The group, which has four instructors and five helpers, is in the country for nine nights, introducing youngsters to the ancient art. 

Lead instructor Keiko Fukumitsu, who has been teaching calligraphy for 37 years, said the group decided to come to Ballarat on Monday after she visited in 2008. 

She said the sessions with Ballarat students, aged from 13 to 18 years, was about teaching the meaning of the symbols and the calligraphy technique. 

Year 7 student Bailey Watkins said it was “fun to learn about a different culture”.

Japanese studies teacher Simon Coles said the school was approached by the self-funded group and gladly accepted.

“It gives a cultural context for all the students who study Japanese,” he said. 

The school provided the paper, but the ink and equipment was hauled all the way from Osaka for about 400 students who attended the workshops. 

Mr Coles said there was a strong connection between Ballarat and Japan, stemming from the links between sister city Inagawa-cho, in southern

Japan. 

Ballarat High School principal Gary Palmer said the students had jumped at the chance to learn something interesting about Japanese

culture.