The Verse Sewn into the Robe

さんせんいいきふうげつどうてんきしょぶっしぐけつらいえん · sansen iiki fuugetsu douten kisho busshi guketsu raien

Reading

Mountains and rivers mark off one land from another; the same wind and moon pass over both.

What divides is distance, not sky.

The robe is sent to people not yet met, to tie a bond not yet come.

The tie is made before the meeting.

Origin

A gāthā that Prince Nagaya had embroidered in gold thread along the hems of a thousand kesa robes sent to the monks of Tang. Its four lines — "Different lands, mountains and rivers; one same sky, wind and moon. Offered to the children of the Buddha, to bind a bond yet to come" — are recorded in the Complete Tang Poems (Quan Tangshi), vol. 732, under the title "On the Hem of an Embroidered Kesa." The verse is said to have moved Ganjin toward his crossing to Japan.

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)
Print: 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.