Block · kaisho 楷書 · VB4C
Block or kaisho (楷書) styles are the most common and recognizable styles. Block styles are easily read and are noted for their angular form and their vertical and horizontal lines.
適者生存
tekisha seizon
Survival of the Fittest
Survival of the fittest, the one suited to its surroundings is the one that lives.
Master Takase creates this beautiful scroll when your order is placed, personally preparing the ink and brushing your art, which proudly bears her signature and seal. This is an original work of art.
Description
適者生存 (tekisha seizon): survival of the fittest, the one suited to its surroundings is the one that lives.
Survival of the fittest, and the Japanese word says suited, not strongest: the one that fits its surroundings is the one that lives, and the surroundings decide. The English phrase is Herbert Spencer's, which Darwin borrowed and called more accurate than his own natural selection; the Japanese word was made in the Meiji years, tried three forms between 1881 and 1883, and kept the one written here, the fit one rather than the fit species or the fittest. It is not 弱肉強食, the strong devouring the weak. Whether you take it as the phrase Darwin made famous or as the Japanese word that says suited is yours.
適者生存 is composed of the words 適者 (read tekisha) meaning "the fit" and 生存 (read seizon) meaning "survive" or "exist".
The English phrase is Herbert Spencer's, coined in 1864, taken up by Darwin in 1868 and called more accurate than his own natural selection in the Origin of 1869; the Japanese word first appears in 1883, in the preface to Ishikawa Chiyomatsu's book of Morse's Tokyo lectures, after an 1881 form that made the fit a species and an 1882 one that made them the fittest.
We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 適者生存.
Delivery
Your scroll is brushed when you order it and completed within 1 to 3 business days. It ships by USPS Priority Mail from Master Takase's studio in Washington State, boxed and ready to hang, with a printed page giving the art's English, romaji and Japanese.
Sending it as a gift? Add your message at checkout and we will include it.
Shipping is calculated at checkout from your address; within the United States it is $13 to $23. We ship worldwide, and any import charges for your country are shown at checkout before you pay.
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. Refund policy
About Our Scrolls
Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase brushes your scroll by hand when you order it. Each scroll bears her red seal, 英利, and her signature.
The scrolls are 12 1/4" W × 43" H (31 × 109 cm) with woven damask borders and Japanese paper that are layered so the scroll hangs straight and will not warp over time. The scrolls themselves are made by a scroll maker in Gifu, Japan, and we have worked with them for over two decades.
Eri Takase was born and raised in Osaka, Japan, and holds the rank of Shihan, the highest rank in Japanese calligraphy, from the Bokuteki-kai and the Bunka-shodo. About Master Takase
