What kind of verse?

Ray of Hope

They often say, “No night lasts forever,” and I feel this poem carries a similar sense of hope. Though the fleeting showers continue to fall, light breaks through, and eventually a rainbow appears. In life, too, there must be such moments. Even when difficulties and worries persist, somewhere a light shines, and before long, a rainbow-like sign may appear beyond the heart’s horizon.

The rainbow that appears after the rain has stopped feels like a quiet blessing from nature.
Through this poem, I hope someone’s day becomes just a little warmer.

What kind of verse?

brief comment

This haiku is paired with a charming image—almost as if tiny medaka fish were gathered, chatting together.

As the summer heat continues, I hope it brings you a little feeling of coolness.

You can purchase this postcard artwork online.

μはがき作品｜水中のささやき / Whisper in Water – Japanese Calligraphy Art | totKnow - ととのう - powered by BASE

めだかが水の中で語り合うような、涼しげな絵ハガキに、正岡子規の俳句「夏川や 水の...

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What kind of verse?

brief comment

This haiku is said to have been written by Issa while he was living in a nagaya, a row-house tenement in Edo (present-day Tokyo). You can really feel how tightly packed the buildings must have been.

You can purchase this postcard artwork online.

μはがき作品｜涼風の曲がりくねって / Summer Breeze – Japanese Calligraphy Art | totKnow - ととのう - powered by BASE

鮮やかな赤い金魚のイラストに、小林一茶の俳句「涼風の曲がりくねってきたりけり」を...

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What kind of verse?

What did Empress Jitō want to express?

This poem is the most famous of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, and it was originally poem number 28 in the Manyoshu, Volume 1.

In fact, this song is unique and shrouded in mystery, and various studies have been conducted on it since ancient times.

The mystery of the waka poem “Spring has passed…”

1. Is Mount Kagu’s white robes just a metaphor or a real sight?
2. Why does that mean summer is coming?
3. The usage of “rashi” and “kan” differs from other poems in the Manyoshu.
4. There is no other example in the Man’yoshu collection of poems that records the year of accession to the throne as “Gannen Dinghai.”

・・・

What are Empress Jito’s true intentions revealed through the results of this research?!

1. This song is not simply a seasonal song, but a poem that symbolically expresses the legitimacy of the imperial line .
2. In particular, the expression “shirotae no robes” drying on Mount Kagu is imbued with religious and ritualistic meaning, which seems to allude to “the arrival of summer = a new reign.”
3. Therefore, the phrase “Spring has passed and summer has come” can be interpreted as a highly political and symbolic expression indicating the succession and justification of the imperial line from Jitō to Mommu .

Regardless of the meaning behind the song

Empress Jitō was the daughter of Emperor Tenchi and the Empress of Emperor Tenmu. It is said that she expelled Prince Otsu in order to have her own son, Prince Kusakabe, succeed the throne, but she is also said to have given instructions regarding the contents of the Kojiki to support the legitimacy of her grandson, Emperor Mommu.

From these anecdotes, she is sometimes seen as an ambitious and scheming person, but at the same time, she also had a progressive side, as she was the first emperor to be cremated, and we can see that she was a pioneering figure for the times. She was a multifaceted and extremely fascinating woman.

It is also wonderful to think that she was so captivated by a scene she happened to see during her visit to Yoshino – white robes drying against the backdrop of the blue summer sky and the deep green of Mount Kagu – that she turned it into a song.

This piece follows the exact meaning of the poem and is written in fluttering lines, imagining a scene of clothing fluttering in the wind.

What kind of verse?

brief comment

I wrote this waka poem on decorative paper filled with blooming azaleas.

The vivid scene of azaleas in full bloom, the white clouds drifting in the sky, and the sound of a mountain stream—these are more than just elements of nature. They resonate with our emotions and memories, leaving a lingering impression on the heart. I only hope that I can capture some of that quiet depth—what the Japanese might call ma, the space between—in my calligraphy as well.

What kind of verse?

brief comment

Several decades ago, in the place where I grew up, just like in this poem, on hot summer days, cumulus clouds would rise in the afternoon, and evening showers would cool the heat, making summer days bearable. The highest temperatures rarely exceeded 30 degrees Celsius.

Now, the situation is entirely different. Evening showers have changed their name to ‘guerrilla rainstorms’ and have become the starting point of disasters rather than a turning point in temperature.

I feel a sense of crisis with the recent rapid rise in temperatures. I wonder if there are any measures we can take to restore our once charming climate.

What kind of verse?

brief comment

During the rainy season, when the air feels damp and spirits are low, let us find solace in such charming poems. We must feel her warm gaze towards creatures and natural phenomena like rain frogs, clusters of handball flowers, and evening breezes that surround us.

What kind of verse?

brief comment

I tried to write another format than #189 so that hoped to express the softness of the wisteria flowers, their blooming appearance, and the brightness of the moon in a horizontal format.

A spring Japanese poem by Fumoto

#189 The wisteria blossoms, entwined aro...

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2024.05.28

What kind of verse?

brief comment

It seems that the way the purple water lily flowers gently sway on the water’s surface can be perceived as if they are breathing, and as if their movements are lamenting something.

The poetry collection ‘Phoenix’ was published in August 1919. In March of that year, his sixth daughter, Fujiko, was born. It might have been a somewhat sensitive period for her.

What kind of verse?

brief comment

Now, it has been two years since I last wrote this poem.

"so why does a lotus deceive people ..." by Soujouhenjou

#129 so why does a lotus deceive people ...

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2023.04.24

Although Soujouhenjou is somewhat of a worldly monk, he is full of wit, and I have gradually come to find him interesting.

This poem, while seemingly a satire on the lotus leaf, actually expresses the beauty of the water droplets. Instead of directly praising the beauty of the water droplets, by incorporating the lotus leaf, it conveys the lotus’s mystique of blooming beautifully despite growing in the mud, and even encompasses the Buddhist connotations. This truly feels like the epitome of his work.