#243 How many times, I’ve asked how deep the snow is.
| Size： | Postcard; approx. 15×10 cm |
|---|---|
| Dressing： | framed |
About this Waka (Poem)
| verse: | Iku tabi mo, yuki no fukasa wo, tazune keri |
|---|---|
| a humble interpretation: | How many times, I’ve asked how deep the snow is. |
| poet: | Masaoka, Shiki |
| in: | 1896 |
Idle Thoughts
This time, I inscribed the haiku onto a postcard whose fan-shaped section had been cut out. The rich, chic brown background makes the fan-shape stand out beautifully, a very appealing design yet:
- the fan-shape is laid at a diagonal, and
- the fan overflows beyond the postcard, meaning it could not be written across in full
Thus, it was a somewhat “quirky” design, frankly, it looked difficult to write on. Perhaps for this reason, while other postcards sold well and ran low, this one remained in stock, clearly unpopular.
Nevertheless, guided by a hunch that “though difficult, this could become a special piece,” I acquired it and pondered many layout ideas. Yet as soon as my brush touched it, the verse surprisingly settled into the shape of its own accord.
Writing on such a limited “vessel” as a cut-out fan,
the stillness of the poem seemed to be drawn inward, as if absorbed into a bowl-like hollow;
though only a small scrap of paper, it gave me the pleasure of containing the vastness of winter in miniature.
