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寶千印 · Tokyo · 2026
No.08
不倒翁
The One That Never Falls
ふとうおう · fu tou ou
- Made to order
- Printed one at a time
- Shipping
- Included, worldwide
- Carved
- By hand, in Tokyo
Reading
The old man who is pushed, rolled over, and rises again.
The weight sits at the bottom — what is kept low is what restores the upright.
Not the absence of falling, but the refusal to stay fallen.
Origin
Not a phrase from the Zen canon. A word for a self-righting figure, traceable to the Tang-dynasty Chinese "jiu huzi" (酒胡子) — a sharp-bottomed doll spun at banquets, the direction of its fall deciding who drank. In the Ming dynasty it was remade in papier-mâché as an old man's figure, and from its habit of righting itself when knocked over it came to be called budaoweng (不倒翁), "the old man who will not fall." By the Muromachi period it had reached Japan as the okiagari-koboshi, and has long been spoken of alongside Bodhidharma's seated meditation and the spirit of "seven falls, eight rises."
Seal
Cut by hand in Tokyo by the artist. The angle of the blade and the depth of the stroke decide where the ink bleeds and where it holds. No imprint repeats.
篆刻 — 佐竹 寶千 朱印
Specifications
- Garment
- Short sleeve: Bella + Canvas 3001 / Long sleeve: Gildan 2400 (Ultra Cotton)
- DTG print — front: the seal; back & inside label: 寳千 / Vermilion
- Size
- S · M · L · XL
- Price
- ¥6,980$70.00€65.00
Size guide
Short sleeve · Bella + Canvas 3001
| Size | Length | Chest width |
|---|---|---|
| S | 71 / 28.0 | 46 / 18.1 |
| M | 74 / 29.1 | 51 / 20.1 |
| L | 76 / 29.9 | 56 / 22.0 |
| XL | 79 / 31.1 | 61 / 24.0 |
Long sleeve · Gildan 2400
| Size | Length | Chest width | Sleeve |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | 71 / 28.0 | 46 / 18.1 | 85 / 33.5 |
| M | 74 / 29.1 | 51 / 20.1 | 89 / 35.0 |
| L | 76 / 29.9 | 56 / 22.0 | 93 / 36.6 |
| XL | 79 / 31.1 | 61 / 24.0 | 97 / 38.2 |
Garment measured flat, in cm / inches. Slight variation occurs between pieces. Sizes follow Japanese garment standards — check the measurements rather than the letter.
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