Four Hundred Squares on One Sheet of Paper — Epoche A1
Tuesday, 12 May My homework paper is called genko yoshi. It is Japanese writing paper. One sheet has four hundred small squares. They make twenty columns, and each column has twenty squares. One character goes in one square. A full stop takes a square too. A small tsu, a tiny Japanese letter, takes a square too. So the paper is counting while I write. My teacher says, "Write two pages." Two pages means eight hundred characters. The sheet lies on my desk tonight. I have filled six columns with my pencil. Below my hand the squares are still white. Lined paper only keeps my writing straight. This paper keeps the number too.