As you walk out of Yoshitomo Nara’s studio, he has this phrase taped to the doorway as a reminder when he enters the outside world. When Lance Armstrong’s came out of retirement in 2009, Yoshitomo Nara painted this phrase on the top of his bike frame for the Tour De France trials. *

The phrase comes from a 13th century playwright in Japan named Zeami Motokiyo. At the age of 39, he wrote a book on the path one must take to become a master of Noh, a musical drama from ancient Japan.

In the first chapter of Fūshi kaden (風姿花伝) also known as Kadensho (花伝書)
he used the metaphor of a flower to explain the seven stages of life.** In each stage, from childhood to old age, he noted what one must learn and accomplish to become great. The phrase: “shoshin wasuru bekarazu”
初心忘るべからず “Never Forget the Beginner’s Spirit” is the lesson to be learned from the fourth stage in life, Youth. As the performer becomes popular and successful it is crucial to be humble and remember their beginnings, so that they can continue to grow. This will allow them become a “genuine flower”. ***
Zeami’s belief was that through aging, there is much to lose, but as we grow older we search for new things, not to replace what was lost, but to change. As I grow, mature, and change, I have to remember to not lose that spirit that must continue to ignite to lead me down new paths.

* They sold the painted bikes by Nara and other artists and raised $1.3 million for charity

** Two hundred years later in 1599 another playwright, Shakespeare wrote a monologue of the seven stages of man and then yet another four hundred years later Bruce Sterling was inspired by that and wrote Tomorrow Now: Envisioning The Next 50 years.

***the literal translation, if you want to sound like Yoda, is “Beginner’s spirit – forget, you should not”.