Hello and please be welcome to our webshop.
First and foremost, let us introduce ourselves.
Nikolasz Sōhan Gáncs 宗範
After graduating art high school, he completed a graphic design course, and spent a total of ten years learning to draw. His passion for Japanese ink painting and calligraphy, and his fascination with Eastern art, date back to his elementary school years.
He began to seriously study calligraphy on a theoretical level in 2005 and started practising Zen Buddhism in the same year, following a Japanese Rinzai Zen lineage and school. In 2009 he graduated with honours from the Dharma Gate Buddhist College. He was awarded the Republic Scholarship for two academic years, which enabled him to finish the first draft of his book and begin practising calligraphy.
He started his calligraphy practice in 2006, under the guidance of Tsujikawa Yuka sensei, who was living in Hungary at the time. Parallel to his studies in Japanese calligraphy, he continued his research about this beautiful, taditional Japanese art form and in 2009 his book, SHODŌ, The Way of the Brush was published. In 2023 the book was republished by the Dharma Gate Buddhist College under the title Shodó – The Way of the Brush – A Handbook of Japanese Calligraphy, now complete with additional materials covering all areas of Japanese calligraphy, including exercises on brush handling and mastering different techniques.
After his master’s departure, he continued his practice under the guidance of Takahashi Tenin sensei in the “Hangari Shorakukai” group.
In the fall of 2010 he travelled to Japan, where he studied with the help of Sugitani Taeko sensei, who contributed greatly to taking his knowledge about Japanese calligraphy to a whole new level, both technically and theoretically.
Strongly believing that Zen must be made an integral part of our everyday lives, he spent nearly 10 months living as a monk at the Sōgenji monastery in Japan, and also spent several weeks in a hermitage in solitary retreat. Thus, his practice of calligraphy merged with the practice of zazen. He often depicts Zen themes in his artworks. Working closely together with co-instructor and co-author Judit Zsidákovits Ryūra, he strives to convey the depths of Zen-inspired practice to their students.
“Calligraphy is a way of life for me, an integral part of my everyday life. Day after day I pick up the brush with the mindset of the eternal beginner and humbly begin my practice”.
Judit Ryūra Zsidákovits 龍螺
She has been practising Japanese calligraphy and ink painting since 2011. By profession she is a Teacher of English and Hungarian Literature and Grammar. Apart from being a co-instructor, she also manages the website and translates various teaching materials, articles and publications.
She practises the art of Japanese calligraphy and ink painting together with Nikolasz Sōhan Gáncs, following the Eightfold Path of Zen Buddhism.
