context of fude making?
2) The narrator also explains that “old Japanese measurements are used for the brush lengths” [1]. How can I quantify “old Japanese measurements”?
During the second trial, as I became more familiar with my materials and relied more heavily on my “intuition” (a skill which fudeshi use to hone their own craft), I was better able to decipher what measurements of a fude head were appropriate for the size handle I had [3]. In this trial, I thought more about 1) the amount of glue I used and 2) the quality of horse hair.
1) The Glue: The instructions provided by the Fudenosato Kobo Museum explain: “the hair is glued together with “Funori” (seaweed glue) and laid out flat and put together as a flat sheet called ‘Hirame’” [6]. Given these instructions, I was not sure if the glue needed to be applied at the bottom of the fude head or throughout the hairs. Because the hair needed to be laid out as a flat sheet, I decided to comb the glue throughout, allowing each strand to stick together.
2) The Hair: As I completed the second trial and the glue hardened around the fude head, I wondered if horsehair was the right hair choice. I originally selected horsehair because of its accessibility, but I wondered: Is there a better type of hair that would be less stiff when shaped into a fude head and glued?
Reflection
“My father never ‘taught’ me how to [make fude]…He told me to learn by watching...He felt that one’s own mistakes were the only way to learn”
Upon completing my reconstruction, I reflected on the role of the “assistant” and the overall process of learning how to make a fude. I thought about craftsman Tanabe Yoshio and his statement of “My father never ‘taught’ me how to [make fude]…He told me to learn by watching...He felt that one’s own mistakes were the only way to learn” [3]. After conducting both trials, I realized there was some truth to Yoshio’s recollections. During the first trial, I often felt uncertain and found myself experimenting when I did not understand the instructions. It was not until the second trial that I felt more capable. Thus, the process of making “mistakes” throughout the first trial helped me make better decisions about construction during the second trial.
The illustration of the Koboshi fude workshop by Tachibana Minko complicates the idea that hands-on experience is the best way to learn how to make fude. As previously mentioned, Minko illustrates the assistant completing the preliminary steps of fude construction next to the master craftsman. Differently from my project, in the image, the assistant works directly under a craftsman and observes his actions. Although I agree that making “mistakes” is an effective way to learn how to create something, I also recognize that an in-person demonstration by someone with previously acquired tacit knowledge could have also aided my process.
In addition to identifying how fudeshi learned fude making, I also concluded the process’s relationship to nature. From the selection of materials to construction to the way an artist holds a fude, natural elements remain a focus throughout. For example, bamboo or other woods (which can be decorated with landscape motifs) make up the handle and the act of writing or painting allows the fude to function as an extension of the artist’s body–a person existing as an actor in nature [2]. While I gently engraved “Gabi’s Fude Workshop” onto the handle, I felt a sense of peace. The act of outlining the characters and etching them into the smooth wooden surface was surprisingly serene, each scratch carrying me closer to a state of meditation. My experience of construction, combined with the materiality and purpose of a fude, ultimately demonstrated that a possible goal of fude construction is to seek harmony with nature.
Equally, this reconstruction provided insight into the intersections between craft and scholarship as well as how crafts develop over time. Although more research would be needed to understand how fude craftspeople interacted with scholars, while completing my reconstruction, I was reminded of Hashimoto’s “Making and Using Scientific Instruments in Japan: How Scholars and Craftsmen Cooperated, 1781-1853.” Like how crafts helped scholars prototype their ideas about astronomy, weaponry, and other sciences, I consider it possible that fude making helped monks, samurai, and artists articulate ideas about their surroundings [7].
“The making of fine fude is one Japanese craft that has not succumbed to modernization, and today the art of the brushmaker is carried on as in ages past. The scene and the costumes may have changed, but the fude and the brushmaker techniques have not.”
At the same time, I was reminded of Clancey’s “conservative innovation.” Japanese house-carpentry changed alongside industrialization via “conservative innovation,” a process which retained the craft’s original construction methods and combined them with technological advancements [8]. In contrast, Pomorey explains, “The making of fine fude is one Japanese craft that has not succumbed to modernization, and today the art of the brushmaker is carried on as in ages past. The scene and the costumes may have changed, but the fude and the brushmaker techniques have not” [5]. Since the “fude and the brushmaker techniques have not [changed],” I wonder: Could fude making benefit from the influence of technological advancement? Would fude craftsmen still be suffering economically today if their craftsmen predecessors employed Clancey’s “conservative innovation”? Although I was able to make some conclusions by reconstructing a premodern fude, I am also left with several lingering questions.
Works Cited
[1] “‘Fude’: The Japanese Brush.” aired May 4, 2016, on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9QP5NIyaWw.
[2] Kushizaki, Harumi, and Louise Boudonnat. Traces of the Brush: The Art of Japanese Calligraphy. Paris: Seuil Chronicles, 2003.
[3] Judge, Thomas F. Edo Craftsmen: Master Artisans of Old Tokyo. Toronto: Weatherhill, 1994.
[4] Kirshner, Hannah. “Brush Making: The Current Popularity of the Tools Prompted One Writer to Learn More about How They’re Assembled.” The New York Times Style Magazine. June 2, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/02/t-magazine/japanese-brush-making.html.
[5] Pomeroy, Charles A. Traditional Crafts of Japan. Walker/Weatherhill, 1968.
[6] “The Fude making process.” Fudenosato Kobo, https://fude.or.jp/en/kumanofude_flow.html.
Accessed 29 March 2022.
[7] Hashimoto, Takehiko. “Making and Using Scientific Instruments in Japan: How Scholars and Craftsmen Cooperated, 1781-1853.” Technology and Culture 62, no. 2 (2021): 401-422.
[8] Clancey, Gregory. “‘The Way We Build’”: Craft, Innovation, and Sustainability in Japanese House-Carpentry.” Journal of History of Science and Technology 15, no. 2 (2021): 63-87.
Images Cited
Figure 2. “Sparrow-head” brushes from the Nara period (710-792). Flecked bamboo handles decorated with ivory, gold, and silver. Shōsō-in Hōmotsu. Shōsō-in Imperial Treasure House, Nara, Japan.
Figure 4. Minko, Tachibana. Traditional Crafts of Japan. Walker/Weatherhill, 1968.
