Block · kaisho 楷書 · VB5C
Block or kaisho (楷書) Fonts are the most common and recognizable fonts. Block fonts are easily read and are noted for their angular form and their vertical and horizontal lines.
己に忠実なれ
onore ni chūjitsu nare
To Thine Own Self Be True
Be faithful to yourself.
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
己に忠実なれ (onore ni chūjitsu nare): be faithful to yourself.
Be faithful to yourself: Polonius's precept to his son, and in Japanese a maxim in its own right. 忠実 is faithful, loyal, the word for serving with a whole heart and for a translation true to its original; なれ is the old imperative, be, which makes the line a maxim rather than a sentence. The six characters are a translator's, Kume Masao's Polonius, and his readers already knew the longer form, 自己に忠実なれ, as the watchword of a generation of Japanese writers who set faithfulness to the self above every rule and model. The scroll carries the precept; the half that follows it, that you cannot then be false to any man, is yours to keep.
The six characters are Polonius's line in Hamlet (about 1600) as Kume Masao 久米正雄 translated it in 1915, spoken on the Imperial Theatre stage in nearly the same sentence in 1918; the longer form 自己に忠實なれ was already in Japanese print by 1904, given to Shakespeare by one writer and used with no source by others.
We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 己に忠実なれ.
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
