万理一空 banri ikkū Ten Thousand Principles, One Emptiness

万理一空 (banri ikkū): a mind without wavering, reached by carrying the training of the spirit and the body to their limit.

万理一空 names a state of mind with no wavering in the heart. It is reached by carrying the cultivation of the spirit and the training of the body to their limit. The words say ten thousand principles, one emptiness. Whether it is for the dōjō or for any long training is yours.

In 1666 a disciple in Musashi's school, 寺尾求馬信行, gave 萬理一空 as the ground of the school's name. A book of 1895 headed the phrase kendō's innermost secret, and said it lies in one's own working out. In the older texts of the articles the phrase is written 萬理一空.

On 28 September 2011 the sumo wrestler Kotoshōgiku accepted promotion to ōzeki. He said he would strive and train daily, seeking the state of 万理一空. In English the phrase has been rendered Ten Thousand Principles/One Void and Myriad Principles, One Void.

The four characters are the last heading of Miyamoto Musashi's 兵法三十五箇条, the articles on the sword dated the second month of 1641 and sent to his lord 細川忠利, where the sentence under the heading says only that the point cannot be put into writing and is to be worked out; they are not in the 五輪書, to which the 1936 essay of the novelist 吉川英治 and later the dictionary gave them.

We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 万理一空.

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