正勝吾勝 masakatsu agatsu True Victory is Victory Over Oneself

True Victory is Victory Over Oneself^[1] in Japanese is 正勝吾勝 which is read masakatsu agatsu

正勝吾勝 (masakatsu agatsu): true victory is victory over oneself.

正勝吾勝 sets two victories side by side and makes them one: the right kind of victory is the one you win over yourself. In aikido, to win is to defeat the contending mind in your own heart, and an art that contends with nothing is never defeated. What you win over is yours to name.

The phrase is composed of the kanji 正 (read masa) meaning "correct; true", 勝 (read katsu) meaning "victory", 吾 (read a) meaning "self" and 勝 (read gatsu) meaning "victory".

References:

^[1] Translation by John Stevens, The Secrets of Aikido (Shambhala, 1995), p. 104.

The first four characters of the name of the god born first in the oath-contest between Amaterasu and Susanoo in the 古事記 of 712, where they preserve Susanoo's cry that he has won; Ueshiba Morihei 植芝盛平, the founder of aikido, made them the motto of his art and read into them that true victory is victory over oneself.

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

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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