真善美 shinzenbi Truth, Goodness, Beauty

Truth, Goodness, Beauty in Japanese is 真善美 which is read shinzenbi

真善美 (shinzenbi): truth, goodness, beauty. The three ends a mind can aim at are what knowing seeks, what doing seeks and what beholding seeks. The word sets them side by side as one ideal. Its sense has not moved since the word was made. What has changed is who claimed it. A school hangs it over its gate as a motto. An archer hangs it as the declared aim of kyūdō. The All Nippon Kyudo Federation names the three as the discipline's high standard. 真 is the bow that does not lie, 善 the composed mind, and 美 the crystal the two form when they become one. A person who wants the ideal whole has the philosophers' word. A person who wants the archer's has the same three characters, read on the target. The choice is yours.

The three characters translate the Western philosophers' triad of the true, the good and the beautiful, from Plato through Kant and Victor Cousin; they entered Japanese in the Ministry of Education's translations of 1874, were written as one word by 1889, and Miyake Setsurei made the word famous on the cover of his manifesto of 1891.

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

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.

Sending it as a gift? Tell us when you order and we will include your message.

Shipping is calculated at checkout from your address; within the United States it is $13 to $22. We ship worldwide, and any import charges for your country are shown at checkout before you pay.

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. Refund policy

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