Semi-Cursive · gyōsho 行書 · VS6C
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.
逢うは別れの始め
au wa wakare no hajime
Meeting is only the beginning of separation
To meet is the beginning of parting.
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
逢うは別れの始め says that every meeting already holds its parting. Where there is meeting, parting is to be expected, and the proverb is said to stop grief. It is a sentence of comfort and of letting go. The newer reading, that meetings are precious because they end, stands beside the older one.
The English title is Lafcadio Hearn's, from his In Ghostly Japan of 1899.
The Japanese proverb comes from a Chinese line, 合者離之始, that Bai Juyi 白居易 wrote in his poem 和夢遊春詩一百韻 in 810 or after, in couplets that echo the Buddhist sutras' teaching that meeting must have parting; the デジタル大辞泉 names the line as its source.
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 逢うは別れの始め.
