七転八起 nana korobi ya oki Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight

Fall down seven times, get up eight.

七転八起 is a Japanese proverb in print since 1702. Worn as a tattoo, it is a promise to rise again, however many times it takes.

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight (七転八起) in Block style Japanese calligraphy by Eri Takase

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight 七転八起 nana korobi ya oki Vertical Block VB2C

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight 七転八起 nana korobi ya oki Vertical Block VB3C

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight (七転八起) in Cursive style Japanese calligraphy by Eri Takase

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight 七転八起 nana korobi ya oki Vertical Cursive VC4B

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight (七転八起) in Design style Japanese calligraphy by Eri Takase

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight 七転八起 nana korobi ya oki Vertical Design VD2B

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight 七転八起 nana korobi ya oki Vertical Design VD2C

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight 七転八起 nana korobi ya oki Vertical Design VD3B

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight 七転八起 nana korobi ya oki Vertical Design VD4B

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight (七転八起) in Semi-Cursive style Japanese calligraphy by Eri Takase

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight 七転八起 nana korobi ya oki Vertical Semi-Cursive VS2C

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight 七転八起 nana korobi ya oki Vertical Semi-Cursive VS3C

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight 七転八起 nana korobi ya oki Horizontal Block HB3A

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight 七転八起 nana korobi ya oki Horizontal Cursive HC4A

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight 七転八起 nana korobi ya oki Horizontal Semi-Cursive HS3A

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight 七転八起 nana korobi ya oki Horizontal Semi-Cursive HS4A

More about 七転八起

Knocked down seven times, up on the eighth: the proverb asks for one rising more than there were falls. That one extra is the whole of it. The tradition keeps two senses, side by side since the Edo period. One is resolve, the sense the self-righting daruma doll stands for: getting up once more than you are knocked down. The other is consolation, said to someone in trouble: luck turns, and bad is followed by good. Which of the two you see in the four characters is yours.

The English on this page is the proverb's modern form, in print since the 1960s. A shorter one, fall seven times, stand up eight, is now the commoner of the two.

The Japanese phrase 七転八起 meaning "Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight" is composed of the kanji 七 (read nana) meaning "seven", 転 (read korobi) meaning "to fall", 八 (read ya) meaning "eight", and 起 (read oki) meaning "to get up".

We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 七転八起.

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.

Licensing

Your purchase includes a personal-use license: use the design as a tattoo reference, frame it, engrave it, print it for yourself, or make it into a gift. For more information see Licensing, which also covers commercial-use options that may be purchased separately.

Delivery

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

If you need your design again later, ask us for it and we will send it.

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight (nana korobi ya oki)

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight (nana korobi ya oki) on a traditional Japanese Scroll by Master Eri Takase.

View Scroll ›

Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight as a hand-brushed scroll

Master Takase personally brushes your scroll when you order, and it bears her red seal and her signature. The scroll has real silk borders and layered Japanese paper, so it hangs straight, and it arrives ready to display.