先づ自己を知れ而して他を知れ mazu onore wo shire shikashite ta wo shire First Know Yourself Then Know Others

先づ自己を知れ而して他を知れ (mazu onore wo shire shikashite ta wo shire): first know yourself, then know others.

先づ自己を知れ而して他を知れ tells you where to begin: with yourself. You cannot judge another person rightly until you can see your own habits, strengths and faults. In the dojo the other is your opponent; outside it, anyone you deal with. The sentence is an order, not a remark, which is what the ending 知れ, know, keeps. 自己 is read onore here, and jiko is another reading of the same characters. Whether you keep it for training or for daily life is yours.

The precept is one of Funakoshi Gichin 船越義珍's twenty precepts of karate, a list in print by December 1934, four years before Nakasone Genwa 仲宗根源和 printed it with his commentary in 空手道大観 (1938).

We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 先づ自己を知れ而して他を知れ.

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.

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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