Kakemono Dojo Scroll
Niju Kajo - The Twenty Precepts of Karate
Gichin Funakoshi’s “Niju Kajo,” his twenty precepts the most famous of which is the first; “Karate begins and ends with courtesy.”
Calligraphy by Shinkin Gima
GICHIN FUNAKOSHI’S TWENTY PRECEPTS
1. Karate wa rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru koto wo wasuruna.
Karate begins and ends with courtesy.
2. Karate ni sente nashi.
There is no first attack in karate.
3. Karate wa gi no tasuke.
Karate is an auxiliary of justice.
4. Mazu jiko wo shire, shikoshite tao wo shire.
First know yourself, then know others.
5. Gijutsu yori shinjutsu.
Techniques are inferior to intuition/spirit.
6. Kokoro wa hanatan koto wo yosu.
Always be ready to release your mind.
7. Wazawai wa getai ni shozu.
Misfortune always comes out of negligence.
8. Dojo no mino karate to omou na.
Do not think that karate training is only in the dojo.
9. Karate no shugyo wa issho de aru.
Karate practise is for your entire life; there is no limit.
10. Ara-yuru mono o karate-ka seyo, se soko ni myo-mi ari.
Put your everyday living into karate and you will find a subtle mystery.
11. Karate wa yu no goto shi taezu netsudo wo ataezareba moto no mizu ni kaeru.
Karate is like hot water; without constant heat it will become cold.
12. Katsu kangae wa motsu na makenu kangae wa hitsuyo.
Do not think that you have to win. Rather think that you do not have to lose.
13. Tekki ni yotte tenka seyo.
Victory depends on the ability to distinguish vulnerable points from invulnerabe ones.
14. Tatta kai wa kyo-jitsu no soju ikan ni ari.
The fight depends on how you manoeuvre guarded and unguarded positions.
15. Hito no te ashi wo ken to omoe.
Think of the hands and feet as swords.
16. Danshi mon wo izureba hyakuman no tekki ari.
When you leave home think that you have one million enemies. Your behaviour invites trouble from them.
17. Kamae wa shoshinsha ni ato wa shizentai.
Beginners must master stance and posture; natural body position for advanced.
18. Kata wa tadashiku jissen wa bettsu mono.
Practising a kata is one thing, and engaging in a real fight is another.
19. Chikara no kyojaku, karada no shinshuku, waza no kankyu wo wasuruna.
Do not forget strength and softness of power, stretching and contraction of the body, slowness and speed of the techniques. Apply these correctly.
20. Tsune ni shinen kufu seyo.
Always think and devise ways to live the precepts every day.
Karate Kakemono (lit. “hanging things”) for the dojo, your home, or as the perfect gift for dojo kyodai, “dojo brothers & sisters.” The proverbs written on these scrolls have been selected specifically for karate enthusiasts.
On our karate dojo scrolls are written maxims of particular significance to all martial artists. They remind us of the core principles governing our training and how we should live our lives. Rest assured that they are guaranteed 100% accurate translations that will bring credit to you and/or your dojo!
After years of research, we discovered the best way to reproduce calligraphy scrolls is to use a commercial Japanese twelve color art printer that uses special pigments, not toners. This gives a permanent image with an “organic” look rather than toners’ shiny plastic appearance. Our karate dojo scrolls look just the same as those found in Japan and Okinawa.
Printed on high quality art paper in size 11" X 17" to easily fit a standard sized frame, they are printed in black with contrasting red seals (hanko) applied individually. Shipped flat between boards to prevent creasing.
These sayings come to us from antiquity. Some are the words of the founders of martial arts traditions; all are designed to inspire, to encourage and to enlighten. A perfect gift for a friend, instructor, or for oneself.