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.
順風満帆
junpū manpan
Smooth Sailing
Smooth sailing, a fair wind and a full sail.
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 wish for the voyage: a fair wind behind you and every sail full. It was a cliché of business histories by the 1930s. It is a state you are in rather than a thing you do. Two readings compete, manpan and manpo, and manpan is the dictionaries' ruling. Its neighbor, the Chinese 一路順風, is said of a journey that went well, wished at a parting, and used of any smooth course; the two are one wind seen twice.
The four-character idiom 順風満帆 is composed of the word 順風 (read junpū) meaning "favorable wind" and the kanji 満 (read man) meaning "full" and 帆 (read pan) meaning "sail".
順風満帆 is first found, in the National Diet Library's full-text search, in a dated ship's log of 1873, literal, and was figurative in kanbun by 1880.
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 順風満帆.
