SIMPLY RADISHING

Now I know a bad pun can be considered a sign of a short attention span (or worse) though Alfred Hitchcock considered them "the highest form of literature" but since we were talking about radishes, I just couldn't help myself and let the jeering commence. I found this illustration on the internet quite some time ago and though I am not a huge fan of radishes as food, I found that this ink painting by Kitaoji Rosanjin captured the essence and even spirit of the ubiquitous root vegetable. If you look at it from Rosanjin's point of view as artist, arbiter and gourmand, the scroll painting makes perfect sense as natural as sparse lines and color can be. If you had asked me a hand full of years ago what I thought about the humble radish I doubt I would have much to say but after encountering Momoyama pottery, Kato Tokuro and Rosanjin all linked by this little veggie, I dare say there is certainly more here than meets the eye.