"Kare-hasu / Himawari" Maki-e
Imagine the power and beauty of the life of a plant
Say, the lotus and the sunflower
Many may think of flaming fresh flowers in their minds
….
But not me,
In the end of summer
All the petals of the lotus fall off, and the fruit is born
Eventually, the stem withers and breaks
The sunflower drops its bright petals and turns black
The stems wither and harden, leaving only the fruit
I think that is the most beautiful thing
It is not the desolation of the end that is there
but the beauty of the time that continues to overlap
From the fruit dropped, another bud emerges, spreading dark green leaves
A fresh flower blooms, and then it drops its petals again, leaving the fruit behind
There is a strength in the life that continues and stacks up through the seasons,
and there is an excess of beauty in itself in the withered fruits that are quietly swaying in the wind
I’d like to express that
The withered lotus in the swamp is really beautiful
Aging is not bad in a way such beauties are felt
Of course, it’s good to have momentum
But at the age of 60, 70, 80, being, a lady or a gentleman, a little withered but decent is not so bad
The way you age is the same between the plants and human beings
I think of the importance of how I accumulate my days through the withered lotus and sunflower