一石二鳥 issekinichō Kill two birds with one stone

Two ends by one act, and the four characters are the English proverb itself, kill two birds with one stone, written in kanji, so the compound keeps the whole picture and loses nothing between the languages. In English and in Japanese alike it is a plain word of approval for doing two things with one effort. Japanese had an older word for the thought, 一挙両得 (ikkyo ryōtoku), one move, two gains, and the Meiji dictionaries mostly set it in the picture's place, though the first English-Japanese dictionary, in 1862, had translated the picture word for word; whether you take it as the English you know or as the Japanese word it became is yours.

A calque of the English proverb to kill two birds with one stone, printed in 1656 in Bishop Bramhall's reply to Hobbes; the English-Japanese dictionary the shogunate printed in 1862 translated it word for word, 石ニテ鳥二羽ヲ殺ス, later dictionaries gave 一石を以て二鳥を殺す, 一挙両得 or both, and the four characters, written once in 1906, became a word in the Taishō, with no named maker.

We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 一石二鳥.

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.