•

One Hundred Famous

HAIKU
Selected and Translated into English by
Daniel C. Buchanan, Ph. D.

JAPAN PUBLICATIONS, INC.

Tokyo
 Contents

To Illy 1-hildrell-
George, Dalliel Jr., Katbllrme, alld M(/rgllre!- /~!llIe
Acknowledgments 6

Preface 7

Notes to the Reader 9

Spring 11

P"b/isbed by Summer 55
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ISBN 0-87040- 222- 6
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Sixth printing: Maj' 1979

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Acknowledgments
Many Japanese friends, too numerous to name, early interested me
in haiku. Japanese literature is full of these seventeen-syllable
gems of thought, which are freely quoted by writers, playwrights,
speech-makers, and the genenJ public. About fifteen years ago,
] began to collect some and to try my hand at translating them.
T showed several to Mr. Andrew Y. Kuroda, Chief of the Japa-
nese Section, Orientalia Division of the Library of Congress. He
encouraged me to make translations of more haiku and to have
them published in book form. r am greatly indebted to 1'fr.
Kuroda for valuable suggestions and help in finding a publisher
for this little volume. I also wish to thank Professor Wayne
Shumaker of the University of California in Berkeley for caref~lly
reading my manuscript and suggesting helpful changes in word-
ing. To my wife, Margatet W. Buchanan, go my grateful thanks
for constant encouragement. Not only has she read my manu-
script many times, but she has also given me valuable ideas for
making this little book re:tdable and attractive.
6 7
Preface
Hundreds of years ago as the result of poetry contests there
evolved in japan a form of verse known as haWI, "sending verse,"
or bailell "play verse." Such verses were also called hai/eoi "suitable
play," but the word haiku is now in more general use. The form
is very simple-only three lines, five syllables in the first line, seven
in the second, and fiye in the third, a total of seventeen syllables.
Within trus limited compass a great variety of thought may be
expressed. Some of the favorite subjects of the japanese muse
are the brevit, of life, women, birds and other animals, insects,
trees and flowers, mountains, the moon, sunrise, snow, rain,
mists, and other aspects of nature. There is always a seasonal
reference, sometimes very indirect, as "a cold moon"-win-
te r, "pI urn bl ossoms " -sprmg,
. "fiteules
a' " -summer, or " mapIe
leaves"-autumn.
In haiku there is much use of symbolism, and the hidden sug-
gestion is often subtle, though expressed in simple language.
Keen observation and love of nature are shown. These outstand-
ing characteristics of japanese poetry are frequently accompanied
by considerable appeal to emotion. Many haiku are beautiful
word pictures, but not elaborate description. There is much under-
statement and omission, the reader being left to fill in the idea
and make his own interpretation. Not a few haiku may be inter-
preted in a number of different ways, the japanese language
being very flexible. Puns are highly valued in both speech and
writing.
The strong influence of Zen Buddhism with its emphasis on
mysticism and contemplation is evident in many of the verses.
This is not surprising since many haiku writers were itinerant
priests or members of monasteries.
 Haiku are meant to be read over !lad over again, for often with
each reading a new interpretation may be gained. Since each
Japanese word ends with one of the five vowel sounds a, i. u,
e, 0, or the consonant n; the voice reading of haiku can be beau.
tiful and most pleasing, some of the lines being definitely ono-
matopoeic. The reader, however, win look in vain for such
characteristics of occidental poetry as rhyme, rhythm, or special
accentuation.
For the benefit of those who know some Japanese but cannOt
read Chinese ideographs (kanji) or Japanese syllabary (kalJa) , each
haiku is printed in rO"'qji, the Romanized form of the original
Japanese. In making the translations I have endeavored to follow
in English the haiku form of three lines with a total of seventeen
syllables. Scholars will be pleased to see the poems printed in the
original Japanese script. The explanatory notes, while a work of
supererogation for some readers, may prove interesting and
helpful to the majority.
8/ PREFACE
Notes to the Reader
Japanese is a comparatively easy language to pronounce since
every word ends in a vowel or the consonant n. Vowels are pro-
nounced as foHows;
a like a in father, but slightly shorter.
c like e in pen.
i like i in machine, but slightly shorter.
a like the final 0 in tobacco.
o like 0 in ol)er.
u like u in unitt, but slightly shorter
u like u in rude.
Consonants are pronounced as in English, except r which has
a slight d sound. There is no I consonant. Each consonant is
pronounced separately but rapidly even when they come together.
Combinations of vowels are also pronounced separately. Accentua-
tion is so hard to distinguish that the beginner in Japanese should
endeavor to give the same emphasis to each syllable.
9
Spring

Ham
 Ume-ga-ka ni
Notto hi no deru
Yamaji kana.
梅が⾹に -Basho
のつと⽇の出る
⼭路哉かな
On sweet plum blossoms
The sun rises suddenly.
ffii~ Look, a mountain path I
Ij) tJ'
!lJ i " N"
Il! ' t Ie
tJ, S o
Ii Ij)

ill "
~

The combination of the beauty and fragrance of plum blossoms

lining the mountain path as the sun appears over the horizon,
excites the wonder and admiration of the poet.
Matsuo BasM (1644-1694), the greatest haiku writer of all
time, was born in a poor but samurai family in southern Japan.
When quite young he became the page and friend of Sengin, son
of a nobleman, the Lord of Iga Province. Twelve years later, on
the death of Sengin, Bash6 entered the monastery on Mount
Koya. He did not stay there very long but proceeded to Kyoto,
the capital of the empire, where he studied haiku under Kigin,
and shortly afterwards started his own school. Talented men
became his pupils, quite a number of whom established their own
schools of haiku.

Balhii /13
 Haru nare ya! ShiM yori
Nama naki yama no Hana fukl irete
Usu-gasumi. Ni6-no-umi.
-Basha -Basha

Has spring come indeed? From all directions

On that nameless mountain lie Cherry blossoms blow upon
119, Two-Deva-Kings-Lake.
:{if;~ Thin layers of mist.
ft" -b'
n ~
:g ts. fJ. 1£.01.

)1ft b h ¥.l~ OX- J:

iti~, tJ {> E ;!; I)
, 3:
~
A"
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0)

"Nameless" not because the mountain had no name, but because
the poet ru'd not wish to single out one from the many beautiful
peaks in the Nara region. Note how Basha contrasts the beginning
of the season with the beginning of the day. 1Iist-layered moun-
tains are commonly seen in Japan and would not be considered
remarkable by the ordinary person, but the poet sees and hails
them for their intrinsic beauty and as harbingers of the vernal
season.
This lake, better known as Lake Biwa or Omi Lake, is the largest
fresh water body in Japan; the thousands of cherry trees growing
on its shores are a marvelously beautiful sight when they are in
full flower. The Two Deva Kings (nio), Indra and Brahma, are
important Hindu deities whose enormous statues are often to be
foun.d to the right and left of the gates of Buddhist temples, to
guard them against demons.

14jsPRING
 Kane kiete Faryu. no
Hana no ka wa tsuku Hajime ya! oku no
Yabe kana. Ta-ue uta.
-Basho -Basho

Temple bells die out. Pristine elegance!

The fragrant blossoms remal!}. There, in the interior,
Jill~ A perfect evening! The rice-planting song.
:IE"• ~ "'''
~/"
7j Il) i. EE" (/)
« ~J!' -C 1iIi ''tO
1;, l:i X ~~
Ii. --:> " 'Il)
"'"
<

Note how marvelously the poet in seventeen syllables has caught
the beauty and serenity of a late spring evening at a mountain
temple. One can almost hear the deep toll of the huge bell, see
the white and pink blossoms of the cherry trees, and smell their
delicate fragrance. In Japanese literature, whenever blossoms or
fl.Q\vers are mentioned, with no others designation, the reader is
given to understand that cherry blossoms are meant. At the dose
of day in rural areas temple bells often strike the hour.
One day Basho and a friend were havinga discussion as to whether
elegance could be found in rural areas. While they were debating
the point, a beautiful song came from an adjoining field where
women were transplanting rice. Whereupon Basho composed
this haiku, thus indicating that elegance or refinement, so widely
regarded in the big city of Edo, actually had its beginning in the
rice-planting songs.

16/sPRING &rsM /17

 Kame no naki
Ochizama ni
Toki wa hisago nj
1lizu koboshi keri
Ominaeshi.
Hana tsubaki.
-Bashe
-Bashe

At a riceless time,
Falling upon earth,
The gourd receptacle holds
Pure water spills from the cup
*~ An ominduhi.
ii a Of the camellia.
!Ji'f~(j)
*~ t>
!A~' 1;t tJ. -g
:(E"
RB"'", !i!l~e ;!;
~

"
i1f~ I. ~
«
{tclC •L Ie
11
~

"Riceless times" for peasants and the poor were frequent in

In Japanese literature the samurai is often compared to the camel-
seventeenth-century Japan. Peo?Je then would eat barley, sweet
lia whose flower lasts only a few days and then falls in one piece
potatoes, or weeds from the field. The omindeshi, a flower known
to the ground. So like that of the Rower, the samurai's life may
for its fragile beauty, is not ine~ble. The Chinese ideographs for
be brilliant but short. In this poem we see an indirect reference to
it can also be read HJIIJUme no band, which translated into English
the Zen philosophical teaching on the shortness and uncertainty
is "maiden flower." Basho, a prieSt, was very poor and depended
of life.
on his friends and disciples for food. A receptacle made from a
gourd was kept outside his dwelling into which rice and other
articles of food were put by the poet's admirers.

18/ SPRING
Bash; /19
 Yase sune rna
Sakura chiru
Areba 20, hana no
Nawashiro_mizu ya
Yoshino.yama.
Hoshi-2uki-yo.
-Basho
-Buson
Though my shanks are thin
Cherry blossoms fall
I go where flowers blossom,
1lM~ On watery rice·plant beds:
Yoshino Mountain.
jj;~? Stars in the moonlight.

c,
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if.,
;h .,
it
83~ ~
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!Iff· Ii t>
JJi *~
wi .'
'<' i;, 1li,{>
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0)

So beautiful and numerous are the wild cherry blossoms of Mount

Equally famous as a painter and a poet, Taniguchi Buson (1716-
Yoshino in Nara Prefecture that they are well worth the six-
1783) has painted here an exquisite word picture. The fallen cherry
thousand-foot climb by an old man whose legs are thin and less
blossoms on the water of rice-plant beds are likened by the poet
strong than they were in youth. So the good life is a long and to the stars studding the sky of a bright moonlit night.
upward climb, especially arduous in the latter years; but the final
reward is satisfaction.

20/ SPRING
Bflson / 21
 m~ Arne no hi yal
Ham no umi
til! 0)
11.iyako ni toki
Momo no yado.
Hinemosu notari,
Notari kana.
:ffl:t Ie 8 '" -Buson
-Buson
0) jSl~ 1>
1> ~ The day is rainy.
The sea at springtime.
Far from the capital is
C All day it rises and falls,
~[y peach-blossom home.
:fi.i Yes, rises and falls .
G' 0)

0) h ifiH
to b
I) T
iJ' 0)
f- to
•
f)

,
The sea at spring, though generally undisturbed by storms, none-
theless moves continuously. So, too, in the life of a person or a
nation there arc always ups and downs and a cenain amount of
monotony. As you read this poem aloud, do you catch the rise
and fall of the waves in the onomatopoeic no/ari, IJotari?

T hough he is living in the capital (Kyoto), because of the rainy

day. the poet has nostalgic longi ngs for his rural home with
flowering peach trees around it.

22/ SPRING
BlIson / 23
 Kino ini, Teshoku shite
Kyo ini, kari no Niwa fumu hito ya
Naki yo kana. Haru oshimu .
-Buson -Buson

Going yesterday, Candlestick in hand,

To-day, to-night ... the wild See, he strolls through the
geese garden,
1I'f. Have all gone, honking. -f'T Grieving over spring.

Ii
".
, a,"
a, , ~
1/i~ b
"n ~~
!!!" ,
l,
§ Ie til- tJ' -C
lli:' "
Ie l, M
ii' mu' is {>
Ii IJ)

All lovers of wild life can share the grief of the poet as he laments
the departure of the wild geese for their nesting grounds. One
might ask where is the seasonal reference in this haiku. To the
Japanese mind, the flight of the wild·geese from their winter home
is a clear reference to spring.
The last Japanese word in this haiku oshifllll, here translated
"grieving," has the additional meaning of "reluctant." Hence, the
man who strolls, candlestick in hand, through his garden is
grieving over the departure of spring and reluctant to let the
season go.

24/ SPRING BlIson /25

 Haru kaze ni
Osaruru hijo no ~~ Utsukushiki
< Tako agari keri
Ikari kana! 1iJJ\, L,
Kojiki-goya.
-Gyetai Z:' ib &; -Issa
1t i tJ~
By the spring breezes How beautifully
tj\ .:" f)
The beautiful girl is pushed That kite soars up to the sky
!ff~ \'V'har indignity! Ili· Vj From the beggar's hut,
:t; I>\~ 'J
~, IL
iJ' '"
Q

.....
'J Q
iJ' J[, "
,
II
tJ 7;: ,
0)

Gyetai (1732-1792) notices the displeasure of the lovely young

.
woman when the spring breeze disarranges her hair and clothing.
While interested in the scene, he is also amused at the reaction of
the girl.

Issa (1763-1827), a poor man himself, was pleased to see the

beautiful flight of a kite from a lowly hovel, expressive of the
hidden desir('s and ambitions of its occupant.

26/ SPR I NG
ISSd i 27
 Kuwa no e ni
Uguisu naku ya
Ko-ume mura.
-Issa
I Harusame ya!
Nezumi no nameru
Sumida-gawa.
-Issa

On the hoe's handle

A gentle spring rain.
A nightingale sits and sings. Look, a rat is lapping
IIU Small-plum-tree village. #~ Sumida River.
ff,·~ (J)
Jar mg
IJ\.: ti. " mt ilIllI (J) {>
#0;' < Ie
IE " /.
m{>
JII~ '"

'"

In Japanese art and literature, the nightingale (or bush warbler) is

Note how the gentle drizzle is balanced with the lapping of the
always associated with plum trees and blossoms. In this short
rat. In this poem you can almost hear the drip, drip, drip of the
poem, persons in sympathy with Japanese ways of thinking and
gentle spring rain and the lap, lap, lap of the thirsty little rodent.
feeling can hear the beautiful song of the little bird and smell
With plenty of good drinking water all around him why should
the fragrance of the plum blossoms.
the rat go to the big Sumida River? Force of habit ? So we humans
often habitually go to much trouble and do unnecessary things.

28/ SPRING
ISIa / 29
 (Hato ikenshite iwaku)
Yuki tokete,
Fukuro yo,
Mura ippai no
Tsurakuse naose
Kodama kana.
Haru no arne.
-Issa
-Issa
Snow having melted,
(The dove's advice)
The whole village is brimful
" Come on now, friend owl, ~; Of happy children.
.~ Change your facial expression.
::i~ Nl~ t-n I::
iliiZ J:
. ~~,

J!Z
This is the spring rain."
i'-= ', H-

0)

ffi~
t.
~~ !i1~

:10
l
c:
"b<
tlt" '
ti' It
f.
~
c:

"
it
- 0)

A keen observer of animals and birds, Issa noticed that doves do

With the snow melted and the arrival of warm weather, the
not mind the rain but owls generally remain in holes in trees and
children can again play happily in the village street, and the poet
rocks during wet weather. He humorously puts into the mouth
participates in theit simple joy. Issa greatly loved children. He
of the dove good advice to owls--?-nd to humans as well-not to
himself had five, but they all died young.
be worried and frustrated by conditions and events over which
they have no control . Issa is noted for his warm, friendly good
humor and his love for birds and beasts. The first line is introduc-
tory. The haiku actually starts with Fuhiro),o ("Come on now,
friend owl").

30 I SPRING
lssa / 31
 ;t Assari to
Kana mamo ga
lI'~
., Haru wa k.i ni keei
Nagare-kuru ka yo
Asagi-zora.
i:!(t Ii ;; -Issa
Haru-gasumi.
-Issa
it· lIE· ~
:?l!.t Ie C Pure simplicity
Will that very peach
Marks the arrival of spting-
H' A pale yellow sky.
Come Boating down the small
stream?
~ fl> The mists of springtime.
1m"
I~t; 0)

fi'~tL IJEt
ll~ < fl'
" ~

fl'
J:

The reference is to the fairy tale of Mom%ro (peach-boy), who

was found in a large peach that floated towards an old woman
as she was washing clothes by a stream near her hut. On seeing
a picture of an old woman at a stream washing her clothes, Issa
recalled the tale of the peach-boy and wondered whether a peach
would come Boating by.
Issa was a simple man of quiet tastes who greatly enjoyed the
"pure simplicity" of early spring, for more often than not this
is the way the vernal season would arrive. So too, important
changes take place in life, often quietly and with little show.

32/ SPR ING

[Sla 133
 Kado kado no Suzume-go ya I
Geta no dora yori Akari shoji no
Haru tachinu. Sasa no kage.
-Issa -Kikaku

At every doorway, See the young sparrows!

From the mud on wooden clogs, On paper-thin sliding doors,
m Spring begins anew. 1!;f
•
Bamboo-grass shadows.
Tlf 4~ j) '1'<
lf~ ~f:: (}) lffi 1J> {>
:sr." IJ) IJ) ~
i; ~; ~fi P$~ ,
!IJ J: T'
~ IJ)

The very mud on the clogs is a sign of spring, for in winter the
ground is too hard to adhere to the clogs. Issa rejoices in muddy
footgear as a sign that spring has again come to bless man. Thus
what is generally regarded as ugly ~nd undesirable may often be
a harbinger of beauty and joy, but it requires a poet to see it.
In Japanese literature and pictorial art, sparrows and bamboo-
grass are often associated. It is a beautiful spring day. The sun
shines on clumps of bamboo grass in the garden casting brocade-
like shadows on the pure white, translucent paper panels of the
home's sliding doors. Outside young sparrows are flitting about
and chattering happily. Such a scene probably inspired the poet
to compose the above haiku. Kikaku (1661-1707) was one of the
ten special pupils of Basho.

34/ SPRING Ki/eaku /35

r

Hi wa Ochite Na no tsukanu
Masu ka to zo miyuru Takara kawayushi,
Haru no mizu. Yama-zakura.
-Kito -Goshun

The sun having set, In unamed. remote

Has it increased in volume Places, charming and lovely,
8" The waters of spring? :1'.', Wild-cherry blossoms I
~. Ii ,
1lT2(J)
;y;~ T Iii" wi 1P "':)
(J) iJ> is ~ b iJ>

*~ I:: -C < ~ iIJ.

t G l
~
~
<i

Kito (1741-1789) seems to feel that after the sun has set and with
nothing left to distract one's attention, the volume of water from
the. gentl~ spd~g rain appears to increase. Plenty of rain is most
deslrable In sprtng t,o so~ten the soil of the paddy fields and pre-
pare them for plantlQg rice, the principal crop of the farmer.
In spring natural beauty may be found everywhere, (":ven among
remote and namelc:ss mountains. With seeing eyes and appreciative
minds, we too may discover beauty and satisfaction even in some
of the most secluded and unlikely places. Goshun, also known as
Gekke.i, was born in 1752 and died in 1811.

36/sPRING GO/hun /37

 it!!!, Chi ni odte Haru-kaze yal
!iIi\~ Ie Tako ni tamashii Mugi no naka yuku
Nakari keri. Mizu no oto.
tJ Ie :10 -Mokudo
-Kubonta
tJ, t: ~

~ 1 -c Since settling to earth A gentle spring b reeze 1

The high spirit of that kite Through green barley plants
ft l.,
Has gone completely. rushes
~ \' ~~ The sound Df water.
2t~ Ii\~
*~ I]) {>
0) ~:.
:10 <¢

C <

Mokud5(1665-1723), a samurai of the Hikone clan, was a pupil of

Bash6. As the spring breezes pass over them, the waving young
barley plants make a swishing sound like running water and, at
a distance, often resemble the green waves of a bay Dr lake.

M~~ when soaring in the heady air of success have plenty of

spun but of~en lose it if forced to come to earth and do the
humdrum things of life. Kubonta was born in 1881 and died in
1924.

38/sPRING MoW; /39

 Rakka. eda ni
Hatsu-kochi no
Kaeru to mireba Kawaya no akari
Kocho kana. Ugoki ked.
-Moritake -Oemaru

A fallen blossom The first east wind makes

Is coming back to the branch. The light in that old privy
fii:~ Look, a butterfly!
;n~ Flutter and flicker.
t.1' 1t.. ,.
liNn JI!'
/ill, "- tt~ •
oj 0) I!\'
tJili, <> Ie
tJ,
c: ib 0)
C
~ iJ-,.
tJ 5!,.
tt
Ii

Moritake (1473--1549) was a lUgh-ranking Shinto priest of the

Oemaru (1719-1805) was a businessman and a pupil o~ the.poet
Ise Shrine and one of the earliest writers of haiku. \That a simple
Ryota. Even such a lowly tlUng as the flicker of the light 10 an
but beautiful word picture he has painted I
outdoor toilet is noticed by the nature-loving p~et, and the breeze
that causes it is hailed as the forerunner of sprmg.

40 I SPRING Oemaru /41

 Haru no hi ya I Uguisu ya!
Niwa ni suzume no Ume ni tomaru wa
Suna abite. Mukashi kara.
-OnitsUIa -Onitsura

A lovely spring day- Look, a nightingale!

Out in the garden sparrows They have lighted on plum-trees
lff~ Are bathing in sand. ~
f.G ~,
From antiquity.
T
JJ:!~ 0)
m~ ~
!iJ;t Ie B" :l±g Ie
Be
ib ., -\>
U' ., t" C
<? i
-c 9)
'is
0)
1;1

Onitsura (1661-1738) was a monk and pupil of Basha. Watching
sparrows taking sand baths, the poet is led to reflect on the beauty
of the spring day. We, too, if our heans are atrune to narure and
to the great Creator of all, can find much enjoyment in the simple
things of life.
In Japanese literature and art, the nightin~ale (or bush warble:)
is always linked with plum-trees. The tree !s the first to flower m
early spring and frequently blooms while snow is still on the
ground. Hence, it is admired by the Japanese as a brave tree.

42/ $PR ING Oni/sura /43

 Gaikotsu no'
Akebono yaJ
lid
0 Mugi no hazue no
Ue we yosote
Hana~mi kana.
Jt~ ~ Haru no shima.
-Onitsura
#~ Ij) -Onitsura
Ij) ~t1 Skeletons dressed up
A new day has dawned!
In gala attire are out
~t ~r On the tips of barley plants
1t~e: For Rower viewing.
Ij) The frost of springtime.
lot if';
:tE"
'"
Ij)
"
ji\. J:
7J' {-
ti -j
-C

Instead of admiring the charming scene of beautifully dressed

people picnicking under trees laden with lovely cherry blossoms,
the old monk cynically reflects on the shonness of life-a natural
reaction for a priest of Zen.

Sunrise turning the frost on the tips of green barley plants into
sparkling emeralds. What a beautiful word picture the poet monk
has painted for us!

Onit!llra / 45
44/ SPRING
 Umazume no Furi-aguru
Hina kasruzuku zo Kuwa no hikari yaJ
Aware naru! Haru no nora.
-Ransetsu -Sanpii

The barren woman Up-swinging mattocks

Is attending the little dolls. Glittering in the sunshine!
jJ\. Spring is in the fields.
:£'
•
-P;!
So pitiable!
I!l:~ ~
G'
:a~ tJ 0) ~~ 0) 1:-
n ~, 0) (} <'
0) iJ'
tJ l
--j .; ~ '"
'" < ~

'f

Ransetsu (1654-1707) looks with pity on the barren woman (lit- The gleaming mattocks of the peasants breaking the ground pre-
erally "stone woman") as she arranges on shelves the figurines paratory to spring planting remind the poet that the vemai season
for Doll Festival Day CHina Malsuri). That day, celebrated on has arrived. Sanpii (1647-1732) was one of the ten special pupils
March 3, is a special holiday for girls all over Japan; May 5 is of Basho.
Boys Day. In recent times both festivals have been joined and
are celebrated on May 5, a national holiday known as Children's
Day (Kodomo 110 Hi).

46/ SPRING
 Hina no kao Shima-jima ni
Ware zehi naku rno Hi wo tomoshi keri
Oi ni keri. Ham no urru.
-Seifu -Shih

The faces of dolls. On alJ the islands

In unavoidable ways Glittering lights now appear.
ti~ r must have grown old. .!Oi The sea at springtime.
~R 0) KJt.' '-t i
~"-If iJ' .f:~ i- I;:
L' 0 i; ~ C
IC tJ ififZ b
11 < l
IJ {, 11
IJ

Seifu (1650-1721) was a poetess nun. As she views the dolls
arranged on the shelves for Doll Festival Day (March 3rd) and
realizes that they no longer seem to interest her, she reflects that
she is unavoidably getting on 10. years-a hint of Buddhist
fatalism.
The lights from neighboring islands and fishing boats in the bay
combine to make a most beautiful night picture of a calm sea in
early springtime. As a boy in Takamatsu, about the time that
Shiki (1867-1902) died, I frequently saw just such scenes from
my bedroom window facing the Inland Sea.

48/sPRING Shiki 149

 j

Ham ao hi ya ;g;& Suge-gasa wo

Hito oani mo seau Kite kagami miru
~~ lt~:
Komura kana. Chatsumi kana.
-Shiki ~t L Ii -Shiko
Ji!j~ ~>
A sunny spring day, \"\'e:1.ring her sedge-hat
& ~<
People are doing nothing She preens before the mirror,
~~ In the small village. ~> & A tea-leaf picker.
A~ 0) t .. ",.
IJ\.: fiiJ~ 8 (.'
tf~ t, .0;0 '"
~> it
tJ. (/J

The poet was delighted to note that, busy as the villagers usually
are, sometimes they can fully rclax on a spring day and just enjoy
doing nothing. We in our tense, modern world would do well
to learn that lesson.

Even a peasant tea-leaf picker is a woman, always careful of her

appearance and mindful of her attractiveness. SlUka (1665-1731)
was first a Buddhist priest but later became a physician.

50 I SPRING SbikO /5 1
 Kore wa kore wa
To bakari, hana no Mugi kuishi,
Yoshino-yama. Kari to omoedo
-Teishitsu Wakare kana!
-Yasui
My, oh my! No more
CouJd I say; viewing flowers Barley they do eat,
c. On Mount Yoshino. The wild geese that I yearn for:
;t~
c n But when they depart....

-=at It ,;:I:
HH <
fI <1.> tJ) c $1Jr. c "
ill; IJ n
n :to L.,
iJ' i>
'if I~
tJ, ;t
0)
C

In April the hills of Mount Yoshino are white with wild .c~erry
trees in bloom, and thousands of people go up from the ~lt1eS to
enjoy the glorious sight. The beauty was so overwhelnu~g ~hat
no words could adequately describe it for the poet Telshitsu
(161~1673).
In a land where food was scarce, the barley eaten by wild geese
could not well be spared, yet the poet reflects that when the
beautiful birds leave (for their nesting place) ... . The reader is
expected to understand and c..'Cpress for himself the resultant
sorrow and lonesomeness. Yasui (1657-1743) was a merchant of
Nagoya and one of Bash6's pupils.
The second line of this haiku "Kari to omoedo" can also be
translated,
"I'm thinking of the wild geese"

52/ SPRING
Ya",; I 53
 Sake nakute
Nan no onore ga
Sakur3 bna .
- Anonymous
Summer
\X'ithour Rowing wine
Wh:lt good to me are lovely

li< ~
fiiJ2
0)
<
t.
~~ Glerry trees in bloom?

"
t.
iJ> U
c -C
iJ'
~

A freer translation:
Without wine, even
Beautiful cherry blossoms
Have small attraction.
In April, when cherry trees are in bloom in Japan, whole I
families, groups of friends, or business associates take the day off I
and go to some noted beauty spot to picnic together. They can
frequently be seen accompanied by geisha or other female com-
panions, dancing or seated or Iying under the blossom-laden
branches, eating, drinking, singing, and having an uproariously
good time. Great quantities of sake are consumed, and many get
so drunk they can barely stagger home in the evening. Hence, the
above popular haiku.
NalslI

54/ SPRING ,
,
 Hototogisu
Naki, naki tabu zo
Isogawashi.
-Basho

Hark to that cuckoo,

Ceaselessly singing in flight,

,.
PB '..:
~~
d
How very busy I

l> ~
~ II
fl' ~
t> iii'
l .t:
.'
-c

A beautiful word picture which also teaches humans to keep oc~

cupied and to be joyful in work. The second line of the Japanese
poem can be translated literally, "Singing, singing while flying."

Bash, /57
 Natsu~kusa ya!
Tsuwamono~domo ga
I Ie wa mina
Tsue ni shiraga no
Yume no ato. Haka maui.
-Basho -Basho

You summer grasses 1 All the family

Glorious dreams of great war- Equipped with staves and grey-
riors haired,
X[:; Now only ruins. Visiting the graves.
-:> 1!li ltf Ii
if.i~ -I" g~ I: *%
0) "i:, Jit:.!
ps,- ......
t=l
1,-
...

J; 0) ~ ~,;

i:: C 0)

i:,
il'

This poem was composed as Basho sat and wept over the grass~ Summer is the season for visiting the graves of ancestors. On this
covered remains of Takadate Castle, the headquarters of the great occasion, the poet, noticing that all in the family group are quite
Fujiwara clan. The glories of yesterday too soon are forgotten and elderly, implies that before long they, too, will be laid to rest.
become the ashes or weed~covered remains of today.

58/ SUMMER Bashii /59

 Kasa mo naki Samidare wo
Ware wo shigururu ka Atsumete hayashi
Nanto nanto! Mogami-gawa.
-Basho -Basho

With no bamboo hat Early summer rains

Does the drizzle fall on me? Gathering, form the rapid
'11:", What care I of that? Ii. Mogami River.
ft~ b ~~ fl"
fJ i- fJ J!,l-1iJ "
i'll"
Iv l ~ J:i -c i-
I:: )II~ .!f!.~
fJ "
i.5 l
Iv i.5
I:: n'

The last line of this haiku might also be freely and colloquially
rendered, " I don't give a darn." Note that in the orig~l Japa-
nese of this haiku there are eight syllables in the second line and
six in the third line, a total of nineteen syllables for the whole
poem, instead of the usual seventeen. Great masters sometimes
depart from hard and fast rules.
The poet's indifference to rain is a lesson to others to accept un-
pleasant conditions and experiences philosophically: Too many
people let the weather influence their attitudes and acuons towards
others.
The Japanese word saHlidare translated" early summer rains" is
literally" fifth month rain," and since the lunar calendar was in
use some three hundred years ago, when Basho lived, the fifth
month was what we now call June. the nyiibai or rainy season,
when rain often falls incessantly for weeks. It is then that small
streams like the Mogami become raging rivers. Two other terms
for the" rainy season" are baitl and '11911, both written 1fU:f:ro. the
Chinese ideographs for "plum-tree rain."

60 I SUMMER Ba,hii /61

 ili~ Michi nobe no Yabuiri no
Mukuge wa uma ni Yume ya azuki no
*~ 0) Kuware keri. Niero uchi.
< f'Ii" « ~Bash6 ~Buson
h 1;1 ®

'1
f:l
? By the roadside grew
A rose of Sharon. My horse
The servant's day off.
Does he dream of that as on

~ "'
Ie
Has juSt eaten it.
¥~
~

1<
The stove red beans boil?

"'" ~,
;t IJ\ ot.
A~'
®
<> .at
? 0)
!>

Yabtliri was a semi-annual holiday for apprentices, servants, and

, I
Though a statement of fact, the poem carries overtones em-
phasized by Zen teachings of the shortness of life, no matter how
beautiful.
other household employees. On January 16 and July 16, these peo-
ple were permitted to go home for the day, or seek amusement in
the city streets, parks, temples, and shrines . On such special occa-
sions red beans (aztlki) were mixed with rice, boiled, and eaten in
the home as a special treat. Dozing by the warm hearth on which
his mother had set red beans boiling, what dreams did the young
apprentice have? The reader is left to conjecture.

62/ SUMMER Blison /63

 Hata utsu ya Tsurigane ni
1fichi tau hito no Tomarite nemuru
Miezu narinu. Kocha kanal
-Buson -Buson

The peasant hoes on. On the temple bell

The person who asked the way Something tests in quiet sleep.
:tm~ Is now au[ of sight. r.Ji Look, a butterfly I

i!t ., l1:i ii~

.ll,,, r"~' -:> /ill, ~ Ie
~~ -C ,
.,
it ~
A~
~
n' I;>
tJ 0) tJ U
~ <>
II:!.

Occupied with his own task, the peasant has forgotten the
traveling stranger who stopped to inquire the way. So tOO, we are
often so busy with our own duties and work that we pay scant
attention to the needs of others.
Both a famous poet and a painter, Buson has here given us and
generations to come this exquisite picture to enjoy. Note the con-
traSt between the huge, black bell and the delicate little butterfly.
This haiku seems to contain Zen overtones of the frailty of life
and the imponderablcness of fate.

64/ SUMMER
 r

Asagao n.i Tombo-tsuri

Tsurube torarete Kyo wa doko made
Morai mizu. Itta yarn.
-Chlyojo -Chlyojo

The morning-glory Dragonfly catcher,

Has captured my well-bucket. How far have you gone today
~n I will beg water. tiIlt In your wandering?
~-:> tu;b;
~'JQ Wtu 4-'• ~li:
l'ti Ifj(" Ie IT'· B; -:>
\. C -0 I~ ~
7.1<.1 I? to C
;h ~ L
-c it
'" <:

Chlyojo (1703-1775) is generally rated the finest woman haiku
writer Japan has produced, and this is probably the most quoted
of her poems. It beautifully illustrates the Japanese love for
blossoms and nature in general . Rather than break the fragile
flower entwining the well-sweep bucket, the peasant girl goes to a
neighbor for the needed water.
This poem was composed after the death of her little son, her only
child, who was fond of hunting dragonflies. Though not de-
scribed directly. the sorrow of the mother is beautifuJly and
poignantly expressed. The third line of the English translation is
not in the original Japanese haiku, but it is strongly implied.

66/ SUMMER Chiyojo / 67

 Hirou mono
Hana sakanu
Mina ugoku nari
:M..i wa kurui yok..i
Shiohi-gata.
Yanagi kana.
-Chiyojo
-Chiyojo
All things I pick up
Bearing no flowers,
Are moving, awash upon
I am free to toss madly
1ft~ The beach at low tide.
in Like the willow tree.
if;: oj
~h 2'
~ lliIt? t
li1P~ Ii ~>
TO C cD
~> < It.>
~, <
tJ 7.>
t: tJ
\ >
'J
J;
t.

This verse may be a simple statement of fact, or it may be inter-

The poetess states that since she has no " Rowers" (her husband preted; "All things that] obtain on life's strand struggle to leave
and child being dead), she has nothing to attract people and like me." Do we have here a hint of the Buddhist philosophy of
a willow can be freely tossed ahout by every wind. despair?

Chiyojo /69
68/ SUMMER
 Yase-gaeru Tsuji-dangi
Maketu na, lssa Chimpunkan mo
Kore ni ad. Nodoka kana.
-lssa -Issa

Oh dun little frog A wayside sermon

Don't lose the fight. Issa All nonsense to me, but see
m:,. 15 right here to help. i± ~ , How serene he is I

J!! ' !1~ -t; t:

c ft fr o Iv Iv
1lIl"" J' "
tl
I: 'I"" ,. tJ' Iv '"
il) • I" ~>

~ iii ' A-
t

It is said that one day the poet saw a large frog and a little thin ~ne The learned discourse of the itinerant priest impresses the poet far
fighting. T o encourage the latter he composed t~e abo~e h~ku. less than the former's serenity. Thus our lives and what w! do are
Here, Issa shows feUow feeling for the weak. He himself IS saId to often more helpful to others than what we say.
have been a very frail person.

lIsa / 71
70 I SUMMER
 Amagaeru
*~
Mmasoko wo
Mite kita kao no Basho ni norite
.It. Jl!'.! Soyogi keri.
Kogamo kana.
Jj,~ -c
~t ~
b, to
'" -J6s6

" The water bottom

-Kikaku

The little rain frog

I have seen and come back," says Rides on a banana tree
IJ ffJi~ The face of the teal. m~ As it softly sways.
(})
~I!' tEi"
-i': iIt.~ ,
J: Ie
ff (})

11 ~
I) -C

• The precarious position of the little green frog on the quivering,

swinging and slippery banana tree is a Zen picture of the dangers
and uncertainties of life. Note that the Japanese word for banana
tree btUhO is the poetical name of Kikaku's teacher of haiku.

J6so (1662-1704) was one of the ten special pupils of BashO. In

this verse the poet seems to indicate that hidden things are often
not so interesting as they may first appear to be.

72/ SUM~fER KikAkJ,/73

 Yudachl ya! Yume ni kuru
Ta wo mimeguri no Haha wo kaesu lea?
Karoi naraba Hototogisu.
_Kikaku -Kikaku

o evening shower, In dreams she arrives

Make a round of the rice6elds My mother. \,(/hy send her back?
~~ o heartless cuckoo.
7~ If you are their god.

IB" \r.~ -m:~ n:

I~ <
w: '"
tJ ft·
{o
C iJ'
C ;<-
'" '"
G IiJ
Ii <: if "T
I) "T iJ'
(f)

This prayer was uttered at Mimegurj, on June 28,1694, by the poet
at the request of farmers when the land had suffered from a long
drought. It is recorded that towards eyening there came a thun-
derstorm and a great shower. This haiku contains an interesting
play on words, for mimtf,lIri is the name of the village where the
farmers asked the poet to pray for rain and also has the meaning
of" make a round of" or" honorably tour." Hence, the poet is
saying, " If you are the god of Mimeguri village, inspect the con-
ditions and see how badly rain is needed."
TIle Japanese word for cuckoo holologi!U is an onomatopoeia for
the bird's call. Since it is heard mostly at night. the bird is sup-
posed to be a messenger from the vale of shadows. While dream-
ing that his dead mother was with him. the poet is awakened by
the call of the cuckoo and chides the bird for sending his beloved
parent away. The word" heartless" is not in the Japanese poem
though strongly implied.

Kikaka /75
74/ SUMMER
 Asagao ni
ChOcho no Kyo wa miyutan
Shitau hanawa ya Waga yo kana.
Kan no ue. -Moritake
-Meisetsu
The morning.glory
Butterflies follow Today reveals most clearly
Lovingly the fl.ower·wreath
~~ My own life cycle.
tI\.• Placed on the coffin.
4-- ftfi~
I.i~ k~, •
ft~ S' IC
tilt ? 0)
1l!:" l:t
0) l:t
~, h
J:l. tJ
tJ ~
h
.;
~
Iv

Composed by one of the earliest of Haiku writers, the poem ex·

This haiku w.as composed a.~ the burial of a dear friend. The Japa
nese word Jh11aJl translated follow lovingly" has also the deeper
~eaning of .. yearn for" or " love dearly." Thus the poet beau·
tlfuUy expresses his yearning for his deceased friend. Meisetsu
was born in 1847 and died in 1926.
presses the basic pessimism of Buddhist teaching: that life, how·
ever beautiful, is all too fragile and soon comes to naught. This is
the poet'sji!ti or" death·bed poem." He was a high.priest of the
Ise Shrine.
The morning.glory, or convolvulus, is a symbol of the beauty
and briefness of life, since it blooms early in the morning and is
withered by noon.

Moritah / 77
76/ SUMMER
 C. Koi, koi to Yiidachi ya!
t, Iedo hocaru ga Chie S:lm:lZarna no

C it C. " Tonde yuku.

-Onitsura
Kaburi-mono.
-Otsuyil
Iv I: L'
I. C Come! Come! Though 1 cal! An evening shower!
" --
~
The fireflies are quite heedless
And go flitting by. :$'t
Ingenious wits rn:lke use of
Various headgear.
<
'"
tJ{
tJ,
r.1t
\L~
,1,ITt. ~

~, ~

~ "i
i:, ~-

This is said to be Onitsura's first haiku, composed when he was
eight. He later developed into a famous ~t. entered a Zen
monastery, and lived to a great age.
"i
'"
'"
The poet observes that if a sudden shower takes place when peo-
ple are out in the open, they use all sons of articles to cover the~
heads while running for shelter. In the Tokugawa era, when thIS
haiku was written, the hair arrangements of both men and women
were often quite elaborate. Getting them wet would cause con-
siderable trouble; hence the need to think quickly and provide any
kind of co\"ering for the head. So, tOO, in life, when unexpected
situations appear, man's wits invent various methods to meet
them. Otsuyl1 was born in 1675 and died in 1739.

78/ SUMMER OISlty" I 79

iii
 Ta-otome yal Machi naka wo
Yogorenu mono \Va Ogawa nagaruru
Uta bakari. Yanagi kana.
-Raizan -Shilci

You rice-field maidens I Through the town's center

The only things not muddy A liule stream flows, bordered
Ill"
pg :J;:J
Are the songs you sing. lin By weeping willows.
, !j \I. ~IJ ~':
:fkf ~l 9;. .wpi:111 ~ ~
Ii ;'> .0;> •
7;\ t,;.
il' l, ti. ill
I) 0)
.0
1;1
J.,

\~/orlcing at transplanting rice seedlings in a paddy field with mud

up to their knees and much of it splashed on their clothing, arms,
and faces, peasant girls may appear most unattracth·e. However,
the age-old songs ther sing as they plant the seedlings by hand are
so beautiful and charming that they excite the admiration of the
poet. Raizan was born in 1654 and died in 1716.
A word picture of a typical Japanese small town, many of which
have a brook running through the middle of the main Street. Here
women gather to wash their rice ;lnd clothes while gossiping;
children laugh, cry, and play; and old men sit under the shade of
drooping willows to meditate, greet their friends, or make an oc-
casional remark.
A talented writer of both prose and poetry, Masaoka Shiki
(1867-1902) died of tuberculosis when he was thirty-five. Though
a city man, he gready loyed and admired natu~! beauty and
went to rural and mountain areas as often as pOSSible.

80/ SUMMER Shiki /81

 t

KumpG yal Bon-odori

Seman no midori Ato wa matsu-kaze
Tern hieotsu. Mushi no koe.
-Shiki -Sogetsu

A cool summer breeze I The all-sauls-feast dance!

Midst a thousand green moun· Afterwards murmuring pines
tains ~z And insect voices.
llU A single temple. j) Rili~
=ft Jl\; !R~ I: ~
~~ Il.Jt {l
(J) I~
-~ (J)
C. ~~
-:> ;,.
;t J'\~
C
~
Bon-otiori, the All Souls Festival, is observed all over Japan fot
three days near the middle of July. Family graves are decorated,
and food, drink, and often lighted lanterns are placed on them, for
it is believed that the spirits of the deceased return ro the old
The word hlmpii translated" summer breeze" has also the mean- family home which is catefully swept and garnished. In the
ing of" balmy breeze." The literal meaning of the two Chinese evening at every town and village there is a special folk dance in
ideographs is " fragrant breeze." One can almost smell the aroma which old and young of both sexes, wearing their best clothes or
of the light breeze coming through ~e pines on a thousand green newly-starched kimono, participate with great joy and abandon.
mountains and the iacense from the altars of the old temple. Late into the night the dancers, clapping their hands, executing
fancy steps, and singing the words of an ancient song, circle
around a centra! wooden rower on which a big drum beats out
the time. \Then the dance is over and the participants have re-
turned to their homes, all that can be heard is the swish of the
breeze through the pine trees and the chirping of night insects.
Sogetsu (1759-1819), a Buddhist nun, has beautifully described
the tranquil sounds, pine breezes, and singing insects in the late
evening after the noisy and long-lasting dance is over.

82/ SUMMER Sogels" /83

 Okite mitsu
Nete mitsu, kaya no
Hirosa kana.
-Ukihashi

Sitting up I look. Autumn

Lying down J look. How wide
~" The mosquito net!
if" ;';
J1:~ -C l
~ i'7 i'7
iJ' -:J -:J
tJ ~,.

ill'
!J)

This verse, attributed to Chiyojo, who is said to have composed

it after the death of her husband when she was twenty-seven, was
actually written by another woman, the courtesan Ukihashi. Pro-
fessor Asataro Miyamod, in his Haihl POtms Andtnl and Modmt,
states that this haiku appeared in an amhology edited by Deisoku
in 1694, a date several years before Chiyojo's birth.

84/ SUMMER
 I; Hototogisu
O-takeyabu wo
*~
J-
Mom tsukiro.
(, I'r} J- -Basho
,-
Q ~
f;); -- T"
~,
He:!.r the sweet cuckoo.
Through the big-bamboo trucket
lli' ~ The full moon filters.

Does the grove of big-bamboo filter the song of the bird, or the
moonlight, or both? This haiku like many others may have
se,'eraL meanings. The verb moru, generally translated" leak," has
the additional meanings of" filter" and" trickle."

BalbO / 87
 Furu-ike ya! Mono ieba
Kawazu tobikomu Kuchibiru samushi
Mizu no oto. Aki no kaze.
-Basho -Basho

Into the old pond When a thing is said,

A frog suddenly plunges. The lips become very cold
<'it The sound of water. Like the autumn wind.
<
fi~ -g~,
itt< 7tl!;t
•
fX~ ~t ;t
*~ C .0;0
If) a If) l" It
~.
c tJ>
'" U i!'

This is perhaps Basho's best-known haiku. The profound silence
in the ancient garden is suddenly broken by .. the sound of
water," a literal translation of the third line of the poem, as a frog
leaps into the pond. During the last ten years of his life, BasbO
took up the study of Zen, the' contemplative sect of Buddhism.
This is clearly reflected in the above haiku.
Tile philosopher-poet makes the observation that after a thing is
said, the lips become quite cold; that is, for the one who made the
remark, the situation is as dreary and bleak as the cold autumn
wind. The obvious moml-think carefully before you speak.

88/ AUTUMN RuM /89

 Aki fukaki Inazuma yal
Tonari wa nani wo Yami no kata yuku
Suru hito ZOo Goi no koe.
-Bash6 -Basho

It is late autumn A quick lightning flash I

I wonder what my neighbors Traveling through the blackness
tk~ Will be doing now. mn~ The night heron calls.

~£ ,.
~.s.. ARt :l1
't I~
" g, li e (J) ~

~ fiiJ~ ill" tJ>

MIi: (J) to
~-

-C 1";: "l>
<

The harvest has been completed, and the outdoor chom in pre·
paration for \vinter are done. Since there is stillness in the entire
neighborhood and no further work, the poet wonders what his
industrious farmer friends will do to occupy their time. The self·
forgetting poet is interested in the welfare of his neighbors.
A striking word-picture of an evening storm and a wild bird's
reaction. The lightning and the bird both fly through the dark-
ness. The sharp cry of the night heron emphasizes the solitude of
the occasion and the suddenness of the storm.

BashO /91
90 I AUTUMN
 Mono no otol 1{i ni shimu ya!
Hitori taoruru Naki·tsuma no kushi wo
Kagashi kana. Neya ni fumu.
-Bonch{l -Buson

The sound of something I The cold pierces me

All by itself has fallen As I tramp my dead wife's comb
1!n~ That tattered scarecrow. ,!it. On our bedroom Roor.
L> (J)
L~
Ie
*,. I: ;f.;
OO~ ~i L-
ill " ~ I: Ie (J) U
T' {IlJZ
-" < ~

t.
n' <>
<>
U L-
't

A sudden sound is stanting, but when the scarecrow, formerly
upright, is found to have fallen, anxious fear is displaced by
nervous laughter. Boncho (?-1714) was one of Basho's dis.
ciples. Though a native of Kanazawa. he was a physician who
lived in Kyoto.
To the coldness of an unheated bedroom in late autumn and the
sorrowing coldness in the hean of the man, i~ ad~ed a shiver ~f
apprehension as he steps on the comb, which 10 Japanese IS
kmhi a word that can also mean .. nine deaths." Hence, to
avoid misfortune, one should stamp on a fallen comb .before
picking it up. The first line of the above haiku can also be literally
tnnslated, .. How it pierces me. "*

'" Daniel C. Buchanan, Japall'" PrtlfJ"br alltl Saying,! (Oklahoma:

University of Oklahoma Press, 1964), p. 224.

92/ AUTUMN BUIon /93

 :Mijika yo yal Shibu karo ka
Ashiato asaki Shiranedo, kaki no
Yui-ga-harna. Hatsu-chigiri.
-BUSOD -Chiyojo

How brief is this life! Whether astringent

Faint footprints on the sands of I do not know. This is my firSt
'> Yui-ga-hama. i!\"
;<;,;. Persimmon picking.

JEt [; L- tJ>
11:;- il; tJ> 'IJJ~ .; ;:,
ff·· c jj!, -; IJ tJ>
tJl il; ~ fi I::
I~ ~ ~ ti!l~
.. ~ 0)

The name Yui-ga-hama literally means" Hotspring Beach." In Acclaimed by most Japanese as the greatest haiku poetess of their
Japan, a volcanic country, there are a number of places where hot land, Chiyojo wrote this verse to indicate that she did not know
water wdls up through the sand, but in the town of K:lmakura at whether her marriage for the first time would be a happy one or
its southern boundary, there is a beach known as .. Yui-ga-hama." not, JUSt as in the picking of a persimmon one cannot tell whether
The word)'O 1:!t in the fitst line translated "life," has the it is astringent or not. The phrase halpHhigiri has the double
meaning of .. world" or .. era." meaning of" first picking" or .. first engagement."
The poet Buson's observation on the shonness of life em-
phasizes extinction or obliteration of personality, a Buddhist
teaching. By way of contrast, a hundred years later the American
poet LongfelJow sang of " footprints on the sands of time" left
by great men, which can be a guide and encouragement to all who
come afterward.

94/ AUTUMN Chryojo /95

7
 Tsuki wo mite ,I!l~ Omou hodo
Ware wa kano yo wo Mono iwanu hite
, tm~ oj
Kashiku kana, To suzumi kerL
C 1'1"" I~ -Hyakuchi
-Chiyojo
iJl\fb c
Having viewed the moon ~ It.; With one who muses
I say farewell to this world But says not a single word
11 M
m With heartfelt blessing.
IJ
J enjoy the cool.

ft~~
fl, lot .ll.'
L,

<
c. -c
(J)

iJ, I!l:'
-
fJ ~

lbis deathbed ode of the poetess gives expression to the thought

-
that, after viewing one of the most btlutiful of all objects-the
autumnal ful] moon-she willingly and with her blessing on the \
\
world departs trus life. The Japanese word yo has the double
meaning of .. world" and .. 4fe."

Companionship is very desirable. but there are times when the

~uty and cool, of a fall evening arc enjoyed more if nothing is
Sllld. Fortunate 15 the person who has a friend who knows when
to be silent. Hyakuchi (1749-1836) was one of Buson's pupils.

96/ AUTUMN Hynhlchi /97

 Oi nureba Meigetsu ya!
Hi no nagai ni mo Tatami no ue ni
Namida kana. Manu no kage.
-Issa -Kikaku

As I grow older. A brilliant full moon I

~~
So II:!.
Even the much longer days
Bring plentiful tears.
t: JH
.
~.'
On the matting of my Aoor
Shadows of pines fall .

~~ <1) tt ~~ t: {>
~, " ~~ It <1) ~
tJ. L) ~, <1)

IC fj' r.l
i> IC

This poem conveys the same idea as the familiar Japanese prov-
erb: Naga-ikl' SlIrtba haji Qshi-"A tong life has many shames."*
The poet here weeps over the many sorrows and shames he has
experienced and bewails the lo.ng days which he pessimistically
pro:licts will cause him to weep even more.
Kikaku was a famous pupil of Bash6. Note the contrast of the
black shadows of the pine-tree and the white matting made even
whiter by the light of the full moon. T he simple beauties of nature
and the plain Aoor covering of the dwelling combine to make a
striking picture.

* Buchanan. JapanlIl Proverb1 and SfJying1. p. 215.

98/ AUTUMN Kiknh, /99

 Ki-giku, Shira-giku
Yii-gasumi
Sono hoka no na wa
Omoeba hedatsu
Naku-mo-gana.
Mukashi kana.
-Ransetsu
-KitO
Gold chrysanthemums t
The mists of evening.
White chrysanthemums! Others
When I think of them, far off
lit· Need not he mentioned.
9~ Are days of long ago.
-to 1'Jf
.~,t tJ~
:ft:~ ;t
tJ IJ) S~
tlo
-;
n' It 1> < Ii! ~r

t.i "-
t n'
t!' IJ)
to tJ ,g.
-::>
I~

Ransetsu was a pupil of Basht'). Note that in the Japanese,line one

Kito was a pupil of Buson. The evening haze reminds the poet of
some of his misty memories of bygone days. The hazy evening is
interestingly contrasted with the hazy thoughts of the poet as he
reflects on the events of antiq~ty.
has two extra syllables, making a total of nineteen instead of
seventeen.
The sixteen-petal gold chrysanthemum is the crest of the em-
peror, the symbol of perfection. The pure white chrysanthemum
is the emblem of chaste beauty. Hence flowers of other hues are
superfluous.

RonlelslI /101
100 / AUTUMN
 Mi-yashiro ya!
Ashi-ato wo
Kani no ayashimu Niwa hi ni ttlki
Shiohi kana! Ukine-dori,
-Roha -SlUki

See the Shinto shrine!

Seeing the footprints
The cnb becomes suspicious Remote from the garden lights
1JIJ • Floating birds sleep,
.lEt Look, it is ebb tide!
Ie ~r ,
tJ, ~t
oj t> ~
lWI~K ~
;!, *0
TO
tJ, .,
(J)
tl
,~H
Ie
I::
tJ ~
;}.;
L,
;!,
u

An exquis~te pict~re of perfect serenity and peace-the dim lights

Seeing human footprints on the sand at low tide, the crab wonders
of ~e an:lent shrlOe garden and on the outskirts a quiet pond on
where his enemy is and becomes wary, In the ebb tide of his life
w~ch wlld waterfowl float, blissfully asleep. Shiki, a talented
should not man toO walk carefully when he views all the evil and
wnter of both prose and poetry, died of tuberculosis at the age of
danger around him? thirty-five.

102/ AUTUMN Shih / 103

 Meisho tomo ShirHsuyu ya!
Shirade, hata utsu Mufumbetsu naru
Otoko kana! Okidokoro.
-Shiki -Soin

Though a noted place, o white, limpid dew 1

The man pays no attention With what poor judgement you
~~ And keeps on hoeing. choo.e
;;n, PJT~ i3~ The place where you lie!

~r ~ <: till a~

fl' c:: t, :to 5tt ~

tJ :tIH~
;;. glJ~
oj
-::>

All over Japan there are places especially noted for their beauty or Though the dew is addressed, the thoughts of the reader tum to
historical interest and given the general designation of t!Jlis/;o the shortness of lives which appear and vanish on the scenes of
(famous place). Such noted spots, visited annually by school time ... Like dew on the ground" is a well. known Buddhist ex·
children and tourists, are often not esteemed by the locat peasants. pression. Soin (1605-1682) was a samurai of the Kumamoto clan.
This poem may be simply a comment on the ignorance or the in+
dustry of the fumer. It may also be interpreted to mean that peo--
pIe often work so hard that they do not take the time to appreci:nc
their beautiful and interesting environment.

104 / A llTliMN Soin /105

 Ni ri hodo wa
Tobi mo dete mau
Shiohi kana.
-Taigi

Winter
For some five miles round
Kites fiy and dance in the sky.
It must be ebb tide.
"
11;& !Ii '
1WI'I' b I"
Fo HI C 1;'

11' C 1;1:
t.; i
-j

Taigi (1709-1771) was one of the pupils of Buson. The ri was a

unit of measurement 2.44 miles in length, supposedly the distance
the average person could walk in an hour. The birds wheeling
high up in the sky. making a circumference of five miles, remind
the poet of the circular folk dances in rural areas, of which the
Bon-odori (All Souls Festival Dance) is the most widely known.
The last line may be just a description of the scavenger birds
searching for food as they fly over marshy flatlands. It may also
be taken as a reference to the ebb tide of life.

F'!Yu

106/ AUTUMN
 "Yado kase!" to
Katana nage-dasu
Fubuki kana I
-Busen

.. Give lodging tonight,"

He shouts, flinging down his
sword.
lli: See the windblown snowl
" 1P'
J) 1:
~. Ill'," -It
~PJ' C:
7J' lii t:'
tJ T

On entering the inn, the swordsman throws down his weapon to

indicate that he comes with peaceful intent. Was the unknown
man who rushed in from the blinard (literal1y .. windblown
snow") a fugitive from justice, a half-frozen traveler, or a noble-
man traveling incognito? The reader is left to fill in this startling
picture.

Buson / 109
 Ten mo chi mo
Yuku toshi ya! 7<I
Oya n.i shiraga wo Nashi, tada yuki no
f~ b Furi-shikiru.
Kakushi keri.
~. l., it!!~ -Hashin
-Etsujin
~ t: b
The year is going.
I have kept from my parents
l.,
~
".
~;
No sky and no earth
At all. Only the snowflakes
Fall incessantly.
fit My gray hairs hiddeo.
~ !/)
ft~ 1f.e
rnt IC '?>
l., l.,
f1 .;
~ I)' )
~

In this poem Etsujin (1656-1739?) shows proper filial piety by

hiding his gray hair from his aged parents so as not to give them
cause for concern. The poet was a well-known disciple of BashO.
Every Japanese is a year older on New Year's Day. for age is
reckoned by the number of years one has seen. Hence, a child born
in December be1:omes twO years old on January 1 of the next year.

Hashln (1864-?) was a druggist by profession and a native of

Kagawa prefecture. His haiku in seventeen syllables is an excellent
word picture of a blinard.

110 I WINTER Hashin /111

 MyOdai ni Arigata ya]
Wakamizu abiru Fusuma no yuki mo
Karasu kana] JOdo kara.
-Issa - Issa

As my deputy How very welcome]

It bathes in New Year's water. Even snowflakes on bedding
,g~ , See, there is a crow] Are from the Puce Land.
""
>\'i~ IJ
.~~"
;t:Z
*~
tt~

Ie
.' •
it ,~ 0) tJi
tJ> ±, llll t~
t.j; ""u: IJ> i> ~
<> G

Observing a crow bathing in a pool of water on New Year's
morning, the poet humorously calls the bird his deputy. Issa is
grateful to the crow for doing what he should have done. In
nearly all of his poems, lssa, a priest, reveals a deep fellow feeling
for birds, frogs, insects, and other creatures in nature. One might
call him the St. Francis of Buddhism.
When Issa died this poem was found under the pillow of his bed.
The Pure Land Uodo) is the Buddhist paradise. The poet, who was
very poor, lived in a wretched hut. Through cracks in the window
and wall, snow often drifted in and fell on the bedding and floor.
y ~t Issa maintained his cheerful spirit.

112 / WINTER [ua / 113

 No rna yama rna Waga yuki to
Yuki ni torarete Omoeba, karoshi
Nani mo nashi. Kasa no ue.
-J6s6 -Kikaku

Both plains and mountains When I think of it

Have been captured by the As my snow, how light it is
snow- ~r: On my bamboo hat.
!lfo There is nothing left. ,\!.l,t gr:
'li: {, lr.~~' ;t C
fJ Ie wi 0) Ii
Ie C (,
lJ fit
{, G L-
fi- n
L- -c

J6so, one of the ten special students of Basho, was a follower of Composed by the poet on seeing a picture of Su Ton P'o, a famous
Zen. The nothingness of life. an important teaching of that sect of ClLnese literary figure, wearing a large hat covered with snow.
Buddhism. is typified by the snow, which has oblitemted such The general meaning-what is our own never seems burden-
outstandingly distinct natural features as fields and mountains. some.

114/ WINTER Kikakn /1 15

 Kimi matsu ya
.fJJ~ Hatsu·yume ya!
Mara koganshi no Himete katarazu
Ame ni Daru. Uo- IJ:
Hitori emu.
-Shiki -~ 6'J {>
-Sh6--u

fue you still wa.iting?

A·-c
Once more penetrating blasts
5/::< ~, With the year's first dream
I told no one my secret,
~t Tum into cold rain. U t:. But smiled to mysdf.

Jlj ~
Xl it
w. ~, -::> .,'"
I( o.l {>
ti.
o

What a vivid picture of a friend or lover forgotten and left

wa.iting! Compare with the poem by Robert Burns, "0 Wert
Thou in the Cauld Blast? ..

It was believed that the first dream of the New Year, if a good one
and if kept to onesdf, would come true. Sh6-u was born in 1860
and died in 1943.

116/ WINTER.
SbO-. /117
 E ni kaita Index
Yo na kuma ari,
Hatsu-hinode.
-Shusai
Like a lovely cloud A-tari 35. Ahbo"" 44. Aki 89, 90.
Am. 22, 29. .10. Antiquity 43, 100. •"/T;'
In a beautiful picture, lIal" 113. .As"lIafl 66, 77. ASll'gi·zora 32.
Mt< New Year's first sunrise! Alhiafo 94, 102 Allar; 32 ASlringent
95. AUlumn 89, 90. 111. A~"ki 63.
J: iC
IMi-u 61. Bamboo gr:tss 35. Bamboo
:fJJ~ ? tJ, hal 60, 115. Badey 18,39,44. 53. Bar-
rell woman 46. Basho 14-20, 36, 39,
aU. tJ p 42. 47, 53, 72, 87-92. 99, 101. Beach
69. Beggar 27. Bell 16, 65. Biwa Lake
0)
< to 15. Blizzard 111.112.114. Blossom 16.
40, 54. Be" 83, 106. BoneM 92. Hl'3h-
lll ~ {, rna 15. Branch 40. Breeze 39, 41. Hud-
dhism 15,48.51,69,77. 88, 105. 112-
'"
~
114. Bush warbler 28, 43. Buson 21-25,
63-65, 93, 94, 100, 106, 109. Butter-
Ay 40, 65, 76.
Cimellia 19. undlcstick 25. Clutlm""
51. Cherry blossom. IS, 16,45,52,54.
Cbi 38. 111. Cbildren 31. Cb;mpllnlc4n
71. Chirojo 66-69, 95, 96. Cb«bo 76.
Both the rosy cloud and the lovely sunrise on New Year's Day are Clogs 34. Crow 112. Chrysanthcmum
surpassingly beautiful, but together they make an unforgettable 101. Cuckoo 57,75.87. Dancc 83, HM.
Dang; 71. Day 42. Deisoku 84. Dc:\'3
scene. Kings 15. Dew 105. Doll 46. 48. Door-
way 34. [Mro 34. Dove 31. DragonAr
67. Dreams 75. 117. Driule 60.
Earth 38. East wind 41. Ebb tide 102.
EJ,z 40. Edo 17. Emerald. 44. Elsujin
110.
Family 59. Farmer 37. 104. Fatalism
49. Filter 87. FircBles 78. Flowers 16,
19, 65. Footprints 94. 102 Frog 70.
Frost 44. Fllbllki 109. Fujiwara 58. Fit-
tur~ 30. Fllr/I';!. 88. Ftiryti 17.
Ga;iamu 45. Garden 25, 42, 103. Ct"
,hl1 54. GUI1 34. {}Qd 74. Go; 91. Go-
118/ WINTER
shun 37. (}Qurd 18. Grass 58. Grave
59. Grey-haired 59. Gyotai 26.
Hl1ba 75. Haiku 14. 24, 70. 78, 79, 84.
93. Ill. HaleD 59. Ha"" IS , 45, 68.
Hanall'r 76. HarT. 14. 23, 26. 3{), 32-
34. 36, 40, 42, 44. 49, SO. Hash;n It 1.
HI1I .. 64, 104. HalO 30. Halm 4\. Head-
gear 79. Hi 42. 50, Hiluri 47. H;'1a
46, 48. Hinduism IS, HirOM 69. Hilll
50. 64, Hone: 62. HOlhi 20. HOIarli 78.
HOlologil1< 57, 75, 87. Hut 27, 33. Hra.
kuchi 97.
I. 59. 19a Province 13. I~. 88. l""tu.
91. Inland Sea 49. Insects 83. Isc
11111
Shrine 40. 77. hland 49. !sogaJ>'I1,bt 57.
1= 27-34, 70. 71. 98.
Japanese 57, 95. Joyful 57. jim 77.
Jos6 72.
kaburi-l1Iono 79. K"d" 34. Krlgal1li 51.
Kagolb; 92. Kagawa Ill. K.ki 95. Ka-
makUr:l 94. KrI'IIi 74. Kan 76. Kanaza-
wa 92. Krlni 102 Kar"", 112 Kart 24.
53. K"fa 60, lIS. KaPllni 33. Kill"""
109. Kaljl"YrI 41. KIl"'~1I 88, K'!J1l 84.
K«?! 39, 89. Kikaku 35. 73-75. 99.
115. t-.:igin a Kite 27, 38. Kites 106.
Kilo 36, 100. Krxbi 41. Ko,b§ 40, 65.
KoJomo 31. 46. Kog"mo 72 Kojiki 27.
K~a 27. Koya 13. Kubonta 38. AAtbi-
bi,." 89. Kum~motO 1':'5. K"mpti 82.
Klilbi 93. K""'a 28. 47. Kyoto 23, 92,
Life 19, 20, 45. Light 41. 49
M",bi 81. Mattocks 47. M.bho 104.
Merchant 53. Maiden 80. MrllIJ< 83, 99.
.\{eigt/", 99. Meismu 76 . .\1il:b; 62, 64.
Mist 14, 33. '\{O'''Ala 22, Milll1J(JAla 72
119
-
Miyw.mori AsatarO 84. MryllJl!illl 10l
M~II 36, )9, 66. 88. Moga.mi-galJ,a 61.
Mokudo 39. M_~ 33. Monko 42. 44.
Moritakc: 40, 77. Morning-glory 66, 77.
M11nI87. M(Mhu 75. Mud 34. !lfl.&i 39,
«, 53. MuM/b. 0, 100. .~lMhlg' 62.
MMlb; 83. !lfllllt""-_b.",, 18. .\f,v.. 28.
31, 50.
N. 37. Nago}'a 51 N"kM-_A""" 101.
N ...UIa 98. "area 14.19. N.JfJII 58. Na-
tun: 66. Neighbor 90. New Year's Day
112. 117, 118. Ntytl 93. Nr.{llmi 29.
NiI"nI 63. Nightingale: 28, 43. Ni".·"
25.42, 103. N~ 71. NDlM"23. Ny",
b"j 61.
OJor; 83. Ocmaru 41. O,tlI>'II 81. Omi
Lake IS. O""""'JII; 18. Oninura 42-45.
78. Onomatopocism 23. 0'0 88. 010""
80. OtIUYU 79. Owl 30. q, .. tiD.
&ddy fields 36. Parc.nt 110. Peach 22,
33. Pc:nimmon 95. Physici'n 51. 92.
Pine tree 82, 83. Plum 13, 28, O. Pond
88. Print 45, 51, 77. 112. Privy 41.
R.iun 80. R• .u.. 40. RllnlloetlU 46, 101.
Rlt 29. Red beans 63. Rice 17. 18.21,
36. Ril;%-fic:ld 82. Roadside 62. Rain
22, 29, 30, 36. Roh6 102. Rose of Sha-
ron 62. R y6fl 41.
S.Ju 54. 5...,"" 61. S<lmpu 47. S....u-
,.i 13. 19. IDS. S.",,,sbi 89. S<lnd 42.
s.u.. 35. Scarecrow 92. Sejfu 48. Sengin
13. Serene 71. Sermon 71. Serum 63.
5biblt 95. n" ..,,,,,,6O. Sh,ki 49. 50. 81.
82. 103, 104. 116. Shik6 51. Shima 49.
120 I INDEX
Sbi1l/tJ 44. Shinfo 40, 103. ShWbi 69. 102.
Sbir.,. 59. 110. Sb6Ji 3S. Sh6--u 117.
Simplieify 32. Singing 57. Skelcron.
45. Sky 32. Snow 31. 43, 114. Sogeflu
83. SOin 105. Song SO, 83. Sparrow
35, 42. Spirit 33. Spring 14, 24-26, 29,
30, 33-36, 39, 41, 42. 44, 47. Sfan 21.
St. Francis 112. S'W"ldI~ 51. Sumida
29. Summer 58. 82. Sun 36. S"M 42.
Sunrise 4-4, 118. Superfluous 101. 5..
~...... 35, 42. Sut'''''; 97, Sword 109.
T. 80. Taig i 106. T.Iw""I, 58. Taka-
ITI3tiU 49. T.J:.o 27, 3B. T.,..",; 99. Teal
72. Tean 98. Teishinu 52. Temple bell
65. T,,, 111. T"a 82. T,slK;leM 25. To-
kugawa 79. TUll1i»-tnm 67. TIIMr; 90.
Town 81, 83. Truh"kj 19. Tl1Iji-dMgi
71. TtuJU 96. T",,,,a 93. T",,;ga,,, 65.
Tnm,bl66. TI1I",,,,,,1»III 58. TII!JII 61,105.
Uguitu 28. 43. U..,,, 62. U",tr.{""" 46.
UlrJl 13, 43. Ukih~lhi 84. U",i 23. Ula
SO.
Village 28, SO, 83.
Wafer 27, 39. WaYlide 71. Well·bucket
66. Wife 93. Wild cherry blolsoml 37.
Wild geese 24, 53. Willow 68. Wind
89. Women 17, 26, 33. World 96.
y••tr.{.....,. 37. Y..., 91. y""""g, 68, 81.
Y"......g........ 70. YUUI 53. Yellow 32. y,
96. Yoshino 20, 52. Ylit/Mbi 74, 79.
Yui-ga-hama 94. YII4J 31, Ill-liS. Y..
.., 58, 63. 75. 117.
un 19, 45. 65. 78, 88.