It means, essentially "Never give up". No matter how many times you fail, try again. So it doesn't matter even if you fall down seven times....get up again (the eighth time) and keep on trying.
It's an adage, like "the early bird gets the worm". That particular one has no real connection to birds or worms, but you can get the meaning, can't you?
In your gf's case, I agree with Mike. Maybe she just thought it looked cool and "Japanese-y". Pretty stupid to me, even if she DID know the meaning. Better to buy a T-shirt "don't let life get you down". At least when that's old and worn out, you can throw it away.
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