Re: OT: Japanese spirit writing

 czHANg said this:

 >      AFAIK it could be some kind of Shinto shamanistic/oracle-type
 > calligraphy system (sort of like "automatic writing"). Or it could
 > be talismanic writing of some kind - to make charms to appease,
 > invoke or repel different spirits.  Or it could simply be a
 > Zen-influenced calligraphy style. Or "all of the above" ;)

        No, no, I'd recognize the talismanic style of writing.  I've
certain seen enough of that in my Chinese studies, and I seem to
recall once seeing eldritch, glowing versions of the same, flying
about causing mayhem in some anime, so I assume the Japenese use
similar things.

 Then jogloran asked:

 >Do you remember what this "spirit writing" looked like? Did it
 >feature lines with circles in them?

        No, it didn't look like the geomancy symbols either.

        I distinctly remember that it was a full syllabary.  The
writing style was fairly curvey.  The thickness of the strokes was
consistent with writing by a pen or inscribing in wood or stone.  None
of the width variation you see in brush-work was evident in any
samples I saw.  I could see no obvious relationship to the kana
syllabary shapes.

--
wm