I realised that Aliexpress sells calligraphy brushes (okay, Aliexpress sells many, many things...) and found this pair of really affordable brushes for writing larger calligraphy works.
The 500 yen coin (with a diameter of 26.5mm) is there for a sense of size.
This brush [affiliate link] (it is the "wolf hair brush" option), with light brownish hair, has a hair length of 75mm and a hair diameter of 22mm. The hair is made of weasel hair (黄鼠狼毫, which is shortened to 狼毫, but here, the 狼 is not a wolf but a weasel) mixed with sheep hair (aka 狼兼毫).
This brush [affiliate link] (it is the "Bear hair brush" option), with blackish hair, has a hair length of 75mm and a
hair diameter of 22mm. The hair is made of bear hair mixed with sheep
hair (aka 熊兼毫). A pity, though, that its shaft was not properly glued and when I tried to remove the cap, the shaft came off.
This is not irreparable, and I just need to use a bit of wood glue to stick it back.
Each brush costs less than 500 yen on Aliexpress and comes with free shipping, so it was really a great deal. Their sizes make them suitable for writing single, large characters on small sheets 半紙 size (24.3x33.4cm) or for 4 to 5 characters on a 半切 size (34.5x136cm) of paper.
All that remains is to actually try them to see if they are worth the price, or trash.
Update 13 September 2023: I gave the black one (bear hair) a try. It was okay. Not great, but at least it can write.
Update 14 September 2023: The brownish one (weasel + sheep hair) was quite okay. I think it writes better than the black one (bear hair). Again, it is not an excellent brush, but it will do for simple practice. Below is something written with this brush.
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