This letter is about fish and poetry, about gratitude and sorrow. Ishikawa Jozan was a prominent Samurai recluse, garden designer, and literatus but he also was a teacher. And one of his students was Tsuda Masazane, an influential statesman with a serious hobby. I respectfully read your letter written on the eighth day of this month. And for the ten mackerels from Noto [mackerel is a signature product from Noto. As is tea from Uji or Sake from Itami, and not to mention Whale

Karsumaru Mitsuhiro was a distinguished poet and a major figure in the inner circles of Emperor Go-Mizunoo. Karasumaru Mitsuhiro, offspring of a wealthy Kyoto family was a master of poetry, calligraphy, and tea ceremony. On this scroll he put together three poems about famous places and views in and near Osaka. – The poems are written in a rather casual style giving these lines a private feel as if they were done just for himself. At Suminoe on the ebb tide and the sea is fa

Kodojin - the Old Taoist - was both a poet and a painter. And he is remembered as being one of the last in a long line of literati artists in Japan. He led a rather quiet and reflective life of study, but his poetry and paintings are dramatic and unconventional. His landscapes are always unusual, mostly eccentric, and sometimes psychedelic. Nevertheless, he originally was «noted more for his poetry than his painting, Kodojin set the tone for his landscapes through his inscrip

An ambiguous tea bowl. It is monumental and in the same time it is shy, reclusive, and fragile. Rengetsu delicately finger-pinched the body of this bowl, and subtly brushed the poem as well as the pine decoration in dark brown paint on light brown clay. And as if done on purpose the old gold lacquer repairs (kintsugi) underline the humble tones of this great piece. In the future happiness and long life - two sprouting leaves to grow a thousand years. Otagaki Rengetsu (1791-18

Rengetsu’s life slowed down at around the age of 75. The long years of travelling, moving, and drifting came to an end in the small...

"Matsuo Basho was one of the most famous Zen poets of Japan, who alerts us to the neglected beauty and interest of everyday life, and thereby reconciles us with our own circumstances." SCHOOL OF LIFE on youtube - This video has been posted two years ago but back then this blog didn't exist. - Also check this: Matsuo Basho | Poem