夏草や兵どもが夢の跡 natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams

Summer grass; the trace of the warriors' dreams.

Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams (夏草や兵どもが夢の跡) in Block style Japanese calligraphy by Eri Takase

Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams 夏草や兵どもが夢の跡 natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato Vertical Block VB5C

Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams (夏草や兵どもが夢の跡) in Cursive style Japanese calligraphy by Eri Takase

Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams 夏草や兵どもが夢の跡 natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato Vertical Cursive VC4B

Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams 夏草や兵どもが夢の跡 natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato Vertical Cursive VC6B

Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams (夏草や兵どもが夢の跡) in Jiun style Japanese calligraphy by Eri Takase

Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams 夏草や兵どもが夢の跡 natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato Vertical Jiun VD4B

Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams 夏草や兵どもが夢の跡 natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato Vertical Jiun VD4C

Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams (夏草や兵どもが夢の跡) in Semi-Cursive style Japanese calligraphy by Eri Takase

Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams 夏草や兵どもが夢の跡 natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato Vertical Semi-Cursive VS4C

Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams 夏草や兵どもが夢の跡 natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato Horizontal Block HB4A

Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams 夏草や兵どもが夢の跡 natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato Horizontal Cursive HC4A

Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams 夏草や兵どもが夢の跡 natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato Horizontal Semi-Cursive HS3A

More about 夏草や兵どもが夢の跡

Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams	natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato	夏草や兵どもが夢の跡
Bashō	bashō	芭蕉

夏草や兵どもが夢の跡 is Matsuo Bashō's verse about what is left. 夏草 is summer grass, the season word, and や sets it as the scene. 兵ども is the warriors, an older word for a fighting man. 夢の跡 is the trace of a dream, what remains of it. The Japanese leaves it open: the dream may be over, or still being dreamt beneath the grass. Either way, the warriors' glory has become the grass. Whether you read it as loss or as a dream still going on is yours.

The English is Timothy L. Jackowski's, made for Takase Studios.

The verse was composed by Bashō at Hiraizumi in the fifth month of 1689, printed in the anthology 猿蓑 in 1691 under the heading at Takadachi in Ōshū, and set in his travel journal 奥の細道.

We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 夏草や兵どもが夢の跡.

About the Designs

Each design is Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase's hand-brushed calligraphy of the word or phrase on this page, delivered as a PDF you can print. Every PDF includes the line art, so a tattoo artist or a craftsperson can work from the outline as well as the brushed image.

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Japanese Scroll of Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams (natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato) — Calligraphy by Eri Takase

Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams夏草や兵どもが夢の跡natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato

Original art by Master Calligrapher Eri Takase

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Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams as a hand-brushed scroll

Master Takase personally brushes your scroll when you order, and it bears her red seal and her signature. The scroll has woven damask borders and layered Japanese paper. It is designed to last generations and arrives ready to display.