The Cicada Stream (Semi no Ogawa) : [volume 3]
The Cicada Stream is an 1733 Japanese calligraphy manuscript volume published in Osaka by Shibukawa Seiemon, a commercial press, likely for readers and students of brush writing. Its double-page spreads show cursive kana and kanji written in flowing black ink across pale paper, with a few characters larger and bolder than their neighbours, which suggests a designer could borrow its rhythm of varied stroke weight and open negative space for expressive typography.
![Picture 1 of 9 from The Cicada Stream (Semi no Ogawa) : [volume 3] (1733), leaf 3](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_16598-3-1.webp)
![Picture 2 of 9 from The Cicada Stream (Semi no Ogawa) : [volume 3] (1733), leaf 4](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_16598-4-1.webp)
![Picture 3 of 9 from The Cicada Stream (Semi no Ogawa) : [volume 3] (1733), leaf 5](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_16598-5-1.webp)
![Picture 4 of 9 from The Cicada Stream (Semi no Ogawa) : [volume 3] (1733), leaf 6](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_16598-6-1.webp)
![Picture 5 of 9 from The Cicada Stream (Semi no Ogawa) : [volume 3] (1733), leaf 7](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_16598-7-1.webp)
![Picture 6 of 9 from The Cicada Stream (Semi no Ogawa) : [volume 3] (1733), leaf 8](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_16598-8-1.webp)
![Picture 7 of 9 from The Cicada Stream (Semi no Ogawa) : [volume 3] (1733), leaf 9](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_16598-9-1.webp)
![Picture 8 of 9 from The Cicada Stream (Semi no Ogawa) : [volume 3] (1733), leaf 13](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_16598-13-1.webp)
![Picture 9 of 9 from The Cicada Stream (Semi no Ogawa) : [volume 3] (1733), leaf 14](https://img.insideoutlibrary.com/img/200/met-p16028coll7_16598-14-1.webp)