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不倒翁
The One That Never Falls
ふとうおう · fu tou ou
¥6,980$70.00€65.00
An impression from a seal hand-carved in Tokyo, printed on a garment.
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Choose sleeve, colour and size →
寶千印 · Tokyo · 2026
- Made to order
- Printed one at a time
- Shipping
- Shipping included; available destinations shown at checkout.
- Original seal
- Hand-carved 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
The original seal is hand-carved in Tokyo by the artist Satake Hōsen. Its impression is reproduced as a print on the garment.
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. Check the measurements rather than the size letter.
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