Semi-Cursive · gyōsho 行書 · VS5C
Semi-Cursive or gyōsho (行書) styles are a simplified and softer form of the kaisho styles. Gyōsho styles can be read by most Japanese.
An evening orchid,
Hidden in its scent,
The flower's whiteness
yoru no ran
ka ni kakurete ya
hana shiroshi
夜の蘭
香にかくれてや
花白し
buson
蕪村
The orchid at night, hidden in its scent; the flower is white.
by Master Eri Takase
Born and raised in Osaka, Japan, Eri Takase received the rank of Shihan, master, from two calligraphy societies, the Bokuteki-kai and Bunka-shodō, and won best-of-category awards in all-Japan national competitions. She has created calligraphy for people around the world for more than thirty years, and with your order she will be creating calligraphy for you.
In a ritual as old as calligraphy itself, Master Takase prepares the ink, meditatively rubbing the ink stick against the stone until it reaches the perfect consistency for the paper. Then, properly loading the brush with ink, she brushes your scroll. And only when the scroll is just right and meets her approval, she signs it and affixes her seal, completing your original scroll.
12 1/4" × 43" (31 × 109 cm) Japanese Scrolls
The scrolls have woven damask borders and special layered Japanese paper (washi), designed to last generations by a scroll maker in Gifu, Japan, with whom we have worked for over two decades.
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Your scroll arrives boxed, with a printed insert describing the haiku in detail.
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Ships in 1-3 days from Washington State
Your scroll is brushed when you order it and completed within 1 to 3 business days.
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Explanation
In our reading, which is Meisetsu's, Yosa Buson's verse is about which sense wins at night: in the dark the orchid's leaves and stem go unseen while its scent grows, the plant seems to hide inside what it gives off, and what is left to the eye is the flower, white. Some readers find the phrasing cleverer than the feeling, and others hear the feeling in the noticing.
In the Japanese, 夜の蘭 is the orchid at night, and 蘭 is an autumn season word. 香にかくれてや is hidden in its scent, with や an exclamation at the hiding, or a wondering at it. 花白し is a plain statement, the flower is white. 香 is read ka here, as the meter needs. One of the hands writes 夜 and 白し in kana, as よる and しろし.
The English follows R. H. Blyth's, from his Haiku of 1952.
Whenever I read this poem I recall an experience we had when we unknowingly purchased such an orchid. We marveled at the beautiful white flowers which stay in bloom for months. After several days though there was this strong fragrance in the evening that took over the room! After much discussion (and much sniffing) we found the source to be the orchid. Since then we talked little of the white flowers, but often of the fragrance.
Calligraphy Notes:
1) I have used a mix of hiragana and kanji to vary the look of the designs. As an example all designs use 夜 (yoru) in kanji except one, which uses the hiragana よる and also writes 白し as しろし. The meaning remains the same.
Translation Notes:
夜の蘭
香にかくれてや
花白し1) 夜 (yoru) meaning "night; evening".
2) 蘭 (ran) meaning "orchid".
3) 香 (ka) meaning "aroma; fragrance; scent; smell".
4) かくれて (kakurete) from the verb 隠れる (kakureru) meaning "to hide; to be hidden; to conceal oneself; to disappear".
5) 花 (hana) meaning "flower; blossom; bloom; petal".
6) 白し (shiroshi) from 白い (shiroi) meaning "white".
The verse is Buson's, first printed in 1784 in the 蕪村句集, the book of his verse that his pupil Kitō published for the first anniversary of his death.
Learn More About This Haiku
We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 夜の蘭香にかくれてや花白し.
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Buson - In loneliness, there is joy too, An autumn eveさびしさのうれしくも有秋の暮 sabishisa no ureshiku mo ari aki no kure
Buson - A flash of lightning, The sound of dew, Dripping down the bamboos稲妻にこぼるる音や竹の露 inazuma ni koboruru oto ya take no tsuyu
