poetic self-portrait | Otagaki Rengetsu

Rengetsu means LOTUS-MOON. And when Rengetsu is writing about a LOTUS blossom and a cloudless MOON then she is probably not only writing about the blessings of nature and certainly not about the melancholy of astronomy. Then she is writing about herself in a very intimate way. She does so in this delicate painting and in her calm, confindent and inspiring poem next to it. This painting is more than a depiction of a plant with a poem. It is a poetic self-portrait. 

My hope 
finding a way 
to behold
the cloudless moon
upon a lotus blossom in the next world.

Otagaki Rengetsu (1791-1875)

Poet, potter and painter. An outstanding woman who found her way through the ups and downs of her life as a mother, a nun, and an artist – Otagaki Rengetsu.