Cursive · sōsho 草書 · VC6B
Cursive or sōsho (草書) styles are the most simplified styles and Master Takase's favorite. While very beautiful, these styles are often difficult to read even by specialists.
This dewdrop world, is a dewdrop world, and yet[1] tsuyu no yo wa tsuyu no yo nagara sari nagara 露の世は 露の世ながら さりながら issa 一茶
Issa's verse after his little daughter died: the world is as brief as dew, he grants it, and yet.
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.
Gift-Ready
Your scroll arrives boxed, with a printed insert describing the haiku in detail.
Sending it as a gift? Add your message at checkout and we will include it with the insert.
Ships in 1-3 days from Washington State
Your scroll is brushed when you order it and completed within 1 to 3 business days.
Your scroll ships from Master Takase's studio in Washington State. Shipping is calculated at checkout. We ship worldwide.
30-day money-back guarantee
Every order is covered by our 30-day money-back guarantee. If your scroll arrives damaged, or we made an error, we replace it or refund you in full, including shipping.
Explanation
[1] The English above follows Robert Aitken's, from his The River of Heaven of 2011.
This is one of Kobayashi Issa's most well known poems. Written upon the death of his young daughter this poem speaks to the Buddhist teachings that one must not cling to this dewdrop (fleeting) world. And yet Issa does with his feelings of pain and loss.
He set it in おらが春, his book of 1819, after his infant daughter Sato died, reworking a line from his diary two years earlier.
Harold G. Henderson wrote:
The first line is taken from the scripture comparing the evanescence of life in the world with that of dew. But Issa is not thinking in generalities; he is suffering from the loss of his child. ... A 'Dew-World' though it is, it is no world for dewdrops. They will not stay in it - and, much as he tries to, he can find no solace in the scripture.
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 露の世は露の世ながらさりながら.
Related products
Issa - Snail, ever so slowly climb, Mt Fuji蝸牛そろそろ登れ富士の山 katatsuburi sorosoro nobore fuji no yama
Issa - The bitter part, eaten by the mother, mountain persimmon澁いとこ母が喰ひけり山の柿 shibui toko haha ga kui keri yama no kaki
Issa - A world of grief and pain, Flowers bloom, Even then苦の娑婆や桜が咲けば咲いたとて ku no shaba ya sakura ga sakeba saita tote
