Always Be Creative in Japanese Calligraphy

常に思念工夫せよ (tsune ni shinen kufū seyo)

常に思念工夫せよ (tsune ni shinen kufū seyo): always think it through and work it out. 思念 is thinking on a thing; 工夫 is devising a way, and in Zen it is giving oneself to practice, and both senses are live here. The compound was the kendo manuals' word for how to train: think hard, pile up devices, and try each one on the floor, as a 1920 manual puts it under the heading 思念工夫の要. Funakoshi Gichin, the founder of Shōtōkan karate, made it the last of his twenty precepts. Always be creative is the short English for it.

Philology of 空手に先手無し · 先づ自己を知れ而して他を知れ · 技術より心術 · 心は放たん事を要す · 常に思念工夫せよ

Verify: 常に思念工夫せよ in the Japanese-English Dictionary

Always Be Creative (常に思念工夫せよ) in Block style Japanese calligraphy by Eri Takase

Always Be Creative 常に思念工夫せよ tsune ni shinen kufū seyo Block Vertical VB4C

Always Be Creative 常に思念工夫せよ tsune ni shinen kufū seyo Block Vertical VB6C

Always Be Creative (常に思念工夫せよ) in Cursive style Japanese calligraphy by Eri Takase

Always Be Creative 常に思念工夫せよ tsune ni shinen kufū seyo Cursive Vertical VC6B

Always Be Creative (常に思念工夫せよ) in Design style Japanese calligraphy by Eri Takase

Always Be Creative 常に思念工夫せよ tsune ni shinen kufū seyo Design Vertical VD6B

Always Be Creative 常に思念工夫せよ tsune ni shinen kufū seyo Design Vertical VD7B

Always Be Creative (常に思念工夫せよ) in Semi-Cursive style Japanese calligraphy by Eri Takase

Always Be Creative 常に思念工夫せよ tsune ni shinen kufū seyo Semi-Cursive Vertical VS6C

Always Be Creative 常に思念工夫せよ tsune ni shinen kufū seyo Semi-Cursive Vertical VS7C

About the Designs

Each design is Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase's hand-brushed calligraphy of the word or phrase on this page, delivered as a PDF you can print. Every PDF includes the line art, so a tattoo artist or a craftsperson can work from the outline as well as the brushed image.

Delivery

Your PDF is available for download the moment your order completes, and a copy is attached to your emailed receipt.