Cursive · sōsho 草書 · VC4B
Cursive or sōsho (草書) styles are the most simplified styles and Master Takase's favorite. While very beautiful, these styles are often difficult to read even by specialists.
油断大敵
yudantaiteki
Carelessness is one's greatest enemy
Carelessness is a great enemy.
by Master 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.
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.
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.
Explanation
油断大敵 warns against the relaxed guard. 油断 is letting your guard down, taking a thing too lightly and ceasing to watch it, and 大敵 is a formidable foe. The proverb's force is that it treats a lapse inside you as an enemy outside you.
The proverb is Japanese: the 甲陽軍鑑, a military chronicle compiled by 1621, already cites its older form, carelessness is a strong enemy, as a saying, one the Murakami commanders forgot; the 毛吹草, compiled in 1638, which Fujii Otoo called the earliest collection of proverbs of the Edo period, lists it with a verb, carelessness becomes a strong enemy; and the 精選版日本国語大辞典's earliest example of the form with 大, a great enemy, is a puppet play of 1668.
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 油断大敵.
