Tan to Chō – Turning Weakness into Strength
In Japanese, the word shortcoming is "短所" (tansho), and strength is "長所" (chōsho).
Interestingly, the first character in tansho—"短" (tan)—starts with the sounds "ta" (た) and "n" (ん) when written in hiragana, which is Japan’s phonetic script.
If you take these two characters, た (ta) and ん (n), and visually combine them, they resemble the kanji character "長" (chō), which means “long” or “strong.”
This playful but meaningful transformation is at the heart of the T-shirt design: by shifting perspective, what we see as a weakness (tan) can become a strength (chō).
As someone with a disability, I’ve learned that what people call “flaws” can be powerful tools—if we choose to accept, embrace, and use them.
This shirt carries that belief: your so-called weaknesses aren’t meant to be hidden. They’re part of your story, and can become your strength.
