Inspired by the eastern view on “white,” my zine uses the haiku of the famous Japanese poet Kobayashi Isaa and the photos I took to represent my idea of “white.” Born in 1763, Kobayashi is regarded as one of the four haiku masters in Japan. His haiku are often about everyday life. I use the most basic need for human—food (rice and noodle) and the basic eastern tableware (cup, bowl, chopsticks, & spoon) as the theme. By combing the images and the selected haiku, I tell the story of “white.” The title of this zine is called “
A Cup of White Tea” because Kobayashi’s name Issa means “a cup of tea.” “White” represents empty and void, but that doesn’t mean lifeless. It means full of energy and imagination. An empty bowl is full of life because it could be filled with anything. The possibility of “white” is endless.
P.S: It is hard to tell in the photos, but the background colors of the haiku parts are in different "white" and the English translation of the haiku are also in different "grey."
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