Is "義理" the proper term in this case?


I have trained for 25 years with a local (European) Aikido master, but now I
have to move, albeit temporarily, to another town, and I would like to give a
gift to my teacher to represent the "debt" I have with him for all he taught
me.

I also practice Shodo, so my idea was to make a scroll with the Kanji "義理" and
give it to him before leaving.

I just want to add that I will keep practicing at another dojo in the place I
move to, and that I may very well come back to my hometown in a year or so,
just so that you get a complete picture.

My question: is "義理" appropriate here? If this is not the case what would you
suggest?

* * *

I opted for "礼" in the end - thanks to everyone who answered or commented
this.




I think that 義理 "social obligation" is a neutral term when used to describe a
fact, e.g. 義理のお父さん "father-in-law", but whenever it is intended to convey some
sort of emotion, 義理 always has a negative (e.g. burdensome) connotation. (For
example, 義理チョコ, the chocolate every woman is obliged to give to their male
coworkers/boss for Valentine's day).

Either your European teacher doesn't understand enough Japanese to be
irritated by that, or he does understand Japanese well enough to know that
_you_ don't understand enough Japanese. In either case, the intention of
giving a gift _will_ be understood.

Still, if I were to choose, I'd choose some concept/word/short phrase that I
found particularly interesting/moving/profound and that has some connection
with you personally, with Aikido, or with your teacher (or all three).

(Imagine for a second Aikido didn't have anything to do with Japanese. Would
you give a beautifully written version of "debt" to your teacher?)




I think that 義理 "social obligation" is a neutral term when used to describe a
fact, e.g. 義理のお父さん "father-in-law", but whenever it is intended to convey some
sort of emotion, 義理 always has a negative (e.g. burdensome) connotation. (For
example, 義理チョコ, the chocolate every woman is obliged to give to their male
coworkers/boss for Valentine's day).

Either your European teacher doesn't understand enough Japanese to be
irritated by that, or he does understand Japanese well enough to know that
_you_ don't understand enough Japanese. In either case, the intention of
giving a gift _will_ be understood.

Still, if I were to choose, I'd choose some concept/word/short phrase that I
found particularly interesting/moving/profound and that has some connection
with you personally, with Aikido, or with your teacher (or all three).

(Imagine for a second Aikido didn't have anything to do with Japanese. Would
you give a beautifully written version of "debt" to your teacher?)

