Yosa Buson was a leading haiku poet of the mid-Edo period and a renowned painter. While he carved out his own unique path in the world of haikai (comic linked verse), he is also known as one of the greatest masters of Japanese Nanga painting, alongside Ikeno Taiga.

This work features one of Buson’s most famous haiku: “Coolness—the sound of the bell as it drifts away.” It captures a scene in which, during the lingering heat of summer, one suddenly senses “coolness” in the sound of a temple bell fading into the distance.
In this depiction of an invisible sound—rendered as if it were a landscape spreading out across space—one can sense the unique sensibility of Buson as a painter. It seems to convey not only the lingering resonance of the bell echoing in the silence but also the cool air that drifts through the air.

September is a time when the lingering traces of summer mingle with the first signs of autumn.
This poem, which captures a sudden sense of coolness amidst the lingering summer heat, is a work of exceptional charm during this season when we quietly savor the changing of the seasons.