Ochizama ni
Mizu koboshi keri
Hana tsubaki.
—Basho
Falling upon earth,
Pure water spills from the cup
Of the camellia.
In Japanese literature the samurai is often compared to the camel
lia whose flower lasts only a few days and then falls in one piece
to the ground. So like that of the flower, the samurai’s life may
be brilliant but short. In this poem we see an indirect reference to
the Zen philosophical teaching on the shortness and uncertainty
of life.