和敬清寂 wakei seijaku Four Virtues of Tea

和敬清寂 (wakei seijaku): harmony, respect, purity, tranquility.

Four characters, four virtues of the tea gathering. Harmony and respect are how host and guest are to be with each other. Purity and tranquility are how the room, the garden and the utensils are to be. The tea schools have taught the four as the spirit of the way of tea.

A second spelling writes the third character as 静, stillness. That would say the fourth virtue twice, since 寂 is the stillness of a quiet place. The dictionaries write 清, purity, and so do these designs.

The English is Sen Sōshitsu XV's, grand master of the Urasenke school of tea, from his The Art of Taking Tea of 1967.

和敬清寂 consists of the kanji 和 (read wa) meaning "Harmony", 敬 (read kei) meaning "Respect", 清 (read sei) meaning "Purity", and 寂 (read jaku) meaning "Tranquility".

This is a very popular phrase and this art makes an excellent gift especially for a Japanese Tea Ceremony enthusiast, Bonsai artist or Ikebana artist.

Tradition gives the words to the tea master Sen no Rikyū, but their first appearance is a Zen abbot's preface of 1699, printed in 1730, a hundred and eight years after Rikyū's death.

We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 和敬清寂.

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? Tell us when you order and we will include your message.

Shipping is calculated at checkout from your address; within the United States it is $13 to $22. 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

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 real silk borders and Japanese paper that are layered so the scroll hangs straight and will not warp over time. The scrolls themselves are made by Sankō (株式会社三幸) in Gifu prefecture, which has been making high quality scrolls since 1947, and we have worked with Sankō 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