Jiun · 自運 · VD4B
Jiun (自運) is the calligrapher's word for writing from one's own invention. As a Shihan, Master Takase has a hand of her own, and these designs are that hand: she draws freely on the classic scripts to create exactly the look she wants.
異体同心
itaidōshin
Different Bodies One Mind
Different bodies, one mind: two people who remain two and think as one, said of comrades and, in modern Japanese, of a couple.
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
異体同心 (itaidōshin): two people who remain two and think as one.
The phrase is built on a contrast, and it says the two stay two: 異体 is different bodies, separate persons, and 同心 is one mind. Its mirror image, 同体異心, one body and different minds, is the state in which nothing gets done, and the two were set against each other by Nichiren, in a letter about his persecuted followers at Atsuhara: a few people of one mind accomplish what a multitude of divided minds cannot.
Before him the four characters were Chinese, said of two cruel emperors, of two guardian figures beside the sun, of a prefecture's officials and of friends mourned by poets; and in Japan of a nun's two daughters and the deities of a Buddhist rite. Said of a couple, its modern sense, which the dictionaries carry, it wishes them alignment rather than fusion: 一心同体 and 偕老同穴 make a couple one, and this phrase keeps both people in it.
English-speaking practitioners know it as many in body, one in mind; different bodies, one mind keeps the different the phrase is built on.
異体同心 is composed of the kanji 異 (read i) meaning "uncommon; different; queerness", 体 (read tai) meaning "body; substance; object", 同 (read dō) meaning "same; agree; equal", and 心 (read shin) meaning "heart; mind; spirit".
The phrase is Chinese: the oldest use found in zh.wikisource's texts with a datable writer is 虞世南's (558–638) verdict on two cruel emperors, and Tang writers use it of two guardian figures and of a prefecture's officials; in Japan it is written from the twelfth century in Buddhist books, and Nichiren's letter on it, about his followers at Atsuhara and put by its English editions between 1275 and 1280, gave it the life it has had since.
We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 異体同心.
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 layered Japanese paper, designed to last generations. 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
