自業自得 jigō jitoku You Reap What You Sow

You Reap What You Sow in Japanese is 自業自得 which is read jigō jitoku

自業自得 (jigō jitoku): one's own deeds, one's own fruit.

What you did comes back to you, and no one else did this to you; 得 is to receive, so the fruit is received, not gained. The words are a sutra's, translated into Chinese in 539, where a hell-warden says them to a sinner who asks why he burns; a Japanese monk wrote them of himself about 1213, and Hakuin sang them to mill-girls in 1760 with the seed and the field, which is where the English harvest meets the Japanese.

The sutra says it of good deeds too; Japanese usage says it of bad ones, so the scroll is a warning in Japanese and can be a promise in English.

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

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