“Spring View” by the Tang dynasty poet Du Fu and "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" by Japanese poet Matsuo Basho
An art critic named Takashina Shuji occasionally writes articles in the cultural section of the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. I am not sure when he started writing, but I believe I read his articles at least when I was in high school. Ever since then, Mr. Takashina has been the only person who continues to contribute to the Asahi Shimbun.
Mr. Takashina wrote about the first four verses of Du Fu's five-word poem "Spring View". This Chinese poem is studied in middle school (see this article for an explanation of the poem as a teaching tool).
I, too, was uncomfortable with the interpretation of the third and fourth phrases of this Chinese poem. This is because the subject of the first clause is mountains and rivers, and the subject of the second clause is plants and trees. So I wondered why the subject of the third and fourth clauses is a person.
When I looked at how this Chinese poem is translated in English, I found an English text based on two different interpretations here as well.
Perhaps this Chinese poetry allows both interpretations. Mr. Takashina wrote in this article like this.
I'm not familiar with the history of painting, so I'm not sure if I can say this. However, I feel that it is in common with the opinion of Buddhist scholar D. T. Suzuki.
I don't think many Americans today necessarily behave scientifically, but I guess the assumption that self and other are different for Westerners has not changed.
In the phrase "Oku no Hosomichi" by Basho Matsuo, non-humans also reveal their emotions.
The writer yields his thoughts to birds and fish, which I do not find unnatural. However, this may be due to my familiarity with this kind of culture through my studies in Japanese schools and books.
Basho also makes haiku poems about such ancient battlefields.
Wars are happening somewhere in the world at all times. Mr. Takashina wrote about the Chinese poem "Spring View" probably because he has a feeling for the war that is happening now.
This text by Daisetsu Suzuki was written in 1958, but the situation has not changed even now, more than 60 years after that. Of course, it is because of this origin that the technology has developed and the general public is also enjoying its benefits.
The first time I saw Iwanami Shinsho's book "The Eye to See Great Paintings" written by Takashina Shuji was in my high school library, and since the book was published in 1969, the famous paintings introduced were shown in blurred black-and-white photographs. Nowadays, you can read this book with the help of the Internet while viewing the detailed color photographs.
The title photo is taken from Iwanami Shinsho's "The Eye to See Great Pictures" and "The Eye to See Great Pictures sequel".