住めば都 sumeba miyako Home Is Where You Live

住めば都 says that wherever you live, you come to call it home. 住めば means if you live there, once you live there, and 都 is the capital. The proverb is about growing used to a place, never about choosing one. The dictionaries add a second turn: hardship too, once you are used to it, becomes a pleasure of the mind. Whether it is for yourself or for someone far from home is yours.

A twin one vowel away, 住まば都 (sumaba miyako), means the reverse: if you live anywhere, let it be the capital. The design says sumeba.

The sentence originates in a poem of 1183, written at sea by a Taira courtier in exile with the child emperor's fled court, on the set topic "love, on the moon"; the chronicles disagree on the poet, naming 平大納言時忠 in the 源平盛衰記 and the 長門本 平家物語 and 左馬頭行盛 in the common text of the 平家物語. The proverb took its shape by the Muromachi period, once the sentence had detached from the emperor.

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

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.

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.

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.