一心同体 isshin dōtai One in Mind and Body

一心同体 (isshin dōtai): one heart, one body; two people acting as one.

Every Japanese dictionary gives the same sentence for it, husband and wife are one heart and one body, so a couple who hang it hang the word Japanese uses for them; One in Mind and Body says the two halves, and of one flesh is what a Japanese reader hears. The word has only ever meant many acting as one, and the couple is its newest subject, not its only one: two friends, two partners or a team who want the word for acting as one person have it just as exactly. Which two is yours.

Master Takase brushes the four characters in block, semi-cursive and cursive script and in her own font designs.

Before it belonged to the couple it named a brotherhood: in the Journey to the West, master and disciples travel on one heart and one body. Japan took it up in the 1870s for its new bodies of men, the police and the volunteers, and it came to husband and wife through a catechism on the sacrament of marriage.

一心同体 is composed of the words 一心 (read isshin) meaning "one heart, one mind" and 同体 (read dōtai) meaning "one body".

We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 一心同体.

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? Tell us when you order and we will include your message.

Shipping is calculated at checkout from your address; within the United States it is $13 to $22. 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

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 real silk borders and Japanese paper that are layered so the scroll hangs straight and will not warp over time. The scrolls themselves are made by Sankō (株式会社三幸) in Gifu prefecture, which has been making high quality scrolls since 1947, and we have worked with Sankō 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