Fine Japanese Calligraphy

The Art of Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase

For the Sake of the Children

子供の為に (kodomo no tame ni)

The Japanese phrase 子供の為に meaning "For the Sake of the Children" (also "For the Sake of My Children" and "For the Sake of Our Children") is composed of the words 子供 (read kodomo) meaning "children" and 為に (read tameni) meaning "for the sake of; for".

Japanese language is a "pro-drop" language meaning the pronoun is often naturally omitted. So the same phrase kodomo no tame ni includes the meanings "For the Sake of the Children", "For the Sake of My Children" and "For the Sake of Our Children" all at the same time - this characteristic of Japanese makes Japanese a little ambiguous, but it also gives it a brevity and beauty.

子供の為に — Block
For the Sake of the Children Block Horizontal
子供の為に — Semi-Cursive
For the Sake of the Children Semi-Cursive Horizontal
子供の為に — Block
For the Sake of the Children Block Vertical
子供の為に — Cursive
For the Sake of the Children Cursive Vertical
子供の為に — Design
For the Sake of the Children Design Vertical
子供の為に — Semi-Cursive
For the Sake of the Children Semi-Cursive Vertical