Why “Unreadable Characters” Can Be Beautiful

── Calligraphy Becomes Art When It Transcends Meaning

When standing before a work of calligraphy, we often find ourselves thinking:

“I can’t tell what it says—yet I’m strangely drawn to it.”

This is not a failure of appreciation.
On the contrary, it is a moment when we are touching the very core of calligraphy as an art form.

Calligraphy Was Originally Meant to Be “Read”

Characters were created to convey meaning.
For that reason, calligraphy was originally premised on legibility—on being readable.

Historically, writing appeared in forms such as:

• Stone inscriptions
• Official documents
• Laws and edicts
• Letters and correspondence

All of these existed for the purpose of transmitting information.
Yet when calligraphy began to be recognized as art, this assumption quietly began to shift.

The Moment “Unreadable” Calligraphy Emerged

As seen clearly in Cursive Style and classical kana manuscripts, calligraphy gradually moved in a direction that resisted easy reading.

• Character forms collapse
• Elements are abbreviated
• Strokes connect fluidly
• The outline of meaning becomes blurred

And yet, it remains unmistakably calligraphy.
Why is that?

When Characters Are Reduced to “Lines”

What matters most in calligraphy is not the character itself, but the movement of the line.

• Speed
• Weight
• Pauses
• Release
• Continuity

These qualities remain not as meaning, but as traces of the body.
When characters become unreadable, we are finally able to see the line itself.

Calligraphy Conveys “Presence,” Not Meaning

Even when we cannot read a work of calligraphy, we still sense something.

• Stillness
• Tension
• Elevation
• Afterglow

These impressions are closer to the calligrapher’s breath and state of mind than to verbal meaning.

Calligraphy transforms—from a medium that conveys meaning into an expression that conveys presence.

Modelbooks Cultivated Calligraphy That Did Not Need to Be Read

Modelbooks and classical manuscript fragments were never meant to be read in full.

• A single character
• One line
• A fragment

They were materials for learning brushwork, structure, and flow.

Within this culture, whether a text was readable gradually ceased to matter.

“Not Understanding” Is Not a Defect

Modern viewers tend to prioritize immediate understanding.
But the beauty of calligraphy does not demand instant comprehension.

Instead, it is characterized by works that:

• Cannot be grasped at once
• Change impression with each viewing
• Make us pause again and again

These very qualities are what allow calligraphy to exist as art.

From “Reading” to “Seeing,” and Then to “Feeling”

Calligraphy has evolved through stages:

• Characters that are read
• Forms that are seen
• Presences that are felt

“Unreadable characters” belong to this final stage.
Only beyond meaning does calligraphy become pure expression.

Why Are We Drawn to Unreadable Calligraphy?

Because it contains an unexplainable margin.
It resists logic and speaks directly to the senses.

Just as music can exist without lyrics, resonance comes before understanding.

Conclusion — Because It Is Unreadable, Calligraphy Is Beautiful

Unreadability is not a loss.
It is proof of liberation from meaning.

The moment calligraphy discards meaning, it comes to embody line, time, body, and spirit.
That is why “unreadable characters” unquestionably stand as beauty.