Semi-Cursive · gyōsho 行書 · VS5J
Semi-Cursive or gyōsho (行書) styles are a simplified and softer form of the kaisho styles. Gyōsho styles can be read by most Japanese.
和を以て貴しと為す
wa o motte tōtoshi to nasu
Harmony Is to Be Prized
The Japanese saying that harmony is to be prized: hold it precious that people are on good terms, caring for one another and working together.
Master Takase creates this beautiful scroll when your order is placed, personally preparing the ink and brushing your art, which proudly bears her signature and seal. This is an original work of art.
Description
和を以て貴しと為す (wa o motte tōtoshi to nasu): harmony is to be prized. Hold it precious that people are on good terms with one another and work together.
和 is harmony: getting along, caring for one another and working together. 以て … と為す is to take … as …, and 貴し is precious: take harmony as the precious thing.
The article the line opens goes on: when those above are in harmony and those below are friendly, and they agree in discussing affairs, things come right of themselves. The code's last article says a matter of weight is to be discussed with many, not decided by one person alone.
In English, W. G. Aston's translation of 1896 gave Harmony is to be valued, and most English books since have kept his words or changed one of them. Donald Keene, in 1993, wrote Harmony is to be prized.
The opening line of the Seventeen-Article Constitution, which the Nihon shoki (720) sets in 604 as the work of the crown prince later called Shōtoku Taishi; its four characters 以和爲貴 are the wording of the Chinese Book of Rites (禮記, 儒行), and the Analects (論語) has the same thought with one character changed; the chronicle's manuscripts read 和 as a native word, yawaragi or yawaraka naru, and the reading wa is in a commentary of 1670 and in the printed maxim of the 1910s.
We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 和を以て貴しと為す.
Delivery
Your scroll is brushed when you order it and completed within 1 to 3 business days. It ships by USPS Priority Mail from Master Takase's studio in Washington State, boxed and ready to hang, with a printed page giving the art's English, romaji and Japanese.
Sending it as a gift? Add your message at checkout and we will include it.
Shipping is calculated at checkout from your address; within the United States it is $13 to $23. We ship worldwide, and any import charges for your country are shown at checkout before you pay.
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. Refund policy
About Our Scrolls
Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase brushes your scroll by hand when you order it. Each scroll bears her red seal, 英利, and her signature.
The scrolls are 12 1/4" W × 43" H (31 × 109 cm) with woven damask borders and Japanese paper that are layered so the scroll hangs straight and will not warp over time. The scrolls themselves are made by a scroll maker in Gifu, Japan, and we have worked with them for over two decades.
Eri Takase was born and raised in Osaka, Japan, and holds the rank of Shihan, the highest rank in Japanese calligraphy, from the Bokuteki-kai and the Bunka-shodo. About Master Takase
