Word: waka
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...most aggressive figures were carved on waka tupapaku, or wooden burial chests that Maori mourners upended in caves to scare off intruders. As cannily lit by the Metropolitan, the waka tupapaku from North Island glowers in the shadows with unearthly menace. But terror is not the only emotion the piece is intended to convey. The figure's stylized arms calmly repose upon its protuberant belly, as if to reassure the person whose bones are contained within...
...indeed because of, his unassuming pacifism, the unworldly scholar was often unable to dominate his nation's ruthless army. In 1941, for example, Japan's leaders turned to Hirohito while deliberating whether to join the war. Without explanation, the poker-faced monarch proceeded to recite a gnomic waka (a traditional 31-syllable poem) composed by his grandfather, the Meiji emperor: "On the seas surrounding all quarters of the globe/ All people are kin to each other/ Why then do winds and waters of conflict/ Disturb peace among us?" He said no more on the subject...