A hanging scroll dating to 1836 with a classical Chinese poem composed & inscribed by Ema Saikō (江馬細香) (1787-1861), one of the leading literati of the time highly regarded for her painting, poetry, and calligraphy:
As I become half a hundred, I begin to understand past mistakes;
Slowly, slowly, my intentions have been thwarted.
Cranes are tall, ducks short--it is not humans who made them so.
Fish leap, hawks soar--all following the course of nature.
My desires have faded away like spring snow,
Old friends have vanished like stars at dawn.
In the end, there is no use in potions for longevity,
I only love to paint bamboo, its verdure reflected on my robe.
Image and translation from “77 Dances: Japanese Calligraphy by Poets, Monks, and Scholars, 1568-1868″ by Stephen Addiss, Weatherhill, 2006, page 156