1:30 PM: kwazu no shosa translates as the reach of the frog, and is a verse form a poem by shiteki (d.1779). he was a priest who was a famous writer of “crazy” or “mad” poems. this particular verse refers to taiga’s depiction of a frog jumping toward a willow branch. this refers to a famous anecdote about ono no tōfu (michikazi, 864-966), one of the greatest calligraphers of the 10th c.. the story tells how ono no tōfu realized the importance of effort when he saw a small frog jumping again and again to reach a willow branch moving in the breeze. it was then that he began to concentrate on calligraphy.*
this is day one of the new painting which, like the others, ison a stretched 78x26”piece of quadruple primed linen.
*quote from Ike Taiga and Tokuyama Gyokuran by Felice Fischer with Kyoko Kinoshita