A Wabibito

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A Wabibito

is what I want to be

Ikebana

someone who understands the wisdom

of the grasshoppers and the rocks

Zen Rock Garden Kyoto

I want to become satisfied 

with my life

a simple life lived modestly

I want to pare back

and live now

and feel the peace
of the natural world
around me

Tea House

Wabi Sabi

is a Japanese view or aesthetic

based on the acceptance of transience

It suggests we find a beauty in 

all that is

Imperfect

Impermanent

and 

Incomplete

Bonsai Brooklyn Botanic Gardens

in the humble

the modest

and the unconventional

Shakuhachi Flute

Wabi Sabi nurtures all

that is authentic by acknowledging

those three simple realities

Nothing lasts

Nothing is finished

Nothing is perfect

Tale of Genji text 12th Century earliest illustrated Handscroll

The word Wabi

speaks of a rustic simplicity

a quietness

with the quirks and anomalies

which add uniqueness

and an elegance 

to a creation

Tea Cup, Hagi Ware 17th Century

Sabi

suggests a weathered rusty beauty 

and serenity

that comes with age

when the life of the object

and its impermanence are evidenced 

in its patina and wear

Kenrokuen Hanami

This is how I want to age

with wabi sabi

accepting the natural cycle of growth

decay and death

wearing the bloom of time

 Shigaraki Jar

Wabi Sabi can be considered
the material representation 

of Zen Buddhism

 

Black Raku Tea Bowl, 16th century

A wabibito

is a person

who is free in heart

who is comfortably oneself

and has the ability

to make do with less...

to appreciate the nobility
in the simple
and the common

A man is rich

in proportion to the number of things

which he can afford

to let alone

Henry David Thoreau

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Labelled Illustrations from Wiki commons

Genji

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The Tale of Genji

 

In the Christmas parcel,

from my daughter 

who lives in Tokyo,

amongst other edible treats

was a packet of 'Genji Pie'

  

The packet claims,

in that quintessential Japanese way ,

that Genji Pie

are heartwarming

  

Each little biscuit,

individually wrapped,

is heart shaped

and bears no resemblance

to a pie of any sort

  

Crunchy and sugar topped

they make a nice sweet accompaniement 

to my Earl Grey tea

  

 From this angle 

they look a little like

looking up a gum tree 

at a koala butt

  

Why not make your tea time

more delightful

with Genji-Pie

  

Now Genji Pie

must take it's name from

this novel -

'The Tale of Genji'

a medieval Japanese novel

claimed to be the oldest novel in existence

The Tale of Genji

written by Murasaki Shikibu,

celebrated it's 1000 year birthday last year

  

Here is the dashing hero himself

the Shining Prince

now commoner Genji

a man of great talents

and irresistible charms

  

The Tale is over 1100 pages long

which creates quite a feat to read

and also trying to hold the hefty tome 

when in bed reading

Genji has many amorous adventures

through which we learn of life 

in the imperial court,

the intricate and beautiful apparel worn,

the poetry and music

and the customs

of 10th and 11th century Japan

  

You may remember

when I was boot bound

last winter

with the irrascible ankle

I received a number of books

from Amazon

including this one

Geisha

written by Liza Dalby

Liza Dalby was an American anthropologist

who lived and worked in Kyoto

in the 1970s 

as a Geisha in training

Liza Dalby

has also written

The Tale of Murasaki

based on the life of Murasaki Shikibu

the writer of Genji

I read this novel before tackling 

The Tale of Genji

and it helped to set the scene

for the epic adventures 

of our indefatigable hero

  

At the same time I ordered these books

Friko offered us

some passages

from Sei Shonagon's 

Pillow Book

No, nothing to do with bedtime,

it is a book of court life

in the same time period

which expresses the personal thoughts

and feelings 

of a court gentlewoman

and reknown poet

of the day,

Sei Shonagon

 

I think I shall now

sit an enjoy 

another risque adventure

of the handsome and irrepressible Genji

whilst nibbling 

my heartwarming 

Genji Pie

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The Flower and Willow World

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The Flower and Willow World

Geisha

Hanogi, Chokosai

I have been reading

Liza Dalby's Geisha

a new edition of the book

first published in 1983

Liza Dalby was an anthropologist

specializing in Japanese culture,

who trained as a Geisha

in Kyoto, Japan

 Eisho

 Pontocho, the Geisha precinct,

 lies on the bank of the Kamo River

which runs through the city of Kyoto

 

Nakai Kan and Geisha Fuseya, Eishosai Choki

A moonlit evening in Pontocho

On the bamboo blinds of the cool verandas

the beckoning shadows

of paper lanterns

Shinsui Ito

 The verse above is an example of a kouta

a short lyrical song

which formed part of the Geisha's

entertainment arsenal

 

Gakutei Harunobu

 The Geisha of old

may also be proficient in the shamisen

a lute like instrument with three strings

and no fretboard

 It looks a little like a banjo

with a long neck

and is about 30" in length

 

 

Midongi, Chokosai

she must be able to sing and dance

and hold intelligent conversation

 

 Kitagawa Utamaro

Is it a tender blossom

or a butterfly

whatever - I am led astray

by what I glimpse flash by

 

 Three Geisha

Parting

Regretting

Reuniting again

Left waiting

Still meeting

Such is life

 

 Takigawa of the Ogiya Green House, 

Kutamaro Utagawa

The Geisha

or Geiko

as she was known in Kyoto,

was first and foremost

a cultivated, entertaining host

and drinking companion

 

 Utamaro

The spring wind whispers

Bring in fortune

Fragrant plums breathe

Drive out devils

Is it rain

Is it snow

I don't care

We'll go this evening

and tomorrow too

Drinking

Ginger Sake

 

True Beauty Chikanobu Toyohara

While the Geisha population has diminished

the Geisha culture has survived in Kyoto,

a city that thrives on tourism

Geisha

Liza Dalby

University of California Press

1983, 2008

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Koson Ohara

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Koson Ohara 1877-1945

A cuckoo



Although he was a ukiyo-e artist
Koson Ohara originally studied painting
and became proficient
in both watercolours and oils.

Flowering wisteria and insect

In the early 1900s
during the Russo-Japanese war
he produced war prints
as the interest in traditional ukiyo-e
had all but died out.

Flycatcher and spider



But within ten years
the camera had replaced
the print maker as the medium
for disseminating news

Hawk and setting sun



Koson is the best known print maker
for kacho-e-
prints of flowers and birds

Kingfisher on stump



Koson taught at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts
where an American colleague
by the name of Ernest Fenellosa
encouraged him to make wood block prints
in the old style.

Monkey on a persimmon tree



After 1926 Koson returned to ukiyo-e
and was published by Wanatabe Shozaburo
the initiator of the Shin Hanga movement,
the renaissance of the wood block print art
of Ukiyo-e

Nuthatcher atop a persimmon



Practically all of Koson's prints
were exported to the USA
as Japan had lost interest
in the ukiyo-e art form

Praying mantis on a willow



Koson's skill as a painter
is evidenced in the water colour effect
of his prints

Scops owl on a branch at full moon



His kacho-e were performed
with an extremely high
degree of craftsmanship

Spring evening



Koson Ohara is sometimes known
as Hoson Ohara
Shoson Ohara,
or the other way around
It is the same artist.

Tree sparrow and bamboo



A master wood block artist
of flowers and birdlife

White fronted goose before full moon

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The Nakasendo Way * Part 8

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The Nakasendo Way ~ Rest, Recovery, Recuperation...

Less than an hour away from Tokyo
on the speedy shinkansen
is the little town of Hakone,
sitting quietly on the shores of Lake Ashi.

It is here at a very comfortable hotel that I have decided
to pamper you with R,R&R. ~ Rest recovery and recuperation,
after the long and busy twelve days of walking the Nakasendo Way.

Firstly you can enjoy a hot sand bath
followed by a lounge in the hot springs outdoor spa
under the starry night, and then we will
listen to Pachelbel in the Garden and
look for Mt Fuji, well hidden in the mist

If you are feeling up to it we can take the ancient
Cryptomeria walk from Moto Hakone to Hakone-machi.
Here the trees are aged over 360 years.

Near the huge torii at the entrance to town
we will watch over the tops of our steaming soba bowls
as the town and lake disappear into the mist.

Gateless gate
Through morning mists
and murmurs from the sea
Emerges - one vermillion torii

Kinkaku

On our last morning we take a walk around the edge
of Lake Ashi one final time and there from between
the fir trees on the shore I spy the shy face of Mt Fuji,
her crown still draped in snow.

The Pilgrim
Without a word of warning look, alone
above the clouds, Mt Fuji's cone

Onitsura

The view of Mt Fuji was a perfectly appropriate ending
to our walk in Japan.

It was here at Hakone that I learned that fuji means wisteria.

The wind from Mt Fuji
I put it on the fan
Here, the souvenir from Edo

Basho

If you now find yourself interested in walking Japan or learning more about this Edo period and the Nakasendo history I suggest you take a look at www.walkjapan.com and www.nakasendoway.com, both of which are researched and created by Dick Irving and Tom Stanley the founding partners of Walk Japan.






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