black-and-white photographs

black-and-white photographs

There are two black and white photographs that I treasure as shining souvenir ,taken by an American photographer, Ansel Adams. (1902~1984)

One of the two is taking two of dog wood trees in a forest.

from web site

In this photo the dog wood trees are giving a glimmer of light in a dark forest.

It is said that dog wood trees came to Japan in 1915 for exchanging with cherry trees that mayor of Tokyo sent to US in 1912.
In Japan they are generally planted along streets or in gardens, besides in US where the trees came from, many of them grow wild.

Several years ago I had a chance to visit Yosemite National Park in US, famous for rocky mountains represented by Half Dome that was shaped during Ice Age, and falls, Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil fall and so on which have abundance of water especially in April, there I saw many wild dog wood trees were covered with boom. Many were much taller than those in Japan and they had their glorious flowers on the high branches.

Ansel Adams' museum is in the huge park that makes it look tiny.

Dog wood is called Hana-mizuki in Japan.

This is my favourite tanka poem by contemporary tanka poet.

青春は水木のしたをかよう風　あるいはとおき線路のかがやき
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　高野　公彦

( Adolescence, it is a breeze which comes and goes beneath a dog wood tree, or is a mail off shining of silver train tracks Kimihiko Takano 1941~)

In the tanka poem, Takano doesn't mention any substance of youth but floral-fresh breeze
and far-flung shining of rail road.
Thinking of it I remember the very short period time of staying at the magnificent park, Yosemite.
Definitely I was several years younger than I am.



The other one is this.
I've heard that Ansel Adams was influenced by the painters, impressionists, who brought their canvas into the sunshine from their darker ateliers, and depicted subtle change of sunlight on objects.



via here
The little prince in "Le Petit Prince " by Saint-Exupéy saw one day, the sunset forty-four times ,　rawing back his chair by inch on his small planet.
The sun in this photo might be going to set in, though I keep me it in suspence whether it is rising or setting in, because to see the sunset many times is too sad.

モノクロームの大樹の向こう　のぼるとも沈むとも見え白き太陽

The sun shining whitely

over a large-boughed mighty tree

looks setting in

and also rising up

or going to do in parallel (haricot)

I see the photos again and I feel the fragrance of that April.

Ode to cherry blossoms ( sakura )

振り向かば枝にはじけて開くらむ さくらさくらは夢に見るごと

Cherry blossoms will burst out blooming

on each of the branches

as though I will see them in a dream,

　　　　　　if I'll look back just now (haricot)

Once a cherry blossom starts to open up, all of blossoms will be at their peak before long, and it gives us somehow unreal state of mind.

And, even when people undergo their hardship, looking up to see these transient blossoms brings brightness into their hearts and appreciating their short lives makes people feel special sentiment.

Cherry Blossoms ( sakura ) have been one of major material of Tanka poem from ancient days in Japan, e.g. being expressed in "manyo-shu"The Anthology of Myriad ［Ten Thousand］ Leaves, compiled in the 8 century. And of course it is still continuing to be written suggesting some theme in genre of modern tanka.

In this time of year I often remember a tanka composed by Kanoko Okamoto(1889~ 1939), about 100 years ago.

桜ばないのち一ぱいに咲くからに生命（いのち）をかけてわが眺めたり

岡本　かの子

　　　　　　 ( As cherry blossoms bloom their full of lives with all the strength they have, I gaze them with my tremendous dignity and utmost power of my life.)

( image from website)

This tanka expresses not only nature of cherry blossoms but also Kanoko's passionate life. I've ever read that when she faced with her quite difficult situation, her partner and a cartoonist, Ippei Okamoto, let her intimate two boyfriends live with them to encourage her. Their intense way of living exerted influence on their youngest son, Tarō Okamoto, by necessity.

As an avant-garde painter,Tarō Okamoto designed 「太陽の塔」,( Tower of the Sun ) for a symbol tower of world exposition that was held in 1970 in Japan.

This year(2011) is 100th anniversary of his birth.

(image from website )

Ten years later of the event, so-called "Bubble economy " term started and it lasted nearly a decade in Japan. In the midst of the bubble economy, Machi Tawara(1962~ ) who is a forefront of colloquial tanka poem wrote about transient nature of cherry blossoms like this.

さくらさくらさくら咲き初め咲き終わりなにもなかったような公園

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　俵　万智

　　　　　　　　　 ( Sakura sakura, their floral term broke out and came to an end,

then the park stays totally as it used to be.)

Since the period of bubble economy terminated, in Japan people have struggled with prolonged recession.

And now, aftermath of the unprecedented earthquake and tsunami, including trouble of leak of radioactivity from power plants, makes people get to grips with new phase of difficulties.

New term of challenge ourselves has begun.