Art and poetry: on my walls

This morning as I set out for work, I happened to glance at the walls of my home. Right before me lay so many sumi paintings. Created by the waltz of light with the leaves of the rhododendron tree that leans over my roof - a tree that leans lazily like a cowboy leans on the counter in a western bar....

This sight reminded me of delicate sumi-e paintings...

Sumi-e is a style of painting that is characteristically Asian, and has been practised for well over a thousand years. Literally ink painting, it is an art form that strives to distill the essence of an object or scene in the fewest possible strokes. In its purest form, black ink on white paper is considered sufficient to convey the "chi" - the essence or the spirit of an object.

I fell in love with this form of painting because of its emphasis on minimalism. A few, carefully -placed broad strokes that fade off abruptly - these say a lot more than an elaborately-detailed work. The sumi-e style uses what it calls "the four treasures" - an ink stone (as a container), an ink stick (made of pine soot), a brush called hake or fude (made of bamboo bristles) and paper.

In its turn, the thought of sumi-e lead to memories of some beautiful haikus....

Incidentally, for its similarity of minimalism, I am also fascinated by the haiku. This is a seventeen-syllable poetic form that has been created in Japan for over three hundred years. It is a lightly-sketched word picture the reader is expected to fill in from his own memories. He adds his own associations and thus becomes a creator of the poem alongside the poet.

Here are examples of favourite haiku poets:

Good evening breeze!
Crooked and meandering
Your homeward journey
(Issa)


Mirror-pond of stars...
suddenly a summer shower
dimples the water
(Sora)


Mountain-rose petals
falling, falling, falling now...
waterfall music
(Basho)


Windy winter rain
my silly big umberella
tries walking backward
(Shisei-jo)


Buddha on the hill
from your holy nose indeed
hangs an icicle
(Issa)