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Painting, Calligraphy, and Poetry

In Japan, calligraphy is considered to be one of the graphic arts. Painting, of course, is another. Many Japanese paintings include writing in the composition. The writing may be of many sorts, but a frequent type is poetry. There are times in which all are combined; poetry written with fine calligraphy in a beautiful painting. A famous example is the crane scroll by the team of Tawaraya Sōtatsu (1570 – 1640) who did the painting and Hon’ami Kōetsu (1558–1637) who did the calligraphy. Here is one segment of it. The whole scroll is over 44 feet long.

Types of Japanese Poetry

The general name for Japanese poetry is waka. The oldest surviving Japanese poetry collection, Man'yōshū, was written sometime after 759 A.D. in the Nara Period. The name literally means Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves. In spite of its name, the collection contains 4,516 poems. The book is highly revered in Japan.

Japanese poetry, unlike Western poetry, isn't concerned with meter or rhyming. It is very much concerned, however, with the number of syllables per line. A Western poetry example that roughly corresponds with this idea is the sonnet which always has 14 lines and, most often, ten syllables per line. Various names have been given to Japanese poetry based on the number of syllables per line.

Tanka was for long the most common form of Japanese poetry. It has 5 lines. The first line has 5 syllables, the second line 7 syllables, the third 5 syllables again, and the fourth and fifth lines 7 syllables each; a 5-7-5-7-7 pattern.

Here is an example of a tanka poem from a collection of poems with frame stories titled Ise Monogatari (Tales of Ise), written in 980 A.D. A poet has been forced into exile and had to leave his beloved wife behind. A long journey is beginning to affect his memory of her. In the vicinity of Mt. Utsu in Suruga province, he writes:

Haiku

In the 17th century, a new form of poetry came into being: haiku with 3 lines in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern.

Haiku began with a form of linked poetry called renku or haikai no renga. Gatherings of renku poets took turns providing alternating verses. The opening renku verse eventually evolved into standalone haiku with its distinctive syllable pattern. A characteristic of haiku is that, except for some early examples, they always make some reference to the seasons, no matter how subtle. Which season is not always easily determined.

One of the most famous haiku is by Matsuo Bashō (1644 - 1694), the most famous poet of the Edo Period. He composed an early version of it in a meeting in 1686 and refined it later for publication.

People who are well versed in poetic imagery say that the old pond is a metaphor for an elderly person. The image of an old pond is of one that has long been undisturbed, stagnant, perhaps abandoned. Then a frog, some external force or event, jumps in the water, roiling the previously placid surface. Something stirs things up in the old person's mind. The aftermath, the sound of water, is what remains. A sense of heightened awareness, a very Buddhist concept, has been aroused.

The frog is what signals the kigo, the season. In Asia, frogs are associated with the monsoon season which begins in the spring. This is a spring poem.

Haiku has become recognized as a poetic form worldwide with many Western practitioners, though the similarity between Japanese and Western haiku is pretty loose.

This week's painting subject is a haiga based on a poem by Kobayashi Issa (1763 – 1828), another great Japanese poet of the Edo Period.

Grapes

Since I'm painting grapes, I should say a bit about them here. There are a lot of different types of grapes. The chart below shows some of them.

The type listed as Sultana/Thompson, commonly called Thompson seedless grapes, is the most common grape for making raisins. The way grapes are treated to induce drying influences the raisin's color. About 95% of the world's raisins are made from them. California is be far the largest producer.

One of Bond, James Bond's favorite beverages is Dom Pérignon, a sparkling wine made from a blend of pinot noir and chardonnay (not pictured) grapes. Another brand he likes is Bollinger, primarily made from pinot noir grapes. It depends on the movie you are watching as to which one he mentions.

Napa Valley is a major center for California's wine production.

Japan has a grape production agricultural industry, too, for both table consumption and wine. Not sake, however. Dogs are often used to protect against wild boars.

Respect for the Aged Day

Since Issa's haiku mentions age, it seems appropriate that something be said about Japan's old people. Japan has a national holiday every September 18 (funny coincidence about that date) named Keiro no Hi (literally "Respecting the Aged Day"). It arose after WWII in Hyogo Prefecture in 1947, grew in popularity, and eventually was celebrated all over Japan. It became a national holiday in 1966. Its explicit purpose was to “express respect for the elderly in our communities and wish them longevity.”