Ink Brushes

Japanese brushes can be used for painting a picture, calligraphy, or writing a letter.
Brushes are employed for a variety of purposes, but when Japanese hear the word for brush, the first thing we think of is writing.
Sitting upright, slowly but carefully rubbing an ink stick against an inkstone, we watch as the water we have added gradually darkens, all the time enveloped in the beautiful perfume of the ink.
People who studied calligraphy at primary school will immediately remember this situation.
After the ink has achieved the desired density, the brush is inserted into the deep end of the inkstone, where it quietly soaks up the ink; then it is applied to the whitepaper with appropriate vigor.
The brush is moved in a fluid motion as the writing is applied in a single movement.
If we visit a brush store, we are confronted by a vast variety of different types.
I think that a lot depends on the personal preferences the writer, but the pliancy of the hair used and the way in which different hairs are combined to create the brush, need to be selected according to the kind of writing to be undertaken.