It is a common characteristic for people to drift from simplistic values and instead to worry over past regrets or strive for an ambiguous future. Hokusai was a Japanese artist in Edo and is most known for his paintings depicting perspectives of Mount Fuji. Although living in different eras, Cho Hon, a Korean artist, wrote a poem emphasizing similar ideas including the temporal manner of humanity’s effects. Hokusai’s painting, Asakusa Hongan-ji Temple in the Eastern Capital, and Cho Hon’s “Untitled” share common themes of discovering tranquility through the intertwinement of humans and nature, the significance of understanding one’s impermanent life, and the constant flux of time.
In Hokusai’s painting, the small size of the mountain behind …show more content…
In Hon’s poem, he writes that “The boatman is gone”. Through fishing, this man’s survival relied on nature, and likewise, the forest shown in the painting provided lumber for Edo’s people. Once each tree was cut, another should be planted to keep balance in the mutual benefits nature and humans supply each other. Humans are part of nature, and although they commonly distract themselves with consumerist desires, the trees, air, and water will not disappear. In the painting, the viewer is given the perspective from above. This wider range of understanding the city that Hokusai saw only allows the main sight of clouds, portraying his values. Although everyone leads different lives, in the simpler scheme of things, all that can be seen is a blur of humankind lost in society, or in this case clouds in the sky. People may worry about their everlasting legacy on Earth and this anxiety can be interpreted as raindrops. After becoming a cloud, the rain has no alternate option except to fall, and although unclear when it will happen, humans must accept that ultimately they too will fall at the end of their lives. In addition, after the cloud is gone, more will form, symbolizing a new generation. Hon represented a