“Clear blue summer sky, over waves that move unseen, deep in silent breath. But then I fear that the light, will sink into shades of death.”

Composed in the classical Taisho-era tanka tradition by Kumanoyama (Eric Jung), this artwork operates as a triad of equally vital elements: the poem, the calligraphy (rendered in the fluid Gyōsho style), and the painting. The title of the piece is the artist’s own non-literal English translation of the verse.
Visually, the piece centers on a dramatic, jagged tear running through a serene summer sky and calm sea, exposing a pitch-black void hidden beneath the peaceful surface.
A fascinating philosophical divergence exists between the two linguistic versions. In the original Japanese text, the underlying fear stems from absolute stillness—the existential threat of a wave losing its motion, the silencing of the shore, and the descent into nothingness. In the English adaptation, tailored for Western existential sensibilities, this anxiety shifts toward impermanence and mortality, transforming the fading light into a profound confrontation with death.