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.
大器晩成
taiki bansei
Great Talents Mature Late
Great talents mature late: a great person takes time to make their mark in the world.
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
大器晩成 (taiki bansei): a great person takes time to make their mark in the world; great talents mature late.
The 日本国語大辞典 explains the image. A large vessel such as a bell or a cauldron cannot be made quickly. Just so, a truly great person develops slowly, builds strength over time and later achieves greatness. Word for word, the four characters say a great vessel is finished late. Whether it is for a late bloomer or for a great work that takes time is yours.
A history completed in 432 tells of Ma Yuan, an orphan who could not keep to his studies. His elder brother told him that he had great talent and would come to it late. Zhu Bo, who could recite the classics at twelve, held a county post and rose no higher, while Ma Yuan became a general.
Fujiwara no Umakai sent a poem to a friend who had stayed in the capital, with a preface of consolation. The great vessel is late, he wrote, but in the end it becomes a treasure. The 懐風藻, which keeps the preface, was completed in 751. About 900, Sugawara no Michizane wrote a verse congratulating a graduate of forty-two: know him for a great vessel, finished late.
The four characters are a line of the 老子, chapter 41, one of the sayings the chapter quotes; the received texts read them 大器晩成, the great vessel is finished late, while the two excavated manuscripts that keep the line write 免成 and 曼成, which most of their readers have taken as slow and a few as never finished.
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 大器晩成.
