Sumi-e Frog Basho's Poem Sound of Water T-Shirt

Behold the tranquil world of "Sumi-e Frog & Basho's Haiku: Sound of Water." This wabisabi design combines sumi-e art and Basho's iconic haiku to capture a moment of pure serenity.

While this shirt is written in English, here is the Japanese original:

古池や、蛙飛びこむ、水の音

furuike ya, kawazu tobikomu, mizu no oto.
Old pond / A frog jumps in / Splash! / Silence again.

This may be Basho's most well-known poem. The poet wanted to emphasize the stillness of the air before and after the frog's splash. Hence the “silence again."

• 古池(ふるいけ) old pond [This sets the tranquil, timeless scene]
• や a particle indicating exclamation or emphasis [commonly used in poetry and classical texts]
• 蛙(かわず) frog [かわず is an archaic reading for “frog”. In modern Japanese, “frog” is かえる]
• 飛(と)びこむ to jump in; to leap into [This is the act that disrupts the tranquility; it is made of 飛ぶ (to fly; to jump) and こむ (into; to go into)]
• 水(みず) water [part of the setting]
• の modifying particle [links the water to its sound; it isn’t just any “sound” but the “sound of water”]
• 音(おと) sound [The sound created by the frog's action]

• 100% ring-spun cotton
• Sport Grey is 90% ring-spun cotton, 10% polyester
• Dark Heather is 65% polyester, 35% cotton
• 4.5 oz/yd² (153 g/m²)
• Shoulder-to-shoulder taping
• Quarter-turned to avoid crease down the center
• Blank product sourced from Bangladesh, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Haiti or Guatemala

This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!

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