holding back the night
with its increasing brilliance
the summer moon
- Yoshitoshi's death poem
A Moonlit Night at Shinja Village
Wearing the skin again. And Again. Suffering
the corruptions of the flesh. A fictitious man.
And it is you that he is watching. You walking
there to the side, avoiding the moon.
Original:
Catching Cassia Seeds
The dialogue begins with a pointing out
of names. Here. Here. And there. My names,
my faces, my graves. A thousand deaths.
A single thread. But why bring me here?
He looks up at the moon. Leaves blows down.
He says, to show you your true face.
Original:
Cassia Trees on the Moon
Look! Can you see? What I cut down
has grown back. I cleared the
ground, made it bare. But they
return: my temptations haunt me.
I am full of atonement and yet
they still return.
Original:
Moon Over Crumbling Wall
How many stars are there in your blanket?
There was no answer. But you could see.
And his eyes were as hollow as his bowls.
Original:
Moon Over Daimotsu Bay
Heavy hands against the sea, the warrrior-
priest surrenders to the bones, watching
the wave grow darker, darker still.
Original:
Midnight Moon in the Yoshino Mtns.
Eclipse. Bone Carver. Haunting.
Original:
Moon of a Filial Son
That I might look up and remember.
The moon over the land. My parent's
house. And the river.
Original:
Reading by Moonlight
There. There. But not being able to be able to it.
Watching the weeds rattle. Carrying it
all back home. Wondering through the
wandering. There. There. In the palm of my
hand... everything. All the lines. In my hand.
Original:
Moon on the Saga Moor
How is it that you were persuaded
to return? The sound of a bone
singing? Or was it the flesh's song?
Original:
For one who counts himself a warrior,
exceeding sad,
the summer moon.
- Akashi Gidayu, April 1890
Original:
Series drawn in July of 1993 while sitting in Les Amis Cafe, Austin, Texas.