Final Essay #2

Hmm, well, neither this essay or the one below it is the best, so I would recomend looking at some pretty pictures instead. I quite enjoy them. http://jyoujo.deviantart.com/

Becoming lost in beauty is, for me, a very easy task. As I walk to and fro, or even as I am just perched in my room I am often distracted by the soft forms of the clouds, the vibrant colors present in the sky, the richness of life in the plants, refraction of light, the muted colors of the landscape… To me these things and many more, are each simple, wonderful pleasures. When I am free to stroll about as I please I often find myself walking for miles, just caught up in the changing scenery and mood of areas I pass through. I feel that I breathe easier, and last longer, my mind free to wander and imagine with the landscape poised in front of it.

Kokinshu 72

I seem bound to sleep
in this village tonight:
led astray by falling
blossoms, I've forgotten
my way home.

On my first reading of this poem, I found it to be a bit over exaggerated, but looking back, it holds for me a path that I sometimes wish to take; one in which a good friend and I discussed once, one of continuing down the other side of the mountain instead of going back the way we had come; just wandering and seeing where it would take us. Sadly, although the thought of it is nice, I do not believe the lifestyle of a wanderer would be suitable; I would like to feel as if I could live like Shunzei does in

Shinchokusenshu, Spring 1, No. 57

Seeing an

image of cherry blossoms

ahead of me

I crossed one mountain after another-

white clouds on the peaks.

But a life such as that is impractical, and might lead me to eat some wild mushrooms in hunger, only to end up dancing feverously. Still, it is pleasant to think about, especially if I had company to share in the loneliness, and the beautiful and different sights that we could encounter.

Perhaps my favorite time of day to become lost in the world around me would have to be the twilight hours. The spectacular colors create such a warm atmosphere over everything, unifying the world for a bit. And at its peak, the brightest of lights and darkest of darks come along with shadows to cloak the earth in a beautiful lightshow. The warm feelings from the sun beating down on the earth all day lead into the cool night, creating a pleasantly warm, then refreshing atmosphere. I find it feels as if there is always a sort of magic to the evening, something that makes it so perfect, which I can’t help but to get lost in.

Temple bells die out.

The fragrant blossoms remain.

A perfect evening!

-Basho

The temple bell stops.
But the sound keeps coming
out of the flowers.

-Basho

I feel these poems capture that sense of magic evening has to it. Basho has paired them very nicely, as the evening, the finished ringing of the temple bell and imagery all relate very well with each other; and with me. I feel like all of the good feeling from the day collect in the twilight and spill out into the night, just as ‘the sound keeps coming out of the flowers’. It is this sort of feeling which I find lends to contented observing, having continued wonder at the little simple sights around me.

Along with the sheer color and change twilight hours bring, they also leave the earth in a state of yugure, where everything, now half hidden by dusk, has an almost eerie glow to it. In this half light, I am able to see the world from yet another perspective, allowing me to reassess the world around me once more, as it turns mysterious and fresh perspectives can be applied. Caught in the middle of light and dusk nothing is too harsh or too soft. The shadows themselves seem to take on their own life, adding mood and atmosphere wherever they are present. The imagery associated with this time is so strong that it often bolsters the mood in just the right direction, such as in Rashomon, when it is evening, but just a bit too late to see crows looking like ‘so many grains of sesame flung across the gate’ against a red sky. It is this feeling that I take delight in, loving how the world can be transformed in a matter of moments.

Perhaps this half light and the combination of dark shades and bright highlights is also part of what attracts me to rain. Rain too has a quality to it which lets it obscure things; forcing everything to become muted and misty. In this way it hides or changes the identity of all within it.

Spring rain falling--
and talking as they walk along,
a raincloak, an umbrella.

-Buson

Here, a scene itself is shrouded by the rain; it can be interpreted in many ways whom or what is talking and walking. And apart from obscuring those caught within it, the rain also reflects back images of everything it holds. Lights, colors, are come together and are blended in the rain. Dull things become shiny, and close up, wet plants and animals bear deeper, richer colors. But the rain does not just act as a mirror and enhancer for objects; it also does this for emotions. A person thinking positive thoughts may see the rain as a change or playful. Perhaps the rain is washing away the old, making headway for the new and breathing life into a new situation. Or, for those experiencing sadness, the rain often blends with their tears, commiserating with them or even enhancing them. This is perhaps the most common allusion to rain, and is grandly showcased in The Tales of Ise by the poem

Helpless to meet you,

I can only gaze on these

endless rains,

a river of tears

drenching my sleeves.

With the intensity of rain, emotions may even be allowed to progress even further. A downpour of hard, quick rain may reflect a person’s hard, quick feelings; a downpour of emotion. The lightning that results from thunderstorms could as easily build fear and tension in a person’s heart as it could fill them with energy. And the light that results from it would contrast against the dark nature of the storm, creating a hybrid world of light and shadows for an even more fleeting time than twilight. Too as the seasons change, the feelings that rain can elicit change too; cold, stoic winter rain might become a pleasing refresher in the warm summer months. The versatility of rain often allows me to look on it with whatever is in my head at the time, and its steady noise I often find restful, and easy to lose myself in.

All of this imagery influences my art greatly. The versatility found in rain is terribly compelling to me. Depending on my mood, the rhythmic sound of the rain and its distortion of the world could bring to my mind pictures of serenity, love, sadness or compassion. And too, with so much collective emotions stored about rain, my mind too then can become infused with the feelings of others to create whole new conceptions. Twilight can do this to me as well, especially after seeing an especially vibrant sunset, or the way the streetlamps begin to contrast against the darkening sky. And not only these two conditions, but any of the little things that I view around me can spark a picture. In fact, most of my inspirations for my drawings come from the little sights I see every day, or the ones I wish to be seeing every day. In fact, much of my getting lost in the little things around me is due to my art. The way shadow fall, form, elegant architecture, it all appeals to me and makes me want to learn and remember it better so that I someday can relate it back to the world. Because of my love for twilight, rain, and my positive connotations with them, they are often a common theme in my pictures. And although I do limit what I draw so that it does not become too repetitive, the only imagery that appears as much in my art would be the moon, another sight that I can always get caught up in.

Viewing the moon has become a bit rarer for me; besides having a cyclic nature it also moves throughout the sky, making it so that I may not have a clear view of it every night. However, when I do, it almost seems to me even more special. The moon is beautiful to me full or not, day or night. However, I cannot deny that it has a certain charm to it when it is full and bright, high in the dark night sky. Seeing it as the one substantial source of light in the night sky almost makes it seem more special as it can be considered the light within the darkness. It is also something unworldly, something untouchable. For these reasons I feel that it has a certain magic and mystery to it. And though I do not just picture it as a Buddhist symbol of enlightenment, I can understand why it would resonate so soundly with enlightenment due to its unique nature. So although my interpretation of the moon is not quite the same, I still enjoy many of the allusions made to it as they often bring pleasant memories of how enrapturing the moon can be. One such example would have to be

Shinkokinshu, Buddhist Poems, No. 1978

Darkness dispels,

and the moon shining clear

in my heart’ sky

now seems to near

the western hills

-Saigyo

This poem obviously has Buddhist influences, which I can appreciate, but I also enjoy the sheer imagery of the poem and the radiant moon in the sky. Together, I feel that they make a great and relatable poem, one that can showcase the beauty of the moon from multiple aspects.

And looking at my love of the simple things I find beauty in life from a Buddhist perspective, one might say that I am too attached. However, I feel more like those poets so entranced by cherry blossoms; the attachment is known and loved, a human quality. This beauty around me is something simply that I like to admire when I have time to relax and reflect, and although sometimes inspiration will drive me to divert my time to artistic activities, I find more that enjoying these small beauties is just a way of heightening my appreciation of the world and of taking time to just let my mind create its own version of the world around me, inspired by simple sights.

All and all, I think becoming lost in beauty is something pleasant, an easy reminder of how amazing our world really is. And even if this beauty may not last, it is still enjoyable, perhaps even more so. Like fading smoke a world full of cherry blossoms, or a lovely but unworldly moon princess, I find that the greatest beauties are often unobtainable, and perhaps cause us to seek beauty in many different aspects of our lives. For me it serves to clear my mind and switch its creativity on as I imagine a world which could contain many bits and pieces of my favorite things to look upon. Perhaps it is like Kazue who brightens her world by finding happiness in everything, even the odd little things in life. Overall though, I feel it is my appreciation for this world, and all of the little wonderful secrets it contains. I leave on this poem which, like the first, may be a bit over the top, but in doing so, more prominently carries the feeling that I can find myself getting so wrapped up in.

To the spring fields

I came to pick violets;

entranced by those fields,

I slept there

all night!

Yamabe no Akahito

Final Essay #1

Reaching the so called, more modern texts of Japan in the Edo period, it slowly becomes more and more apparent how Japan’s changing society is reflected in the texts of the period. Writing styles, characters, plots; almost all aspects of writing are affected. However, this is conflicted with many influential authors desire to retain traditional elements. This conflict is often appropriate to the times and the author’s circumstances as well, as they try to find their own balance in the shifting society. From Basho’s fusion of the traditional hermit lifestyle and commoner styles of poetry to Zeami’s retelling of traditional literature with new mediums to Tanizaki’s simultaneous acceptance of life in modern culture and rejection of its traditional divergence and Higuchi’s blended writing style, each showcases the author’s compromise to incorporate traditional ideals in a modern world.

Basho retained a traditional lifestyle, rejecting city life much as other poets had done before him. In becoming a hermit, travelling and writing poetry, Basho harks back to traditional poets like Chomei, not just in a minimal Buddhist lifestyle but also in subject matter; both authors’ poems had a sharp focus on nature, and it was likely that Basho’s took delight in the same sense of aesthetics as his predecessors. However, Basho’s poetry is written in an entirely different format from what could be seen in traditional poetry; Basho favored a ‘commoner’ style, one that would later come to be known as haiku. Because of this, Basho works directly against the strict elite nature of traditional poetry while upholding the aesthetic nature of traditional poetry. Basho acts as if he does not want to live in such a modern world, but helps to birth one of its creations, forerunning the Haiku. His conflict shows a clear example of how the desire to remain traditional aesthetics holds true, while the means of expressing them changes slightly as the culture of the time is reflected back upon the author.

Besides the rising popularity of new literary styles, other ways of presenting stories and thoughts were also coming into play, such as Noh. Zeami was a prominent figure in this more theatrical evolution of storytelling, and drawing on the Tales of the Heike, and other classic works, strung together tradition and more modern means of presentation. By choosing to incorporate elements of classic texts to centre much of his puppet plays around, he retained the traditional sense, something that all of his viewers would be familiar with. However, again, this only let Zeami preserve traditional aesthetics in one aspect. Also, many of Zeami’s works also changed bits and pieces of the original story, adding more characterization. This can especially be seen in his play involving Atsumori’s death, where Kumagai’s character is taken even further when a new future is invented for him, and his feelings and response to the event are expanded. Tales of the Heike as a literary text had some characterization, but in the Noh setting it is altered so that the actors’ impressions of the story, along with the musicians and chorus are impressed upon it. In this way, it nods towards the more modern emotional and personal qualities starting to be more apparent in the modernizing society.

Anothern modern author, Tanizaki, was highly conscious of the conflict between the modern and traditional. The push to westernize began to create an even larger separation from traditional values in the society in which he lived. He too, like many traditional writers valued the in-between, and made reference to this by praising the more mysterious and hidden qualities of traditional Japanese aesthetics in his essay ‘In Praise of Shadows’. This essay highly showcased the conflict between modern and traditional, and how compromise was painful but almost inevitable due to the pressures of changing society. Tanizaki expresses his pains in finding practical yet still traditional fixtures both to show difficulty in a literal sense, but also to showcase an example of a larger phenomenon that was affecting the whole of Japan. Tanizaki struggles to maintain tradition; he must always compromise in some way to accommodate the changed wants and needs of his society. The thoughts and statements he presents in his writing are formatted in a familiar style; zuihitsu, which resonates with the traditional ideals he upholds. However, the thoughts and ideas themselves range from serious, to silly and to mocking; a combination Tanizaki uses to stir debate and to increase the apparent tension between traditional and modern ideals to bring attention to it.

Higuchi Ichiyo, another author faced with the non-traditional western concepts and writing styles took a different approach than Tanizaki by beginning to move towards a literary style which truly laid focus upon the characters and their thoughts. Her characters thoughts were pivotal to the telling of her story; instead of simply stating how things were and how they were being dealt with, actions and the reasons behind them were showcased through character’s thought processes. This also allowed the reader to connect with and question the character’s actions more so than they could have before, as they were now more complex. Because of this, her works stood out even though they still relied upon many traditional aesthetics and concepts, as the reader could now reflect back upon the text in a relatively new way.

Texts often reflect the thoughts and feelings of the people in that time period. And the texts of the modern era in Japan are no different. Though traditional concepts are meant to be maintained, there is often a twist in their delivery thanks to how the author is affected by their society. From the changing of literary forms, to translation into another medium to the impact of two separate societies meeting, all alter the author’s preconceived notion of traditional values. These societal changes ultimately cause conflict with tradition, causing the author to find their own balance between the two, which inevitably appear in their texts as they express themselves and their ideas as varied compromises, each unique to the author’s world.

Mujou Paper

An essay that’s not quite an essay, part musing on mujou, part collection of poems, part trip to mujouland, and part boring story time. Sorry about that last bit.

Mujou has been on my mind since this assignment began. To me, it is a concept which is constantly present. And, now that I have it connected with our class, literary references pop up when I muse on the concept. In the theme of being mujou, I decided to take a walk instead of writing this paper, mostly because it was soon to be my favorite embodiment of mujou, the time of day when it’s twilight; yugure. Mujou as a concept can be freeing, comforting, beautiful or even a bit scary in knowing that nothing is ever constant. For me at that moment in time it was freeing.

Transience and mutability were how mujou was introduced to me. And starting off on my walk that was how I was feeling. Nothing was planned, my feet we free to walk as much or as little as they wanted, in whichever direction they wanted. Walking down a trail I felt free, not tied down by work or distracted by possessions. Mujou was on my brain, and, in the spirit of mujou I soon split off of the trail I had been walking on, deciding to continue down an offshoot which I had no idea about or even if it would go anywhere. But at that time, it was perfect, a way to travel an unpredictable road.

Entering upon the quiet park it led into, I reflected back to common traits of some of the first poems we had read in class, such as the ones in the Kokinshu. These poems almost always connected with nature, often placing it first. Now, I felt as if nature was first; little raccoon prints dotted a muddy stream bank, a scene which was beautiful, but also quite fragile; the prints would not last, and the sunlight dappling the water’s surface would soon melt away. I felt entranced by the tranquility and fleetingness of the world before me, just as many poets must have been by their surroundings. If a poem could reflect my thoughts at the time, it would have to be this anonymously written poem;
“It’s their falling without regret
I admire-
Cherry blossoms:
a world of sadness
if they’d stayed.”
To me, the most beautiful moments are often the most fleeting; I do not feel as if the little joys in life could hold the same power over me if they were commonplace and constant. This is one of the qualities I enjoy most about mujou scenes.

Continuing on, I exited the forest and departed from the stream. As I had hoped, this path was now leading me in an unexpected direction. The sudden change in landscape and direction too made me think of mujou, as the forest that seemed to continue on was suddenly cut by fields and houses. Though I was further from nature I was also now in a more free environment. Crossing a stream, I mused upon repeating the actions of Buson by
“Crossing a summer
stream- what fun!
sandals in hand”
but resisted, remembering I was not in ancient Japan at the sight of the bits of trash resting in the shallow stream bottom. Although this removed me somewhat from the perfect sense of tranquility I had been in before, I still couldn’t help but think of mujou as the stream itself had been unexpected in this now more human setting, and it too seemed fragile, as if it might disappear with the lack of future rain.

As I now walked further on, I came to reflect on Saigyou, and his travels. I was now traveling directly facing my shadow; whom now became my traveling companion. I thought how traveling by foot was so simplistic and natural, and how Saigyou, like myself at the time would have been content without possessions, just letting himself be free to experience both nature and people. Although my walk was no comparison to what he must have done, I really felt as if I could at least understand a little better how Saigyou might have lived under such mujou conditions and found inspiration in all sorts of sources around him. Walking at that moment, almost everything seemed to be beautiful in some manner to me, and though the landscape changed, I found myself okay with that. Saigyou’s poem
“When I think of
this world
all is scattering blossoms,
so where else
might I choose to be?”
shows a great deal of mujou, as he relates the whole world to scattering blossoms, and although this could be taken dispiritedly, I feel that Saigyou’s questioning of where else he might choose to be shows that he was happy with the evanescent world around him, as I was at that moment.

Now approaching the peak of my walk, where the yugure atmosphere was at its best, I enjoyed the mixture of light and shadow constantly progressing around me. My shadow’s length grew longer and longer until I decided it was time to turn back, to enjoy the last fleeting moments of the setting sun. Making my way back, I soon began to go downhill, causing the sun to depart even faster. In the spirit of mujou I decided to run; both just because I felt like it, and also to stop myself from trying to hold onto the last few moments of the sunset. Again, I felt that the view was even more spectacular due to its fleeting nature, but also very tempting to become attached to, as though I ran, viewing the sunset had been my biggest influence for taking the walk.

After sunset, I could truly feel the mystery ascribed to yugure. Now, again in a very mujou way, the whole landscape that I had just travelled seemed changed, and somehow different from before. I was reminded of many of the autumn poems we had read at the sight of a lone black cat, half hidden in dried grass. It was obviously a stray, and in the twilight I could honestly not tell if it was missing an orange eye, or which eye it might be missing. Highly reminded of Basho’s poem
“Crows resting
on a withered branch—
evening in autumn”
because of the same eerie feeling, mujou again invaded my thoughts, as even the poems I connected to on my walk were seemingly mutable; starting off with poems derived from spring imagery, I was now turning to poems inspired by fall sights. Truly yugure was a mujou time period, persuading both the landscape and my thoughts to change in mere instants.

Making my way back, the darkening sky continued to change the path around me, making everything feel a bit more uncertain, darkening the faces of the few people whom I did pass. And for this I was happy of the products of my three hour excursion; now I felt as if it truly had been a good decision to impulsively wander off, some time alone of guilty procrastination had actually forced me to think more into the concept of mujou and the poets and collections that I relate with it. Mujou had brought beauty to the walk, and also a sense of freedom. It made the simple sights I saw more special and even brought me just a hair closer to ancient poets. At that moment, I was content with this ever changing, temporary world, and understood a bit better how it could be such a driving force in both poetry and other kinds of literature. My last thoughts were with one of Issa’s poems, which I think truly captures the feeling of mujou and the wonder that can go along with it.
“A little child
Picked with his fingers
A drop of dew--
And lo, it vanished!”

Busn & Issa Poems

Roots of the camphor tree
quietly moistened
by the winter showers

-Buson

I really loved the imagery in this poem and the soft, muted feelings it seemed to express. In the poem there are a lot of very mellow aspects; the rain has come only in the form of showers, we can see that the winter is not as cold as it could be due to the fact that it is raining, the roots are only being moistened, and even the camphor tree, which is large and distinctive, seems subdued; the only part described is its roots, a common aspect to every tree. Together, these images come together to create a very hushed setting; I can imagine a quiet forest, set apart from any hustle and bustle. The images themselves are also really appealing to me, I always find it really beautiful when the bark of trees and the ground around them are darkened by the rain, and I also find the quietly moistening rain to be quite pleasing.


Melting snow
and the village overflowing
with children

-Issa

To me, the wordplay in this poem was pretty clever. The way the poem transitions from melting snow, to the village overflowing with the out pour of children was both a smooth transition from the changes in nature to the changes in people, and a great way to really develop the image of children flooding out into the street, as my mind was already ready to picture water from the snow melt rushing out into the village. The mood of the poem is also appealing to me, as it really seems to capture well that lightening of the spirits coming from the end of winter. Children also go well with the beginnings of a new year, as they are relatively new themselves. Overall, I just felt that this poem provided a great flow and representation of this time of year.

Exhausted,
time to find a lodging-
hanging wisteria

Basho

I thought this haiku really moved well from the feeling of oppressive tiredness to that of peaceful relaxation. We see that the speaker is exhausted, and in need of lodging, giving the sense perhaps that they are a traveler and have walked a great distance, now too weary to go further. It then ends with the image of hanging wisteria, progressing from walking, so slowing to find a place to rest, and finally stopping on the peaceful image of dangling flowers, from which one might imagine that after long traveling, a well deserved resting place has been reached.

The holy mirror,
repolished, is also pure-
blossoms of snow.

Basho

In this haiku there is lots of beautiful imagery and also symbolism. It gives the image of a holy mirror, one that has had to have been repolished. This suggests that the mirror has become tainted or dirty, impure. It is reminiscent of how someone pure may sin. However, we see that something tainted does not have to stay that way, as the mirror can be repolished, returning to its orginal pure state, and suggesting that humans can do the same. This reborn purity is reinforced by the last line which cites 'blossoms of snow', creating an image of newly fallen, white snow. The white can be also connected back to the mirror to create a moon-like image, white and circular, which would again suggest holy purity.

Taking a midday nap
feet planted
on a cool wall

Basho

I quite liked this haiku because it really made me think of peaceful summer naps. Midday suggests warmth, and perhaps a bit of lazyness, as one is stopping whatever they have been doing to take a nap in the middle of the day. The feet are planted on a cool wall, again adding to the sense of warmth and lazy relief, as hot feet are cooled down and lifted from having to support the body as it carried out its daily tasks. The fact that the wall is cool also gives a sense of peacefulness, as it shows that the person napping will not be so warm as to be uncomfortable. Overall, it made me want to take a nap myself, haha.

Shinkokinshu poem

4
For a fifty-verse set of poems composed for presentation to the retired emperor.

Cloud darkened,
this ancient village:
in falling snow
not a trace of spring
yet surely it has come.

Kunaikyo


I enjoyed this poem because I feel as if I can empathize with it somewhat, and because of it's imagery. The scene of a rustic old village, dark and slowly being covered with the falling snow really set up the whole scene of the poem for me. I felt like the speaker may be someone living in this town, now on the verge of spring, just waiting for the traces of spring to appear, and knowing that even though the world may seem dark now, spring's arrival surely will come and breathe new life into the ancient village. I myself am pretty excited for the arrival of spring, and although the first day of spring in the US isn't until sometime in March, I feel that, like the speaker if it were to still be snowy and cold that I would still have faith in spring's arrival. This poem also showcases some of the traditional views of spring, as I feel it is seen positively here, while the winter, represented by snow and cold is seen as less so.

Shunzei poem

Shinkokinshu, Love 2, No. 1107
Sent to a woman on a rainy day.

When I gaze off
toward your skies,
unable to bear the longing,
the spring rain falls,
parting the mist.

Shunzei

This poem was interesting to me both because of the emotive qualities that it held and also because of the barrier in the poem, and its apparent fix. Here, Shunzei seems to feel so strongly about a woman that nature itself expresses his feelings, extending a rain shower over the mist which hides his love form his view. At first this seems okay to me, but looking at it a second time, I began to think how the rain would most likely be a even bigger barrier than the mist which it had just parted. Perhaps it is not the love who is ever revealed, but rather his feelings about having to be separated by whatever social barrier keeps them apart. In the mist, the situation might have been obscured and unclear, but with the rain, or perhaps a downpour of tears, even though his love may still not be in sight, his feeling about this love may now have finally broken through.