Fortune Comes To Those Who Smile

Fortune Comes To Those Who Smile in Japanese is 笑う門には福来る which is read warau kado ni wa fuku kitaru

笑う門には福来る (warau kado ni wa fuku kitaru): fortune comes to the gate that laughs.

The gate stands for the house and the family behind it, and fortune arrives as a visitor, the god of fortune at the door. The line was already a proverb in a kyōgen comedy of the early Edo period, where two farmers try to make a sour official laugh because fortune is promised to the gate that laughs. In 1829 the scholar Hirata Atsutane used it to explain the smiling okame mask hung in doorways, and the Kamigata iroha cards picture it with a grinning god of fortune.

The laugh meant is the innocent kind, from the belly; 笑う is both laugh and smile, and the title chose smile.

Philology of 笑う門には福来る

The scroll is completed within 1–3 business days and is shipped from Master Takase's studio in Washington State by USPS Priority Mail. It arrives ready to display.

The scroll is packed in its own box inside the shipping box. A printed page travels with it showing the art with its English, romaji and Japanese. Sending it as a gift? Ask us when you order and we will include your message.

The scroll is $220. Shipping is USPS Priority Mail, calculated at checkout from your address: within the United States it is roughly $13 to $22; to Canada about $47; to Europe, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Korea and Brazil about $69 to $86. Outside the United States, import tax and customs charges are collected by your customs authority at delivery and are not part of what you pay us. Germany is the one exception: we collect them at checkout so nothing is owed at the door.

Every order is covered by our 100% money-back guarantee for 30 days. Contact us first and we will confirm the return details. If your item arrives damaged, or we made an error, we replace it or refund you in full, including shipping. Refund policy

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

Master Takase personally brushes your Japanese scroll when you order. Each scroll proudly 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.