Haiku: Seasonal Japanese Art and Poetry Notecards

The roots of Japanese haiku reach back over a thousand years. In this poetic form, as in life, there is a pause, a shift, in which the poet celebrates sensory awareness of the season, perhaps suggested by the scent of peony blossoms or the silence of snow-covered tree limbs. The timeless appeal of this understated poetry may be the human desire to capture one’s impressions of a fleeting moment. Such seasonal allusions emphasize the essence of haiku: nature and its ephemeral beauty. This boxed notecard assortment features four haiku paired with reproductions of exquisite Japanese woodcuts. Each poem is rendered in Japanese calligraphy, Romaji transliteration, and English translation. Contains five each of the following images: Kotozuka Eiichi (Japanese, 1906–1979), Fine Day in May [Boys’ Day—May 5], published 1950s Yoshida Toshi (Japanese, 1911–1995), Sangetsu-an, Hakone Museum, 1954 Ikeda Zuigetsu (Japanese, 1877–1944), Peonies, c. 1930s, Tsuchiya Koitsu (Japanese, 1870–1949), Miyajima in the Snow, 1937

20 blank notecards (5 each of 4 designs) with envelopes in a decorative box

Card size: 7 x 5 in.