Fine Japanese Calligraphy

The Art of Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase

良妻賢母 ryōsaikenbo Good Wife Wise Mother

by Master Eri Takase
Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase

Born and raised in Osaka, Japan, Eri Takase received the rank of Shihan, master, from two calligraphy societies, the Bokuteki-kai and Bunka-shodō, and won best-of-category awards in all-Japan national competitions. She has created calligraphy for people around the world for more than thirty years, and with your order she will be creating calligraphy for you.

A brushed scroll with Master Takase's brush on its rest, an inkstone and ink stick, a small iron water pot and red seal paste

In a ritual as old as calligraphy itself, Master Takase prepares the ink, meditatively rubbing the ink stick against the stone until it reaches the perfect consistency for the paper. Then, properly loading the brush with ink, she brushes your scroll. And only when the scroll is just right and meets her approval, she signs it and affixes her seal, completing your original scroll.

12 1/4" × 43" (31 × 109 cm) Japanese Scrolls

The scrolls have woven damask borders and special layered Japanese paper (washi), designed to last generations by a scroll maker in Gifu, Japan, with whom we have worked for over two decades.

The roller at the foot of a hanging scrollThe corner where the paper, the gold band and the damask border meet
Gift-Ready

Your scroll arrives boxed, with a printed insert describing the words in detail.

Sending it as a gift? Add your message at checkout and we will include it with the insert.

Ships in 1-3 days from Washington State

Your scroll is brushed when you order it and completed within 1 to 3 business days.

Your scroll ships from Master Takase's studio in Washington State. Shipping is calculated at checkout. We ship worldwide.

30-day money-back guarantee

Every order is covered by our 30-day money-back guarantee. If your scroll arrives damaged, or we made an error, we replace it or refund you in full, including shipping.

$220

Explanation

良妻賢母 (ryōsaikenbo) means a good wife and a wise mother, praise for a woman whose life has been spent well on the people around her.

良妻 (ryōsai) is a good wife and 賢母 (kenbo) a wise mother: two old words set side by side. Good Wife Wise Mother is the exact English, word for word, and the English was praise on its own before it carried the Japanese: an American obituary of 1878 calls a woman a good wife, and wise mother.

良妻賢母 is a Meiji pairing of two old words, first found in an 1880 book of morals, which reformers and educators argued over and which the state made the name of its doctrine of women's education from about 1899.

Learn More About These Words

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