The written form of many scripts can be elevated to art, but the Japanese, and the Chinese long before them, have been creating writing as art for a very long time. Shodou, the Japanese version of calligraphy as an art has been done since at least the 7th century, though the Chinese had been writing the kanji in calligraphy for probably 3,000 years before that. Today, Shodou is practiced by many as a traditional art that goes hand-in-hand with other traditional arts like ikebana and chadou (flower arranging and tea ceremony). While looking deceptively simple, becoming a competent Shodou artist takes years of daily practice.