Spring Poem Bonsai Kakejiku

This small scroll was made for a bonsai artist. It is a scroll for spring, so I used the green cloth and kinka (light green) hanging string to help with the imagery of the writing. The phrase is written in Sousho style. The writing is Tenka Haru.

天下春Tenka no Haru is a poem or phrase for spring. This translation from Japanese to English is completed by Jonathan Maples from page 78 of the 禅語吉語字典 Zengo Kichigo Jiten.

The general meaning is there is a great spring in Heaven and Earth. The scene of spring is a symbol of joy and growth. The heart is overflowed with feelings. A great image of Spring is etched in our mind from this phrase.

The larger phrase of this is 一花開いて天下の春 Ika Hiraite Tenka no Haru. This would be translated that Spring comes under heaven on earth by the opening of one blossom. It is signaled by the beginning bud of a small plum blossom blooming. Through this small natural expression, the great spring in Heaven and Earth’s Spring is brought by a wind. We know that the plum blossom is the target symbol of spring set apart by the Japanese.

Just like this small plum blossom, it is by small means that big changes are brought about. Just like these small symbols in nature are brought about on the Earth, we often do not see these small changes come about until they have already come about. Only after we see these great changes after they have occurred are we awakened to the change.

Just like our spirit feels the blowing spring wind, we should in the future recognize these new beginnings before the change occurs.

 wallscroll was made for an artist that wished to hang their paintings for display. We used a very neutral earth color to help bring out the blues in the painting. The scroll is completed with some rosewood Jikusaki (紫檀軸先) and the Kinka  (金華) hanging string. This is a light green with a diagonal weave.

Dimensions as follows:

Name in Kanji	Name in English	Size in Bun	Size in Inches
天	Ten	105	12.53
上一文字	Ue Ichimonji	16	1.91
紙本の幅さ	Artwork Width	46	5.49
紙本の長さ	Artwork Length	95	11.33
柱	Pillars	21	2.51
下一文字	Shita Ichimonji	12	1.43
地	Chi	63	7.52
掛け軸の幅さ	Scroll Width	88	10.50
掛け軸の長さ	Scroll Length	291	34.71