New York 2014

scroll that can be hung in either direction

art=scroll 27.5 x 53 inches

The Path (reversible)

Yoko Nishina inscribed two poems using the subject of a path (michi) by Matsuo Bashō on this image painted by Lucy Arai. The autumn poem is


この道を行く人なしに秋の暮


Kono michi o iku hito nashi ni aki no kure

“Nary a person on the road this autumn evening”


The spring poem is

春雨や蓬をのばす艸の道


Harusame ya yomogi o nobasu kusa no michi

“Spring rain and the road--overgrown by mugwort”


In the sidebar, the top image has the autumn poem reading in the proper orientation, the lower image has the spring poem. Yoko wrote the poems in a very cursive style so that at first glance they don’t necessarily appear upside down.

This scroll does not have a round rod. Each end has a split round, as is normally found at the top of a scroll.