Page 193 - Designing_Nature_The_Rinpa_Aesthetic_in_Japanese_Art Metropolitan Museum PUB

Lovely small flowers,
of deep or pale shades,
Burst into bloom at dawn,
though for only a short while.
In form, they resemble squatting
“drummer boy” flowers,
But in [color]they are tinged blue

as the Buddha’s head.
Tendrils of the vines
stretch up to tall trees,
While climbing over
the edges of low trellises.
In front of a window
the maiden at the loom
Stops her shuttle every time
*
she gazes out upon them.
—OLD MAN BōSAI (1752 – 1826)

* In Chinese, the morning glory is referred to as
the “herdboy flower” (quianniu hua), and thus the
maiden at the loom here is being likened to the
Weaver Maiden of East Asian legend, who gazes
upon her beloved, the Herdboy (see discussion
on pp. 38 – 39).

92 Painting by Suzuki Kiitsu (1796 – 1858)
Poem and calligraphy by Kameda Bo¯sai
(1752 – 1826)
Morning Glories, before 1826
flowers

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