ABSTRACT
To begin our exploration of the concept of artistic inspiration from nature, we travel back to seventeenth century Japan:
The above haiku was created by the Japanese poet Matsuo Bashoˉ, who is credited with establishing this style of poetry-a written art form (Ueda, 1982). In these short verses, Bashoˉ creates a unique atmosphere, which is both comical and poetical. The casual tone in the „rst two lines that refers to the unlikely spider’s chirp is overtoned by the last line that brings in the autumn wind (Figure 19.1). The wind is a reminder of the solitude of a spider, which does not chirp but silently weaves its web all by itself; and a reminder to the poet himself standing alone in the autumn wind . . . wondering at the surrounding nature. With his comic overtone overlying deep solitude, Bashoˉ plays upon the rationale of such a concept as a chirping spider, and illustrates the absurdity of such an act against natural law and the powerlessness of human against the greatness of nature. This intimate discovery of nature’s hidden mystery gives way to an extensive acknowledgment of nature as a mentor and a measure for the “rightness” of things.
