Hokusai Says

***PREFACE: Perhaps the best thing about my birthday week was my accidental find of a vintage woodblock print of Katsushika Hokusai’s Hodogaya on the Tōkaidō, one of 36 in his famous “36 Views of Mount Fuji” series.

I was just browsing a vintage bookstore with my mom and out of the corner of my eyes, I saw something familiar laying on the floor among a pile of other random knickknacks. The owner didn’t understand why I was geeking out, nor did she know anything about Hokusai or woodblock prints. She just knew that her dad was “very particular about his collection.”

Judging from the age of the paper and the frame it was nailed shut in, I believe this is a reproduction from the 70s or 80s. The color smears and imperfections add beauty and character to the artisan’s craftsmanship. Hokusai only wanted the best woodblock carvers to reproduce his prints.

So please enjoy below one of my favorite poems that embodies the immortal wisdoms and spirit of Katshushika: "Hokusai Says."***

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"Hokusai Says"

By Roger S. Keyes

Hokusai says look carefully.

He says pay attention, notice.

He says keep looking, stay curious.

He says there is no end to seeing.

He says look forward to getting old.

He says keep changing,

you just get more who you really are.

He says get stuck, accept it, repeat

yourself as long as it is interesting.

He says keep doing what you love.

He says keep praying.

He says everyone of us is a child,

everyone of us is ancient,

everyone of us has a body.

He says everyone of us is frightened.

He says everyone of us has to find

a way to live with fear.

He says everything is alive–

shells, buildings, people, fish,

mountains, trees, wood is alive.

Water is alive.

Everything has its own life.

Everything lives inside us.

He says live with the world inside you.

He says it doesn’t matter if you draw,

or write books. It doesn’t matter

if you saw wood, or catch fish.

It doesn’t matter if you sit at home

and stare at the ants on your veranda

or the shadows of the trees

and grasses in your garden.

It matters that you care.

It matters that you feel.

It matters that you notice.

It matters that life lives through you.

Contentment is life living through you.

Joy is life living through you.

Satisfaction and strength

is life living through you.

Peace is life living through you.

He says don’t be afraid.

Don’t be afraid.

Look, feel, let life take you by the hand.

Let life live through you.