Semi-Cursive · gyōsho 行書 · VS4C
Semi-Cursive or gyōsho (行書) styles are a simplified and softer form of the kaisho styles. Gyōsho styles can be read by most Japanese.
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.
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
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. Of the forms the Japanese word tried, the language kept the one written here: the fit one, not the fit species or the fittest. It is not 弱肉強食, the strong devouring the weak.
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.
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 適者生存.
