A practical and analytical study that opens with the author's personal experiences learning traditional Japanese painting and then lays out systematic rules for brush use, materials, and methods of applying color. It examines principles governing conception and execution, presents aesthetic canons and recommended subjects, and explains signatures and seals. Numerous plates and step-by-step demonstrations illustrate strokes, dotting patterns, tree and rock construction, water forms, proportion, and varied color techniques, making the work both a handbook of technique and a concise guide to underlying artistic theory.