Fine Japanese Calligraphy

The Art of Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase

此の父にして此の息子有り kono chichi ni shite kono musuko ari Like Father, Like Son

Like father, like son, and in Japanese the likeness is praise.

by Master Eri Takase
Master Japanese Calligrapher 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.

A brushed scroll with Master Takase's brush on its rest, an inkstone and ink stick, a small iron water pot and red seal paste

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.

The roller at the foot of a hanging scrollThe corner where the paper, the gold band and the damask border meet
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.

$220

Explanation

此の父にして此の息子有り (kono chichi ni shite kono musuko ari): like father, like son, and in Japanese the likeness is first praise.

Given this father, this son: in Japanese the likeness is first praise, said of a son who is his father's equal, often of a son who carries on his father's work or dies as his father did. It is a Confucian line that Japanese has quoted for two centuries, and it says child; English says like father, like son of a fault as readily as of a virtue, and Japanese has it too: the dictionaries call the blame sense a misuse, though writers have used it that way since at least 1905. What decides the sense is who says it of whom: said to a son of his father, it is praise.

Master Takase brushes 息子, son, in place of the proverb's 子, child, so that the line is for a son; its companion, Like Father, Like Daughter, is offered on its own.

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 此の父にして此の息子有り.