Mimi Nashi Hoichi
$1,200.00
Hoichi with heavenly voice and talented fingers
recited histories while he played the biwa.
Blind and poor and young and not yet famous,
he sang for food and a room at the temple.
One summer midnight, hot and humid and alone
a voice of iron to him called,
commanded his attendance
to sing
of ancient battles and tragedies.
•••
(continued below)
Hoichi with heavenly voice and talented fingers
recited histories while he played the biwa.
Blind and poor and young and not yet famous,
he sang for food and a room at the temple.
One summer midnight, hot and humid and alone
a voice of iron to him called,
commanded his attendance
to sing
of ancient battles and tragedies.
•••
(continued below)
Hoichi with heavenly voice and talented fingers
recited histories while he played the biwa.
Blind and poor and young and not yet famous,
he sang for food and a room at the temple.
One summer midnight, hot and humid and alone
a voice of iron to him called,
commanded his attendance
to sing
of ancient battles and tragedies.
•••
(continued below)
His voice chanted the surging sea,
his instrument the clanging swords and whispering arrows
with skill and beauty and emotion deep,
until the final stanzas of loss and despair.
Grief echoed back to him from his unseen audience,
wailing and sobbing, sorrow unbound and timeless.
Poor Hoichi, 3 nights he played
not in a castle but in a graveyard he knelt
before a long-dead emperor and his court,
ghostly fires illuminating the tombs of the slain.
“If one more time you go, you shall not return.
As a shield, a holy sutra we shall inscribe upon your flesh,
to hide you from the vengeful dead.
Stay still, stay silent, young Hoichi, and you will be saved.”
The voice of iron beckoned thrice
He dared not breath
Sat as stone
while the spirit searched in vain.
Hoichi’s body it could not see
except for his two exposed ears;
with phantom fingers gripped and taken
as proof of service to its ghostly lord.
For Hoichi’s whole body had been covered in holy wards,
except, in their rush, his forgotten ears.
•••
find out more on APulseUncommon
or read the original story in Lafcadio Hearn’s Kwaidan
•••
Details
hand-cut + torn paper + washi + chiyogami / wood
12 x 8 in • 305 x 203 mm
(approximate depth: 1.2 in • 5 mm)
Framing
Available Unframed
Framing Suggestions • framing is advised
Ask me about this art, framing, etc.
Shipping
free Priority shipping
All Original Artwork is securely packed and shipped EMS priority.
Ordering • Shipping • Return details
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