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.
天下無双
tenka musō
Without Equal Under Heaven
Without equal under heaven: peerless, unmatched anywhere in the world.
Master Takase creates this beautiful scroll when your order is placed, personally preparing the ink and brushing your art, which proudly bears her signature and seal. This is an original work of art.
Description
天下無双 (tenka musō) is, word for word, under heaven with no second. 天下 is the whole world that heaven covers, and 無双 is being so excellent that nothing stands beside it.
In the Shiji's life of the general Li Guang, an official says it in tears. He fears that Li, who trusts his own ability and repeatedly engages the enemy, will be lost. In Burton Watson's English: There is no one in the empire to match Li Guang for skill and spirit.
In its entry for 1106, the court diary Chūyūki calls the court ladies' robes of a beauty without equal in the realm, closing the clause with it is said. The same clause calls the display 過差, going past the measure.
In older use it is also read tenka busō. Brinkley, Nanjō and Iwasaki's dictionary of 1896 enters 無双 under both readings, and its example under musō is a matchless warrior. Today the Japanese dictionary Daijisen gives the example a swordsman without equal.
The Shiji, of which a first draft is thought finished about 91 BCE, uses it in three lives, of a fur robe, a prince and the general Li Guang; in Japanese its first instance in the Nihon kokugo daijiten is the court diary Chūyūki for 1106.
We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 天下無双.
Delivery
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? Add your message at checkout and we will include it.
Shipping is calculated at checkout from your address; within the United States it is $13 to $23. 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
About Our Scrolls
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 woven damask borders and layered Japanese paper, designed to last generations. The scrolls themselves are made by a scroll maker in Gifu, Japan, and we have worked with them 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
