For many contemporary Japanese -- both children and adults alike -- everyday life is becoming unthinkable without personal computers and cellular phones.
But such devices can deprive people of their own words and expressive power, calligrapher Kyuyo Ishikawa warns.
"It's OK to use computers, word processors and cellphones to improve the efficiency of clerical work and other business," said Ishikawa, who is also a professor at Kyoto Seika University. "But these tools should be kept as far away from homes and places for expression and education as possible."