Block · kaisho 楷書 · VB6C
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.
正勝吾勝
masakatsu agatsu
True Victory is Victory Over Oneself
True victory is victory over oneself: the motto of aikido, and before that the opening of a god's name in Japan's oldest chronicle.
by Master Eri Takase
Born and raised in Osaka, Japan, Eri Takase received the rank of Shihan, master, from two calligraphy societies, the Bokuteki-kai and Bunka-shodō, and won best-of-category awards in all-Japan national competitions. She has created calligraphy for people around the world for more than thirty years, and with your order she will be creating calligraphy for you.
In a ritual as old as calligraphy itself, Master Takase prepares the ink, meditatively rubbing the ink stick against the stone until it reaches the perfect consistency for the paper. Then, properly loading the brush with ink, she brushes your scroll. And only when the scroll is just right and meets her approval, she signs it and affixes her seal, completing your original scroll.
12 1/4" × 43" (31 × 109 cm) Japanese Scrolls
The scrolls have woven damask borders and special layered Japanese paper (washi), designed to last generations by a scroll maker in Gifu, Japan, with whom we have worked for over two decades.
Gift-Ready
Your scroll arrives boxed, with a printed insert describing the words in detail.
Sending it as a gift? Add your message at checkout and we will include it with the insert.
Ships in 1-3 days from Washington State
Your scroll is brushed when you order it and completed within 1 to 3 business days.
Your scroll ships from Master Takase's studio in Washington State. Shipping is calculated at checkout. We ship worldwide.
30-day money-back guarantee
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.
Explanation
We read 正勝吾勝 as the aikido world does, as a maxim: the right kind of victory is the one you win over yourself. In aikido, as its founder's saying is quoted, to win is to defeat the contending mind in your own heart, and an art that contends with nothing is never defeated. At their source the four characters are a shout, Susanoo's truly, I have won, and that is worth remembering.
The English title is John Stevens's, from his The Secrets of Aikido of 1995.
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".
The first four characters of the name of the eldest of the five sons born 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.
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 正勝吾勝.
