Japanese Tea in the woods

 

 

To be one with nature

Saigyo in traditional poetry, Sogi in linked verse, Sesshu in painting, Rikyu in tea ceremony, and indeed all who have achieved real excellence in any art, possess one thing in common, that is, a mind to obey nature, to be one with nature, throughout the four seasons of the year.

From Matsuo Basho 'The Records of a Travel-worn Satchel', translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa in The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches (London, 1966).