Cursive · sōsho 草書 · VC5B
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.
今笑い後で泣く
ima warai, ato de naku
Laugh Now, Cry Later
Laugh now, cry later.
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
今笑い後で泣く says: enjoy it now, and pay for it later. It can be a warning, or the shrug of someone who has already decided, and the Japanese carries both, as the English does. 泣く, to cry, comes last because Japanese puts its verb at the end, which for this motto is the right place for the crying. The English is in print by 1920, and the tattoo of a laughing and a crying face carries it.
Japanese has a saying about laughing and crying, 今泣いた烏がもう笑う, the crow that was crying a moment ago is already laughing, but it means a child's quick change of mood and runs the other way; this design's sentence is the house's plain Japanese for the English motto, and it says exactly what the English says.
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 今笑い後で泣く.
