Semi-Cursive · gyōsho 行書 · VS5C
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.
私を殺さないものは私を強くする
watashi o korosanai mono wa watashi o tsuyoku suru
What Does Not Kill Me, Makes Me Stronger
What does not kill me makes me stronger.
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.
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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
私を殺さないものは私を強くする (watashi o korosanai mono wa watashi o tsuyoku suru): what does not kill me makes me stronger.
私を殺さないものは私を強くする is about a self that takes a blow and comes out the stronger for it. Whatever comes at me and fails to end me leaves me more than I was. 私を殺さないもの, the thing that does not kill me, is one phrase and the subject of the sentence. 強くする is to make strong, so what survives is built up, not just spared.
The Japanese keeps the relative clause the sentence turns on whole.
The sentence is Nietzsche's, the eighth of the maxims that open Götzen-Dämmerung (1889), Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker; this short Japanese form of it is in print by 1967, where the Japanese translations of the book, from 1926 on, all say stronger.
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 私を殺さないものは私を強くする.
