Cursive · sōsho 草書 · VC3B
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.
頑張って ganbatte Go For It
Go for it, do your best, keep going: the everyday Japanese cheer for someone facing something hard.
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
頑張って is a cheer. It asks a person to bear up and see it through when things are hard. Go for it is our English; Kenkyūsha's Japanese-English dictionary gives hold out, and the Kodansha encyclopedia do your best. On a dojo wall it is the word the dojo says.
頑張って is the te-form of 頑張る, a verb written in borrowed characters; the 日本国語大辞典 takes it to come from 眼張る, to keep an eye on, and records 我張る or 我に張る as another view; the デジタル大辞泉 gives が（我）には（張）る first, with 眼張る as an alternative; in the Diet Library's index, a war report of 1905 has it for holding on.
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 頑張って.
