Jiun · 自運 · VD5B
Jiun (自運) is the calligrapher's word for writing from one's own invention. As a Shihan, Master Takase has a hand of her own, and these designs are that hand: she draws freely on the classic scripts to create exactly the look she wants.
不知最親切
fuchi mottomo shinsetsu
Not Knowing is Most Intimate
Not knowing is most intimate: a Zen master's answer to a young monk who had just said I don't know.
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
Not Knowing is Most Intimate in Japanese is 不知最親切 which is read fuchi mottomo shinsetsu
不知最親切 (fuchi mottomo shinsetsu): not knowing is most intimate.
不知最親切 says that not knowing is the closest thing of all. Banshō, whose commentary carries the koan, reads its verse both ways: the not-knowing is reached only by shedding every last thread, and yet the not-knowing at the end is like the one at the start. He also warns that people who hear the line and settle on just don't know have missed it. 親切 here keeps its older sense, close and right on the point, not today's kind. Whether you hang it for your practice or for a season when you cannot see the way is yours.
The line is the master 桂琛's reply to the young monk 法眼文益, who, asked on his pilgrimage what the pilgrimage was about, had said he did not know; the exchange was first written up, with 法眼 waking at the line, in the 景德傳燈錄 of 1004, about fifty years after 法眼's death in 958.
We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 不知最親切.
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 layered Japanese paper, designed to last generations. 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
