Tai (sea bream)

As it is awfully cold, I'm happy staying at home,
I enjoy it.
When it snows, I'm allowed to drink sake offered to Shinto gods,
I enjoy that, too.

He's one of my friends.
His New Year's clothes are at my place. He's a drifter.
I called him and asked what he's going to do with his clothes this New Year.
He said, "I'm heading for Akita now. The snow is overwhelming...."
Talking about his hopes of this year, he mentioned "Discipline."
He wants to see the Namahage Demon there.
No matter where he is, he has a roof over his head.
Any place can be his shelter.
He has his own way of doing things, and he's my good friend.

At least tai (sea bream) could be a good subject, I thought.
It's cut open and dried, but complete with head and tail.
As I'm left-handed, I tend to paint subjects in reverse order.
Somehow I could welcome the New Year, and it's a mede-tai (a happy event). Should I put the tai's head to my left in the traditional style?

Demon and Snake

Though it is supposed to be spring now, it is freezing cold this year. It is as cruel as a demon.

A friend of mine brought a maneki-neko (figurine of Japanese beckoning cat) along. He says that he carved it roughly with a kitchen knife from a piece of wood he happened to pick up, and it is not finished yet. The more I look at it, the more I like it. I like it as it is. It is such an attractive maneki-neko.

Among my recent works, my drawings have been becoming simpler. I find it amusing to color them.

One day I watched a craftsman on TV saying: "Simpler is harder." And, I felt confused.

In the meantime, the cherry blossoms will bloom. Spring is just around the corner.

I like spring

I wanted to go to Yokohama by train.
At around five in the morning, the sky begins to grow light,
My heart is singing.
I'm a weakling at night,
I'm an early riser,
Like floating bubbles,
Awake or asleep.

The moon in the morning looks false,
Like a daydream in spring.
I ride a train for the first time in ten years.

Though still cold in the shade,
It's very warm in the sun.
I stand on tiptoe at a sunny place in the park,
I give a big yawn, and feel good.
Flowers begin to bloom in shrubberies,
Cats know where they feel snug,
Birds are eating new shoots.
(If I could eat crown daisy dressed with mustard!)

I like spring.
Birds have their favorite branches,
Branches are awaiting birds,

Naturally spring has come to everybody.