Bloomsbury Shodo Calligraphy Class: 3 Hours of Brush for £68

Japanese brush calligraphy asks for a different kind of attention from pointed-pen lettering, and London's most established in-person option is the monthly class run by Rie Takeda's School of Shodo. Each workshop lasts three hours, split into two ninety-minute halves around a tea break, and takes place at The Art Workers' Guild, 6 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AT. The fee is £68 per workshop, with brushes, ink, inkstones and paper all supplied. The group is deliberately small, so this is a calligraphy class where the tutor can watch every stroke you make.

Rie Takeda writes on her official site that she has given shodo lessons since 2002, mostly as one-to-one private sessions alongside group classes and workshops, with teaching experience in Japan and Europe across many ages and backgrounds. She describes her method as mindfulness-based: lessons aim to bring mind and body into balance, help students become aware of their own energy flow, and transfer that into the brush and onto the paper. Texts used in her lessons draw on seasonal themes, classics, haiku, tanka and Zen phrases, chosen to suit each student's level.

The class description lays out a clear sequence. Students begin by releasing tension in the body and mind with an easy exercise, then rub their own ink on the inkstone, a slow, quiet task that doubles as a warm-up. Next come the foundational strokes and basic techniques, before everyone moves on to the main template word for the session. Instruction runs as two ninety-minute blocks with tea between them, and Rie gives one-to-one help throughout. Expect to fill many sheets of practice paper before choosing your best attempt.

Shodo relies on what Japanese and Chinese scholars call the four treasures of the study: brush, paper, ink and inkstone. The workshop page promises that all materials are included and the utensils are prepared before you arrive, so you do not need to buy anything for your first session. You also receive original templates and exercise sheets, a template of your name written in Japanese katakana, which Rie calligraphs onto your best piece, and a rubber name stamp. Those last two details turn an afternoon's practice into a finished work worth framing.

Demand is the main hurdle. Every 2026 London Monthly date on the site, from 6 February through 18 September and the final one on 13 November, is marked fully booked with a waiting list, and there is no December class. Rie notes that 2027 dates will be published soon. Two booking routes exist: send the online booking form with your preferred date and pay £68 by PayPal, in which case you are told and refunded if the date is full, or buy through Eventbrite when tickets are listed there. Join the waiting list rather than giving up.

Western broad-edge and pointed-pen scripts depend on a fixed tool angle or steady pressure on a metal nib. Shodo works the other way round: a soft, round brush held upright responds to every change in speed, pressure and breath, and a stroke cannot be corrected once it is on the paper. That is why the class spends so long on posture, breathing and ink preparation before any character is written. Many students say the hardest lesson is accepting an imperfect stroke and moving on, which is exactly the mindset Rie's mindfulness-based approach is built to encourage.

Wear dark, comfortable clothing with sleeves you can push up, since sumi ink is difficult to remove from fabric. Bring a large flat folder or a sturdy cardboard tube to carry home your finished sheets. Arrive with a light lunch already eaten so you can focus for the first ninety-minute block. Turn your phone to silent before the ink rubbing begins, because the quiet of that opening exercise is part of the practice. If you are left-handed, mention it when booking, as brush direction in Japanese characters is designed around the right hand.

Unusually for a group workshop, the monthly class welcomes all levels, from complete beginners to advanced students. Rie explains that she would rather tailor the flow for each learner, so someone attending for the first time and someone on their tenth session can sit at the same table with different templates. You can attend a single workshop or come every month, in which case she prepares new templates and exercises so your practice moves forward. That continuity makes it one of the few London calligraphy classes that works as a long-term practice.

If the monthly dates stay full, School of Shodo runs other formats. In 2026 Rie taught a full-day course titled Japanese calligraphy - an introduction at West Dean College's London campus, Dilke House in Bloomsbury, and a residential weekend at West Dean in Chichester. Her site also lists online live courses, monthly one-to-one online sessions and themed workshops, plus a New Year's calligraphy session that fits the Japanese tradition of kakizome, the first writing of the year. Signing up to the email list is the easiest way to hear when new London dates appear.

Queen Square is a short walk from Russell Square and Holborn Tube stations. The class starts in the early afternoon, which leaves time for lunch on Lamb's Conduit Street beforehand. After class, the British Museum is around ten minutes away and its Japanese galleries, Rooms 92 to 94 on the top floor, show scrolls, ceramics and calligraphy that put your own brushwork in context. Alternatively, sit in the small garden at the centre of Queen Square and let the ink on your finished piece dry fully before you roll it for the journey home.

Venue: The Art Workers' Guild, 6 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AT. Tutor: Rie Takeda, School of Shodo. Fee: £68 per workshop, all materials included. Time: 1:30pm to 4:30pm with a tea break. Level: all levels, beginners welcome. Booking: online form with PayPal payment, or Eventbrite when listed. 2026 dates fully booked, waiting list open; no class in December. Contact: via the form and email on shodocalligraphy.com, no phone listed. Looking for a Japanese lunch near Holborn before class? Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP.