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.
三千の
俳句を閲し
柿二つ
sanzen no
haiku o kemishi
kaki futatsu
Three thousand,
Haiku to examine,
Two persimmons
Three thousand haiku looked through, and two persimmons.
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.
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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
Three thousand,
Haiku to examine,
Two persimmons
|
sanzen no haiku o kemishi kaki futatsu |
三千の 俳句を閲し 柿二つ |
| shiki | 子規 |
三千の俳句を閲し柿二つ (sanzen no haiku o kemishi kaki futatsu): three thousand haiku looked through, and two persimmons. 閲し is 閲する, to look through, the selector's verb; Masaoka Shiki read the verses sent to the newspaper 日本 by the box, and 柿, the persimmon, is the fruit that returns through his poems. The verse carries a headnote of Shiki's own: 或日夜にかけて俳句凾の底を叩きて, one day, on into the night, striking the bottom of the haiku box. That is the whole story: the box emptied, and at the end of it the reward a sick man allows himself. Kyoshi later gave the night a fever in his novel 柿二つ, though his own later tellings leave it out; the retellings that follow the novel keep it. The verse does not need it. Watson's English keeps the headnote as its title; Blyth's puts the count first and the persimmons last with nothing between them but the verb.
Writes Timothy L. Jackowski, Takase Studio translator, "This is the only art that I have in my office. Eri created this for me as a gift - which makes it even more special. While I do love persimmons, in my case, my persimmon is a five-mile run ... or ten. Each person is motivated differently - what gets you through the day? What is your persimmon?"
The verse is from the autumn of 1897, the year under which Shiki's manuscript sets it; it was first printed in 1909, in the 子規句集 that 虚子 and 碧梧桐 selected from his manuscripts.
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 三千の俳句を閲し柿二つ.
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Shiki - As I eat a persimmon, a bell rings: Hōryūji柿食えば鐘が鳴るなり法隆寺 kaki kueba kane ga naru nari hōryūji
Shiki - Lifting up the hatchet, To cut it down, It was budding鉈あげてきらんとすれば木の芽かな nata agete kiran to sureba konome kana
