Quote by Yosa Buson: “The spring sea rises and falls all day, rising and falling.”

There's no moral here, no lesson to apply — just pure observation of something rhythmic and indifferent. The repetition in the line mirrors the repetition of the waves. It invites you to stop interpreting and just be present to the world's simple persistence.

Buson composed during the middle Edo period in Japan, a time when haiku was experiencing a creative renaissance. Urbanization was increasing in Osaka and Edo, and poets like Buson were drawn to the natural world as a counterpoint to city life. His combination of visual art and poetry made him a distinctive figure who bridged multiple traditions.

Eighteenth-century Japanese poet and painter who, alongside Matsuo Basho and Kobayashi Issa, is considered one of the great masters of haiku. Born near Osaka in 1716, he studied both poetry and Chinese literati painting, and his haiku are noted for their vivid visual quality and painterly precision. He led a revival of Basho's style in the mid-Edo period.