Saturday, March 14, 1992

YAMAZAKURA



65" x 45"

Among typical Japanese flowers, Sakura is the most popular, the most cited in poetry, and perhaps the most respected. Poets extol its beauty at every stage: budding, full bloom, even the decay… but most of all, they celebrate the falling petals caught up in gusts of wind. One such beautiful moment is captured in the following Haiku by Takahama Kyoshi:
“In full bloom…
Not a single petal
on the ground!”

Friday, March 13, 1992

Wisteria



45" x 60"

…then arrives the season of wisteria, when spring reaches its finest hour. The air in the garden is filled with the abundant scent of raceme. As opposed to the gaiety and motion that cherry blossoms signify, wisteria is the flower of elegance and silence. The poet Mizuhara Shuoshi wrote:
“Midday nap--
Awakened by the gentle breeze…
the scent of wisteria!"
Courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. William Yee.