Eri's Choice · VD4B
Eri's Choice is a design that does not keep strictly to one style; it is Master Takase's own artistic choice.
精神統一
seishin tōitsu
Concentration
Concentration, the mind made one.
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
精神統一 is the whole mind gathered on a single point. 精神 is the mind or spirit, and 統一 is to make one. A Japanese psychologist of the 1920s described it in two stages: first the mind is swept clear of every stray thought, and then one aim is held in that stillness. The Kyūdō Reader of 1937 says the archer's silent bow toward the target is not a prayer to hit but a rite, and that the rite means making one's own mind one.
精神統一 is composed of the words 精神 (read seishin) meaning "mind; spirit" and 統一 (read tōitsu) meaning "gather; unify".
| When in Japan I visit Zen temples for what is called Seishin Toitsu which my dictionary says means "concentration". While this definition is true, it is also unsatisfactory. By stepping through the temple gate, I am transported to a world of harmony and tranquility. The temple will be, perhaps, covered in early autumn. Around me the multi-colored leaves will fall like jewels to the dew covered ground. Here there is no male and female. There is no age. There is no social standing. It is this place and this state of mind I come to when my spirit (seishin) is gathered (toitsu), when my mind (seishin) is one (toitsu). Gone are the myriad distractions and all that remains is myself, focused and attentive on the here and now. All is equal and in harmony and this transcends all. To read the complete article visit Seishin Toitsu by Eri Takase. |
No Chinese source for the compound has been found, and it has no known author: it is first found in print in the 1890s, in the writing of the Japanese scholars building a vocabulary for philosophy and psychology, the first readable whole a survey of German philosophy of 1895, and by the 1920s and 1930s it was a plain word in the kendō, kyūdō and zazen manuals for gathering the mind before an act.
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 精神統一.
