Eri's Choice · VD7B
Eri's Choice is a design that does not keep strictly to one style; it is Master Takase's own artistic choice.
過ぎたるは猶及ばざるが如し
sugitaru wa nao oyobazaru ga gotoshi
Going too far is as bad as falling short
Having gone too far is just like not having reached.
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
The saying is the Master's answer in the Analects to a clever question: asked which of two men is the better, the one who overshoots or the one who falls short, and expected to say the overshooter, Confucius answers that to go beyond is as wrong as to fall short. The line is balanced on purpose, and the balance is what the words carry; as a Japanese proverb it mostly scolds excess, the fault people see more of, so a person who chooses it may mean the rebuke to too much or the whole even measure.
The four characters close an exchange in the Analects in which a disciple, Zigong, asks Confucius to rank two of his students; the line is the Master's own answer, refusing to call either fault worse than the other.
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 過ぎたるは猶及ばざるが如し.
