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.
琴瑟相和
kinshitsu sōwa
Two Zithers in Harmony
A husband and wife on the best of terms.
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
琴瑟相和 (kinshitsu sōwa): a husband and wife on the best of terms.
In today's dictionaries the phrase is said of a husband and wife who are on the best of terms. The four characters say the qin and the se in harmony. The qin (琴) is a zither with no bridges, and the se (瑟) is a long zither of about twenty-five strings on movable bridges.
The wish in 琴瑟相和 is that two different instruments sound together. In the 左傳, Yanzi tells his lord that harmony is not sameness. If the qin and the se played a single note, he asks, who could listen?
In Japan the phrase is in print of a married couple in accord by 1805. Meiji letter manuals give the variant 琴瑟調和 among the phrases for a wedding letter.
The picture of a married couple as the qin and the se, two zithers played together, comes from the Book of Songs, and the earliest instances of the four characters in the Chinese texts the history searched are a Tang commentator's and a ninth-century storyteller's; in Japan they are in print as a wish for a marriage by 1805, in a preface that sets the couple in tune against the couple who glare at each other.
We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 琴瑟相和.
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
