Haiku by Basho. From "Narrow Road to Oku"
Rather than the shape of the helmet itself, I emphasized the samurai power that the helmet represents.
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June 30, 2009
Haiga 247-Basho
Haiku by Basho. From "Narrow Road to Oku"
Rather than the shape of the helmet itself, I emphasized the samurai power that the helmet represents.
Click the image for a larger version.
June 29, 2009
June 28, 2009
Haiga 245-Basho
Haiku by Basho. From "Narrow Road to Oku"
I happend to eat a snack (apple chips). Its name is Ama no Kawa (River of Heaven, or Milky way)
It is produced and sold by a Japanese company called Basho-An (Basho hut) loacated in Yamagata, where Basho passed through in his journey.The snack tasted very good. Here is the URL:http://www.bashoan.co.jp/
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June 27, 2009
Haiga 244
Haiku by Basho. From "Narrow Road to Oku"
Peeling of the skin is refered to attaining a new level of awareness or enlightenment.
Has Basho achieved it by now in the journey?
I scanned the actual apple peel.
I,then, outlined it, adjusted it, and colored it.
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June 25, 2009
Basho Haiku Scroll 2
I added a painting for the last haiku in "Narrow Road to Oku":
Dividing like clam
and shell, I leave for Futami -
autumn is passing by.
And this concludes my scroll painting project. I am going to leave the scroll for a while and will come back to it to work again if necessary.
June 24, 2009
June 22, 2009
June 20, 2009
Basho Haiku scroll
The Japanese calligraphies I am using for my haiga have been assembled in the form of a scroll. It is about 15m(16.4yds.)long. The scroll was prepared by a friend of mine, who plans to sing the haiku and the story of Oku in Japanese style, accompanied by traditional Japanese musical instruments. He now wants me to add paintings on the scroll. It is already in scroll and is of rice paper so no redoing is possible. I am now painting carefully, and sometime boldly.
Haiga240-Basho
Haiku by Basho. From "Narrow Road to Oku:
I wrote the following haibun some years ago.
----
A mountain haijin has come to the seaside. I am at a hot spring along the coast of the Japan Sea (a twelve hour train ride from my town). The spring is located in the open, right by the beach. A few steps away is the wide, wide expanse of the Japan Sea. I watch the huge sunset as I warm myself in the hot water.
calm sea...
a boat's wake
leads to the setting sun
Basho walked along this beach on his "Narrow Road of Oku" and wrote the following haiku:
the rough sea -
flowing toward Sado Island
the river of Heaven
Sado is too far to see from where I am. And I do not stay outside to observe the river of Heaven, the Milky Way. I have a party to attend and, having been in the hot spring too long, I am more attracted to cold beer and sake.
a treat for travelers,
milk for Basho
and sake for me
(published on "Frogpond" and "American Haibun & Haiga", 2003)
June 19, 2009
Haiga 239-Basho
Haiku by Basho. From "Narrow Road to Oku"
The haiku is about the eve of Tanabata, the Star Festival, hence this rather fantastic haiga.
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June 18, 2009
June 17, 2009
Haiga 237-Basho
Haiku by Basho. From "Narrow Road to Oku"
In this haiku, Basho mentions a Chinese beauty, Seishi, who Basho only knew from some paintings.
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June 16, 2009
June 15, 2009
June 14, 2009
Haiga234-Basho
Haiku by Basho. From "Narrow Road to Oku"
To appreciate this haiku, you definitely need to read the book.
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June 13, 2009
Haiga 233-Basho
Haiku by Basho. From "Narrow Road to Oku"
The faint figure within the moon is supposedly Basho, not a rabbit as we Japanese has imagined since the olden time. Basho, laied back, enjoying the moon ride.
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June 12, 2009
June 11, 2009
Haiga231-Basho
Haiku by Basho. From "Narrow Road to Oku"
In this series of haiga, I often use small creatures to symbolize Basho. In this case, a bird.
The bird is, among the creatures, seems to move around larger area, like Basho who traveled about 2400km (about the double of the distance from south to north in the state of California)
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June 10, 2009
June 9, 2009
Haiga229-Basho
Haiku by Basho. From "Narrow Road to Oku"
Basho wrote two earlier versions of this haiku. I included all three in calligraphy style. The shapes of the calligraphies seem to suggest the locusts' trill falling on to the stone.
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June 8, 2009
June 7, 2009
June 3, 2009
Haiga226-Basho
Haiku by Basho. From "Narrow Road to Oku"
Having had to stay at an aweful place, Basho and Sora were happy to be in a comfortable room provided by the local wealthy family. I tried to convey the soothing mood of the scene.
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June 2, 2009
June 1, 2009
Haiga 224-Basho
Haiku by Sora. From "Narrow Road to Oku"
Kanehusa is an imaginary worrior, who played important role in the Story of Lord Yoshitune.
He was very dedicated to the lord, fought hard, and died in the fire. "Narrow Road to Oku" does not tell Kanehusa's tale. The reader is required to have some knowledge in Japanese history as well as of Chinese one (Basho, and the then intellecturals, loved Chinese literature and its tradition)
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