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.
佛神は貴し佛神をたのまず
busshin wa tōtoshi busshin o tanomazu
The Buddhas and Gods Are to Be Revered; I Do Not Rely on Them
A line attributed to Miyamoto Musashi: the buddhas and gods are to be revered; I do not rely on them.
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Explanation
佛神 is the buddhas and the gods, in the 日本国語大辞典. 貴し is worthy of reverence, to be held in honor. たのむ is to rely on or count on; the dictionary's second sense is to put one's faith in.
A chronicle with a preface of 1776, the Nitenki, tells of Musashi on his way to a fight. At a shrine of Hachiman he reaches for the rope of the gong to pray for victory, and stops.
In the chronicle Musashi's thought is I have not, as a rule, put my faith in the buddhas and gods, and the chronicler then cites this article.
Among the books read for this history, five from 1886 to 1936 put the gods ahead, 神佛, Yoshikawa Eiji's 『現代青年道』 of 1936 among them. The sheet writes 佛神, the buddhas ahead.
The Tale of Genji uses 佛神をたのむ. A man leaving for the mountains entrusts to the buddhas and gods what remains in doubt.
Readers have heard the line as self-confidence that relies on its own arm, as Zen that seeks nothing of the Buddha, and as self-mastery.
Attributed to Miyamoto Musashi: the nineteenth of the twenty-one articles on the sheet headed 獨行道 in the Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art, dated 1645, whose date, signature and seal the prefecture holds more naturally a later insertion; the phrase 佛神をたのむ, to turn to the buddhas and gods in faith and in prayer, is far older.
Learn More About These Words
We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 佛神は貴し佛神をたのまず.
