Yoshitoshi's 100 Aspects of the Moon
A Haibun Collection
Fox-Trot-9

3: Rising Moon Over Mount Nanping

Over there, I look across the Yangtze to the west and view the cliffs eclipsing the moon. Over there, the crows fly west towards those cliffs and away from me. Over there shall be my final battle, where the sun will rise to greet a new beginning. Now I know my fate has changed with the setting of the sun beyond those cliffs, replaced by the rising of the moon that foretells of my demise.

My final battle—
Stand fast and stay the course deep
Into the cold night!

(To be continued...) 

A/N: Picture printed in October 1885. It depicts a scene from the Chinese novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, showing Cao Cao (150-220 AD), at the time the most powerful ruler in northern China, standing in a small boat, overlooking the Yangtze River. If the crows flying towards the moon bring good news—as they in Asia often do—they are bringing it somewhere else. After several brilliant victories, Cao Cao was defeated in the year 208, in the decisive battle of Chibi (The battle of the Red Cliffs) on the Yangtze.