The kanji:
独 (1st and 3rd kanji) = independence
立 = standing
歩 = walking
This phrases refers to following the path you believe in on your own, without relying on others.
The second kanji means “standing”, so perhaps a more elegant English translation is “standing on one’s own two feet“.
独立独歩 is a special kind of Japaneses idiom known as a 四字熟語 (よじじゅくご、yo-ji-juku-go), or 4-character idiom. As the name suggests, these are idiomatic phrases made of 4 kanji characters.
They often contain a small life lesson or moral message, similar to English sayings such as “you reap what you sow” and “the early bird gets the worm”.
Calligraphy by Vicky 