書道
しょどう · shodou · JLPT N2 · noun
calligraphy
🖌️ 書 (write) + 道 (way/art) = the way of writing with a brush
書 means writing and 道 means path or discipline, so 書道 is the discipline of brush writing as an art form.
道 — 辶 (walk) + 首 (head)
Originally a compound of 辶 'walk/movement' and 首 'head', depicting a path one walks while looking ahead. The literal sense 'road, way' extended metaphorically to 'method, doctrine, the Way (Dao)'. This philosophical meaning became central in Daoist and Confucian thought.