Cursive · sōsho 草書 · VC5J
Cursive or sōsho (草書) styles are the most simplified styles and Master Takase's favorite. While very beautiful, these styles are often difficult to read even by specialists.
大願成就
taigan jōju
A Great Wish Fulfilled
A great wish has come true.
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
大願成就 (taigan jōju): a great wish coming true.
The 日本国語大辞典 adds that the wish comes true through the protection of the gods and Buddhas. The four characters are also read daigan jōju. Whether it is for an exam passed or for a great wish fulfilled is yours.
The 世界大百科事典 tells that in the late Edo period, when smallpox spread, the daruma doll became a charm against it and was sold without eyes. Painting in its eyes when a great wish is fulfilled is a custom that has come down to today. Another encyclopedia says it is still done for an exam passed or an election won.
In a book of stories by Saikaku printed in 1687, a priest purifying a shrine's inner sanctuary finds a petition sealed there. A young actor has written in it that he has kept his body strictly pure for five years, until his great wish is fulfilled. A book of seasonal words, in its print of 1885, says pilgrims with a wish carried large wooden swords up 大山 in Sagami. On the swords, it says, they wrote the four characters 大願成就.
Buddhist, from the Chinese canon: the four characters stand among the virtues of the householder Vimalakīrti in Kumārajīva's translation of the Vimalakīrti Sūtra (406), and in the esoteric manuals of the early eighth century they are the benefit a rite delivers; in Japan they became the words of a prayer answered, written on votive objects and spoken on the Edo stage.
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 大願成就.
