My Haiku

Tag: Yosa no Buson

  • Lodging

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    “ Yado kase! ” toKatana nage-dasuFubuki kana!—Buson “ Give lodging tonight,”He shouts, flinging down hissword.See the windblown snow! On entering the inn, the swordsman throws down his weapon toindicate that he comes with peaceful intent. Was the unknownman who rushed in from the blizzard (literally “ windblownsnow ”) a fugitive from justice, a half-frozen traveler,…

  • Brief

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    Mijika yo ya!Ashiato asakiYui-ga-hama.—Buson How brief is this life!Faint footprints on the sands ofYui-ga-hama. The name Yui-ga-hama literally means “ Hotspring Beach.” InJapan, a volcanic country, there are a number of places where hotwater wells up through the sand, but in the town of Kamakura atits southern boundary, there is a beach known as “…

  • Cold

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    Mi ni shimu ya!Naki-tsuma no kushi woNeya ni fumu.—Buson The cold pierces meAs I tramp my dead wife’s combOn our bedroom floor. To the coldness of an unheated bedroom in late autumn and thesorrowing coldness in the heart of the man, is added a shiver ofapprehension as he steps on the comb, which in Japanese…

  • Temple Bell

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    Tsurigane niTomarite nemuruKocho kana!—Buson On the temple bellSomething rests in quiet sleep.Look, a butterfly! Both a famous poet and a painter, Buson has here given us andgenerations to come this exquisite picture to enjoy. Note the contrast between the huge, black bell and the delicate little butterfly.This haiku seems to contain Zen overtones of the…

  • Peasant

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    Hata utsu yaMichi tou hito noMiezu narinu.—Buson The peasant hoes on.The person who asked the wayIs now out of sight. Occupied with his own task, the peasant has forgotten thetraveling stranger who stopped to inquire the way. So too, we areoften so busy with our own duties and work that we pay scantattention to the…

  • The servant’s day off

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    Yabuiri noYume ya azuki noNieru uchi.—Buson The servant’s day off.Does he dream of that as onThe stove red beans boil? Yabuiri was a semi-annual holiday for apprentices, servants, andother household employees. On January 16 and July 16, these people were permitted to go home for the day, or seek amusement inthe city streets, parks, temples,…

  • Candlestick

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    Teshoku shiteNiwa fumu hito yaHam oshimu.—Buson Candlestick in hand,See, he strolls through thegarden,Grieving over spring. The last Japanese word in this haiku oshimu, here translated“grieving,” has the additional meaning of ‘‘reluctant.” Hence, theman who strolls, candlestick in hand, through his garden isgrieving over the departure of spring and reluctant to let theseason go.

  • Kino ini

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    Kino ini,Kyo ini, kari noNaki yo kana.—Buson Going yesterday,To-day, to-night. . . the wildgeeseHave all gone, honking. All lovers of wild life can share the grief of the poet as he lamentsthe departure of the wild geese for their nesting grounds. Onemight ask where is the seasonal reference in this haiku. To theJapanese mind, the…

  • Sea

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    Ham no umiHinemosu notari,Notari kana.—Buson The sea at springtime.All day it rises and falls,Yes, rises and falls. The sea at spring, though generally undisturbed by storms, nonetheless moves continuously. So, too, in the life of a person or anation there are always ups and downs and a certain amount ofmonotony. As you read this poem…

  • Peach-blossom

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    Ame no hi yalMiyako ni tokiMomo no yado.—Buson The day is rainy.Far from the capital isMy peach-blossom home. Though he is living in the capital (Kyoto), because of the rainyday, the poet has nostalgic longings for his rural home withflowering peach trees around it.