Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight - Japanese Idiom Giclee Print Scroll
88.7cm
35"
42cm
16½"

Approximate Measurements

Artwork Panel: 24cm x 33.3cm  ≈  9½" x 13"

Silk/Brocade: 33cm x 88.7cm  ≈  13" x 35"

Width at Wooden Knobs: 42cm  ≈  16½"

Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight - Japanese Idiom Giclee Print Scroll close up view

Close up view of the artwork mounted to this silk brocade wall scroll

七転八起

Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight
Japanese Calligraphy Scroll


This Japanese proverb relays the vicissitudes of life. It relays the idea of always rising again after a fall or repeated failures. In the background is an Enso symbol or Zen Circle which reinforces the idea of the cycle that this proverb represents.

The first Kanji is literally "7". The second means "fall down" (sometimes this Kanji means "turn around", "revolve" or "turn over", but in this case, it holds the meaning of "fall"). The third is "8". And the last is "get up", "rouse", or "rise".

Basically, if you fail 7 times, you should recover from those events and be prepared to rise an 8th time. This also applies if it is the world or circumstances that knock you down seven times...
...just remember that you have the ability to bounce back from any kind of adversity.

Note: This can be pronounced in two ways. One is "shichi ten hakki". The other is "nana korobi ya oki".


My Little Experiment

New Print Scrolls Hanging

A new batch of printed calligraphy scrolls, hanging in the studio, awaiting proper photography.

I felt like messing around with doing some giclée print calligraphy with various backgrounds. I came up with some layouts that I really like, and passed them around with my Chinese and Japanese friends who gave them rave reviews.

After giclée printing them on Japanese-made kozo paper, I sent the raw artwork off to Beijing to my workshop where they were built into wall scrolls by hand.

If you want a custom print scroll with your design, or other calligraphy, just contact me.