Block · kaisho 楷書 · VB3C
Block or kaisho (楷書) styles are the most common and recognizable styles. Block styles are easily read and are noted for their angular form and their vertical and horizontal lines.
不名誉より死
fumeiyo yori shi
Death Before Dishonor
Death before dishonor, a vow that honor outranks life.
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
Death Before Dishonor in Japanese is 不名誉より死 which is read fumeiyo yori shi
不名誉より死 (fumeiyo yori shi): death before dishonor, a vow that honor outranks life.
不名誉より死 puts honor above life: a person would rather die than lose their honor. 不名誉 is dishonor, harm done to one's honor, and 死 is death. Set without a verb, as the English motto is, the phrase names first what is set aside and last what is taken. Whether you hang it as a soldier's vow or as a rule you keep for yourself is yours.
An English vow in print by 1627, which Japanese books of English rendered as 不名譽より死 and its variants, the earliest known an excerpt of 1898 in the National Diet Library's full-text index, and set on the Japanese themselves by 1906; the Latin Malo mori quam foedari, in print by 1591, is another vow, the ermine's, which would die rather than soil its white coat, and in the sources read meets the English only in translation.
We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 不名誉より死.
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
