琴棋書画(きんきしょが)

きんきしょが
noun
the four classical arts: zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting
formalcultureart
1. the four classical arts of the East Asian scholar
A four-character compound referring to the four traditional accomplishments of an educated person in classical East Asian culture: playing the 琴(きん) (zither/koto), the board game 棋(き) (Go), 書(しょ) (calligraphy), and 画(が) (painting).
琴棋書画(きんきしょが)は文人(ぶんじん)のたしなみだった。
The four classical arts were the accomplishments of a man of letters.
江戸時代(えどじだい)の知識人(ちしきじん)は琴棋書画(きんきしょが)を修(おさ)めた。
Intellectuals of the Edo period mastered the four classical arts.
中国(ちゅうごく)文化(ぶんか)に由来(ゆらい)する琴棋書画(きんきしょが)は、日本(にほん)の士大夫(したいふ)階級(かいきゅう)にも広(ひろ)く受(う)け入(い)れられた。
The four classical arts, originating in Chinese culture, were also widely accepted by the Japanese scholar-gentry.

A literary four-character idiom (四字熟語(よじじゅくご)) imported from classical Chinese tradition. Each character names one of the four arts: 琴(きん) (stringed instrument), 棋(き) (Go), 書(しょ) (calligraphy), 画(が) (painting).

Cultural note

In premodern China and Japan, these four accomplishments were considered essential for a cultivated person, especially scholar-officials and members of the literati class. The term still appears in writing about traditional arts, museum descriptions, and the tea ceremony world.

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Literary and formal. Mostly encountered in writing about classical culture, art history, or traditional aesthetics rather than everyday speech.

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Added 2026.5.28 12:07 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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