cha - drinking tea

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

- cha 茶　tea - Tee -

Inviting friends for the tea ceremony was a well-loved entertainment of the learned poets of Edo.

The tea ceremony comes with a saijiki of its own.

. WKD : Tea Ceremony Saijiki 茶道の歳時記 .

. WKD : Green tea from Japan 茶　.


under construction
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



source :　matsukama.jugem
お茶をどうぞ！ Basho invites for a cup of tea in Matsushima




朝茶飲む僧静かなり菊の花
. asacha nomu soo shizuka nari kiku no hana .
a priest drinking tea in the morning



富士の山蚤が茶臼の覆かな
. Fuji no yama nomi ga chausu no ooi kana .
Mount Fuji looks like a mortar for grinding tea



稲雀茶の木畠や逃げ処
. inasuzume cha no kibatake ya nigedokoro .
sparrows from the rice paddies hiding in the tea bushes



五つ六つ茶の子にならぶ囲炉裏哉
. itsutsu mutsu cha no ko ni narabu irori kana .
five or six sweets for tea



木隠れて茶摘みも聞くやほととぎす
. kogakurete chatsumi mo kiku ya hototogisu .
the song of a hototogisu and the tea pickers



柴の戸に茶を木の葉掻く嵐哉
. shiba no to ni cha o konoha kaku asashi kana .
the wind sweeps tea leaves against a brushwood gate



駿河路や花橘も茶の匂ひ
. Suruga ji ya hana tachibana mo cha no nioi .
tachibana citrus blossoms smell of tea in Suruga


.............................................................................


摘みけんや茶を凩の秋とも知らで
tsumiken ya cha o kogarashi no aki to mo shirade

they pick tea leaves -
without considering that for the plant
it must feel like a winter storm
Tr. Gabi Greve


Written in 延宝9年, Basho age 38.

When the leaves are picked by the girls in late spring, the bushes must feel like in an autumn storm, shedding their leaves. But the picking girls do not even know this.
On the other hand, tea shrubs shed their leaves in spring, they say.
The meaning is not quite clear.

This hokku has three kigo,
chatsumi for spring, aki for autumn and kogarashi for winter.
It has the meter 5 7 7.

.............................................................................


馬に寝て残夢月遠し茶の煙
uma ni nete zanmu tsuki tooshi cha no kemuri / 茶のけぶり


dozing on my horse,
with dream lingering and moon distant:
smoke from a tea fire
Tr. Barnhill



On horseback half-asleep,
Half-dreaming, the moon far off,
Smoke from the morning tea.

Bashō left the inn in the early morning. He had not slept well, and he sat on the horse still half-asleep. In the western sky the moon was fading as it sank, and from here and there rose in the air the smoke of the fires being lit for the morning cup of tea. The horse, Bashō himself, the dreams of the night, the faintness of the moon in the distance, and the unwilling smoke are all in harmony with the morning stillness and half-awakeness.
Tr. and Comment by Blyth



Dozing on horseback
I’m half in a dream faraway from the moon --
smoke for morning tea

The Basho’s haiku differs from his earlier mere playfulness with words and depicts his vividly half-dreaming consciousness on a painful trip. It demonstrates a sophisticated urban rhetoric, an allusion to ancient Chinese poetry, as well as novelty in diction which when combined were useful tools for Basho to express unexpected and previously unarticulated experiences found on his trip.
source : Ban’ya Natsuishi



Napping upon my horse,
A dream lingering, a distant moon --
Smoke from preparing Tea
Tr. only1tanuki

This is an allusion to a waka by Saigyo Hoshi　西行.

In the haikai collection Sanzooshi 三冊子 it reads

馬に寝て残夢残月茶の煙


Nozarashi Kiko 野ざらし紀行, 1684
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


.............................................................................



侘びてすめ月侘斎が奈良茶歌
. wabite sume tsuki wabisai ga Naracha uta .
and the importance of haikai



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Hokku where the word CHA is not used directly


hoiro 焙炉 fire-heated rolling table to dry tea leaves


source :　alit.city.iruma.saitama.jp

A hoiro was a box made of wood and bamboo. The plate was made of many layers of strong Japanese washi paper. The tea leaves are constantly moved on the table while they are steamed from the oven placed below.
During this process, the tea leaves give off a very pleasing aroma.



source :lovecafe.exblog.jp
a tea house in Uji


山吹や宇治の焙炉の匂ふ時　
yamabuki ya Uji no hoiro no niou toki

mountain roses -
when tea ovens at Uji
are so fragrant
Tr. Barnhill


Yellow mountain roses -
when the ovens at Uji give off
the fragrance of tea leaves
Tr. Blyth


Yellow Japanese roses !
Smell of the green tea of Uji
Coming from the drier.
Tr. Oseko


Written in the spring of 1690, 元禄4年春
this hokku has the cut marker YA at the end of line 1.
It ends with TOKI 時, the time when . . .



source :　Naokimi Yamada


quote
The two parts of the toriawase are closely connected: Uji, a village south of Kyoto, was noted for both its tea and its yamabuki (“yellow mountain roses”). In spring, when the yamabuki bloom, the freshly picked tea leaves were placed in ovens to dry, thus creating a memorable aroma.
The headnote suggests that as the speaker gazes at the yamabuki in the painting, he is reminded of Uji and the aroma of tea leaves in the spring. An even more profound connection can be found, however, at the level of a mutual, diaphoric metaphor: the glow of the yellow flowers of the yamabuki (kerria) synesthetically resembles the warm fragrance of the new tea leaves being dried and roasted at Uji and vice versa.
Blyth on Basho
source : terebess.hu



source :　wikipedia
By hand of Basho:　芭蕉自畫, 1691


. WKD : Uji matsuri 宇治祭 Uji Festival .
The Uji region is famous for its green tea, gryokro　玉露, and also for its beautiful yamabuki mountain roses.


. WKD : Yellow Mountain Rose (yamabuki 山吹).
Kerria japonica



hoiro 焙炉, a contraption to dry tea leaves.


source :　www.ndl.go.jp
special hoiro by Takamatsu san
焙茶炉 - National Diet Library


quote
Long ago when tea was produced entirely by hand, the tea rollers would shout
"hoiro age!"
as they passed their just rolled tea off the fire-heated rolling table, the hoiro.
These words now are a traditional greeting uttered at the end of the shincha harvest of new tea leaves.
source : apaluya.net/Japantea


.............................................................................


Two hokku related to the
. Tea Ceremony Saijiki 茶道の歳時記 .



kuchikiri, kuchi kiri kuchikiri 口切 opening a new jar of tea


口切に堺の庭ぞなつかしき　
. kuchikiri ni Sakai no niwa zo natsukashiki .
(winter) opening a new jar of green tea. garden in Sakai. full of memories

Remembering Sakai in Osaka and Sen Rikyu, the famous Tea Master.


.............................................................................







robiraki 炉開き "opening the hearth"
irori hiraku 囲炉裏開く（いろりひらく）"opening the open hearth"
On the first of the lunar 10th month, now in November.
Sometimes on the first day of the wild boar.
The hearth 炉 is opened for the first time since April. Tea for this ceremony is prepared with tea powder made from leaves freshly picked that summer.
This hearth, ro, will be used from now until the following April.



炉開きや左官老い行く鬢の霜　
robiraki ya sakan oi yuku bin no shimo

opening the hearth —
the aging plasterer
with sideburns of frost
Tr. Barnhill


Fireplace opening -
The plasterer is getting old
With frost in his sidelocks.
Tr. Oseko


On the 1st day of the 10th lunar month, 1692
元禄5年10月1日頃

Basho has the same plasterer come every year to help with the repairing of the hearth. When observing his hair getting white, he thought about his own ageing.


. WKD : bin 鬢 hair at the temple .


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　



source :　www.cafepress.co.uk

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

. WKD : Tea Ceremony Saijiki 茶道の歳時記 .


. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .

. - KIGO used by Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - .


[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

kireji - cut markers

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

- kire 切れ　and kireji 切字　- cut and cut markers - caesura -

Some sources state that all the 48 "letters (mora)" of the Japanese IROHA-alphabet can be used as kireji. Basho already said so when teaching his students (Kyoraisho 去来抄).

quote
Matsuo Basho and the Poetics of Scent

The hokku has changed repeatedly since the distant past, but there have been only three changes in the nature of the haikai link. In the distant past, poets valued word links (kotoba-zuke). In the more recent past, poets have stressed content links (kokoro-zuke). Today, it is best to link by transference (usuri), reverberation (hibiki), scent (nioi), or status (kurai).

Unlike, earlier renga and haikai handbooks, which address the question of which particular words or syllables can be used as cutting words, Basho discusses kireji in terms of function and effect.

In Kyoyaisho, Basho noted:
"First, the cutting word is inserted in order to cut the verse. If the verse is already cut, it is not necessary to employ a word to cut it. For those poets who cannot distinguish between a cut and non-cut poem, earlier poets established cutting words. If one uses one of these words in a hokku, seven or eight times out of ten the hokku will be cut. The remaining two or three, however, the hokku will not be cut even though it includes a cutting word. On the other hand, there are hokku that are cut even though they include no cutting words. "
(NKBZ 51:478-79)

For Basho, it was the cutting effect rather than the cutting word itself that ultimately mattered. A hokku could be cut without a kireji, and the use of a cutting word did not necessarily ensure that a hokku had been cut.

. . .the cutting word had the paradoxical function of both cutting and joining . . .
source : Haruo Shirane



quote
"A verse without a cutting word does not have the form of a hokku, or opening
verse. Instead, it takes the shape of an added verse.
Even if a cutting word is added to the hokku, it may still take the form of an added verse. These are verses that have not been truly cut."
- Matsuo Basho, Sanzooshi 三冊子 Sanzoshi



The use of a cut marker does not automatically imply a "juxtaposition" of two images/themes.
. WKD : kireji 切字 cut markers and kire 切れ the CUT .


under construction
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Basho often uses the cut marker KANA　かな　 / 哉　 at the end of line 3.
That way the hokku is usually one sentence, with one theme.
Hokku of this kind do not have a juxtaposition.

There are too many to list them here.
Check out the ABC pages of this BLOG !


MORE
. - One sentence - one theme hokku by Basho - .

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

- - - - - the cut marker YA

This cut marker is usually used at the end of line 1 or 2.


Basho also uses it in the middle of line 1.
But it does not always imply a "juxtaposition" of two images.

これや世の煤に染まらぬ古合子
. kore ya yo no susu ni somaranu furu gooshi / goosu / gabushi .


Basho also uses it more often in the middle of line 2. But it does not always imply a "juxtaposition" of two images.


秋に添うて行かばや末は小松川
. aki ni soute yukaba ya sue wa Komatsugawa .


土手の松花や木深き殿造り
. dote no matsu hana ya ko bukaki tono-zukuri .


古き名の角鹿や恋し秋の月
. furuki na no Tsunuga ya koishi aki no tsuki .


冬牡丹千鳥よ雪のほととぎす
. fuyu botan chidori yo yuki no hototogisu.


冬しらぬ宿やもミする音あられ
. fuyu shiranu yado ya momi suru oto arare .


初真桑四つにや断たん輪に切らん
hatsu makuwa yotsu ni ya tatan wa ni kiran
. hatsu makuwa yotsu no ya kiran wa ni kiran .


人も見ぬ春や鏡の裏の梅　
. hito mo minu haru ya kagami no ura no ume .


一時雨礫や降つて小石川　
. hito shigure tsubute ya futte Koishikawa .


ほととぎす鳴くや五尺の菖草
hototogisu / naku ya go shaku no / ayamegusa


いかめしき音や霰の檜木笠
. ikameshiki oto ya arare no hinoki-gasa .


熊坂がゆかりやいつの玉祭
. Kumasaka ga yukari ya itsu no tama matsuri .


見送りのうしろや寂し秋の風
. miokuri no ushiro ya sabishi aki no kaze .


思ひ立つ木曽や四月の桜狩り
. omoitatsu Kiso ya shigatsu no sakuragari .


桜狩り奇特や日々に五里六里
. sakuragari kidoku ya hibi ni go ri roku ri .

しばし間も待つやほととぎす千年 - しばし間も待つやほととぎ 数千年
. shibashi ma mo matsu ya hototogi su sennen .

しほらしき名や小松吹萩すゝき
. shiorashiki na ya komatsu fuku hagi susuki .


その形見ばや枯木の杖の長
. sono katachi miba ya kareki no tsue no take .

姥桜咲くや老後の思い出
. ubazakura saku ya roogo no omoi-ide .

梅白し昨日や鶴を盗まれし
. ume shiroshi kinoo ya tsuru o nusumareshi .

埋火も消ゆや涙の烹ゆる音
. uzumi-bi mo kiyu ya namida no niyuru oto .
my tears make a hissing sound


- - - - -

稲雀茶の木畠や逃げ処
. inasuzume cha no kibatake ya nigedokoro .
sparrows in the rice paddies

This hokku has the cut marker YA at the end of line 2,
but in fact line 1 is separate and lines 2 and 3 belong together.


- - - - -


いでや我よき布着たり蝉衣
.ide ya ware yoki nuno kitari semi-goromo .
This hokku has the cut marker YA in the middle of line 1.



又やたぐひ長良の川の鮎膾
. mata ya tagui Nagara no kawa no ayu namasu .
This hokku has the cut marker YA in the middle of line 1
(and 6 onji in line one).



- - - - - And here is another interesting example:

荻の穂や頭をつかむ羅生門
ogi no ho ya kashira o tsukamu Rashoomon

Written in autumn of 1691 in Kyoto, 元禄4年秋
Basho captures the spooky atmosphere around the haunted Rashomon gate quite well.

MORE about this legendary gate
and its demon with the arm hacked off . . .
. The Rashomon Gate in Kyoto 羅生門 .




This hokku has the cut marker (kireji) YA at the end of line 1,
but lines 1 and 2 belong together ...

ogi no ho GA kashira o tsukamu

Surely Basho could have worded this different to place the cut marker at the end of line 2.
but he did not.

So here the cut marker creates the effect of "cut the hokku and continue theme".

Here are some paraverses :

this tip of a reed -
it seems to grab my head
near Rashomon Gate
. no, there is no connection between line 2 and 3 in the Japanese

the plume of this reed
seems to grab my head -
Rashomon Gate
.
this ogi plume - whow -
now it grabs my head - whow
Rashomon Gate
Tr. Gabi Greve



the tip of a reed -
it grips the intellect
Rashomon Gate

... And I can see no real indication that a conjunction between the second and third images should be given in English. I can see no semanitc tie between the second and third metrical feet of the Japanese; 羅生門 stands alone, as far as I can see.
Tr. John Carley



this ear of a reed
caught on my head -
across Rashomon Gate
.
this tip of a reed
haunts my head -
Rashomon Gate

The ear of 荻 grows often as high as 1 and a half meters.
Tr. Hideo Suzuki


ogi no ho 荻の穂 plume of a reed, tip of a reed,
Miscanthus　sacchariflorus

Basho uses OGI instead of susuki reed grass, since it has a punning effect with
oni - the demon of the Rashomon gate - remarks Robin Gill.


- MORE - Shared by friends of facebook -


. . . . .


reed plumes
I fear they might seize my head
at Rashomon
Tr. Jane Reichhold


.............................................................................


古池や
. furu ike YA kawazu tobikomu .

furu ike NI kawazu tobikomu

By using the cut marker YA at the end of line 1,
Basho cuts the poem but the theme continues --- the frog jumps into the old pond.




- - - - - YA used twice - - - - -

被き伏す蒲団や寒き夜やすごき
. kazuki fusu futon ya samuki yo ya sugoki .
This hokku has the cut marker YA in the middle of line 2,
and another YA in the middle of line 3.
Here the cut markers carries the emotion of "stress and continue".
It helps to emphasize the last word he uses:
sugoki, sugoi 凄い,　which is a rather strong emotion: how dreadful!


- - - - -



source :　itoyo/basho
白河の関 Shirakawa no Seki


田や麦や中にも夏のほととぎす
ta ya mugi ya naka ni mo natsu no hototogisu

rice fields and barley -
and among them also
summer's cuckoo
Tr. Barnhill

fields of rice and barley --
above all (among others, especially)
summer Hototogisu
Tr. Naotaka Uematsu


Written in 1689 on the 7th day of the 4th lunar month.
元禄2年4月7日 Oku no Hosomichi
- - - Station 10 - Shirakawa no Seki 白川の関 - - -
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

- - - - - ta YA mugi YA
the two YA in line one could be interpreted as two times the cut marker YA

the rice paddies - the barley fields -
or
ta ya mugi (YA) - fields and barley (cut marker)


The translation of hototogisu :
. - hototogisu 郭公 / ほととぎす -
.

The translation of mugi
. Barley, wheat (mugi) .

barley, "large mugi", oomugi,　大麦
Hordeum vulgare

wheat, "small mugi" komugi, 小麦
Triticum aestivum



::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


YA at the end of line 3

明日は粽難波の枯葉夢なれや
. asu wa chimaki Naniwa no kareha yume nare ya . 　　


山吹の露菜の花のかこち顔なるや
. yamabuki no tsuyu na no hana no kakochigao naru ya .


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

- - - - - the cut marker YO

YO not only used as a cut marker in hokku/haiku, but it is also used in normal Japanese to express astonishment, whow, exclamation, surprize . . .
anaka san yo - Hey Mister Tanaka!

白菊よ白菊よ恥長髪よ長髪よ
. shira-giku yo shiragiku yo haji naga kami yo naga kami yo . 　


::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

- - - - - the cut marker KA - - - - -
often equivalent to a question mark ?

- - - in the middle of line 2


郭公招くか麦のむら尾花
hototogisu / maneku ka mugi no / mura obana



松風の落葉か水の音涼し
. matsukaze no ochiba ka mizu no oto suzushi .

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Works by Helen Shigeko Isaacson
On YA and KANA, the „cutting particles" of haiku.
200 haiku of Basyoo in translation

Ya kana
One of the major barriers to an understanding of haiku in the West is that up till now, translators have avoided the entire subject of the untranslatable particles, ya and kana. In fact these are of the greatest importance, and it is impossible that anything sensible can ever be made out about haiku without studying them. Using as guidelines what old haizin 1 wrote about the particles, an attempt will be made in this chapter to illuc
cidate on this most difficult subject.

To try to explain a haiku without taking into account ya , kana and keri is like explaining a poem in any language and leaving out one or two words. Especially in a haiku, where there are only seventeen syllables, every syllable is of utmost importance.

Some translators have tried to render the effect of these particles by exclamation points, dashes, and so on, but as will be made clearer, it is not only their effect, but specifically their particular sounds, that must be represented.

All language is inseparable from sound, but there is no language more uniquely based on sound as the Japanese, as has been briefly explained in the introduction to this book. Furthermore, the haiku, the last and briefest form of Japanese literature to evolve, combines most completely the power of word and sound ...

- source : Helen Shigeko Isaacson -

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. WKD : kireji　切字 cut markers and kire 切れ the CUT .



. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .


[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

namida naku tears and crying

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

- tears 涙 to cry 泣くnaku -


. WKD : Tear, tears (namida 涙 . 泪 ) .
naku　泣く to cry

Basho sheding tears about others
and observing others sheding tears.


Some have already been featured in the ABC pages.
under construction
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

namida 涙 tear, tears


岩躑躅染むる涙やほととぎ朱
. iwa tsutsuji somuru namida ya hototogisu .
(spring) "rock azaleas". colored by his tears. hototogisu

..........................................................................................................................................................


撫子にかかる涙や楠の露
. nadeshiko ni kakaru namida ya kusu no tsuyu .
(summer) Nadeshiko pinks. tears are falling. dew on the camphor tree
for father and son Kusunoki 楠木


..........................................................................................................................................................


櫓の声波ヲ打つて腸凍ル夜や涙
ro no koe nami o utte harawata kooru / yo ya namida

Sounds of an oar hitting waves
my bowels get frozen
tears in the night
Tr. Natsuishi

quote
... All of a sudden in 1680,
Basho Matsuo retired from the central quarter of Edo to its suburb “Fukagawa”. The reason of his moving to the suburb and retirement from being a haiku master in a large metropolis, whose main job it was not to compose an excellent haiku, but to select amateurs’ haiku is unknown even nowadays. Nevertheless we can suppose that he had tired of haiku as being nothing more than a frivolous urban playing with words. Basho had decided to contemplate alone and deeply in a poor hermitage. We can surmise that he had concluded that a man shall not live by rice alone.

A haiku of 10, 7 and 5 syllables in Japanese talks grievously about his solitude and poverty. It is true that Basho’s newly awakened anti-urbanism gave to his haiku poems mental depth and sonority, but his former urban training in playing with the multiple meanings of words provided him with the means to express depth in few words at his will. It is impossible to express something without sophisticated rhetoric, thus it can be said that Basho’s prior training provided him with an urbane sense that had accumulates throughout his education and shown hitherto in his published documents.

MORE
Modernity and anti-urbanism in Basho Matsuo
. Ban’ya Natsuishi .



quote
Oars beating waves, sound
freezes through to the belly —
tears flow in the night

Basho wrote this in the winter of 1680—81, rather than thinking of Li Po, this haiku refers to a poem by Tu Fu (712—70):

From the window frame, western peak covered in eternal snow
By the gate, a boat heading east ten thousand miles of sea.

- Tr. and Comment : Bill Wyatt



the sound of oars beating the waves
brings my bowles to a chill
in the evening - tears
Tr. Gabi Greve

(The kireji YA is in the middle of the last section of 5).

..........................................................................................................................................................



手に取らば消えん涙ぞ熱き秋の霜
. te ni toraba kien namida zo atsuki aki no shimo .
(autumn) frost, tears in my hands

尊がる涙や染めて散る紅葉
. tootogaru namida ya somete chiru momiji .
(autumn) falling red leaves. my respectful tears

..........................................................................................................................................................




source :　itoyo/basho/nozarasi
memorial stone at the temple Jooinji Join-Ji 浄因寺 in Numazu 沼津市.
沼津市大顛和尚ゆかりの浄因寺
Join-Ji was a sub-temple of Engaku-ji in Kamakura.


梅恋ひて卯の花拝む涙哉
梅こひて卯花拝むなみだ哉
ume koite u no hana ogamu namida kana

Longing for the plum blossoms
I pray to the white deutzia -
tearful eyes
source : Tr. Shirane


yearning for the plum,
bowing before the deutzia:
eyes of tears
Tr.Barnhill


During his trip, Nozarashi Kiko.
On the death of high priest Daiten 大顛和尚 of the temple Engaku-Ji 圓覺寺 / 円覚寺 in Kamakura.
Basho wrote a letter to his disciple Kikaku about this event.

This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.


longing for this plum blossom
I bow to the white deutzia
with tears in my eyes . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve


. WKD : Deutzia blossom (u no hana, unohana 卯の花 ) .


..........................................................................................................................................................





source :　syo-gu-an/akari - uzumibi poems


埋火も消ゆや涙の烹ゆる音
uzumi-bi mo kiyu ya namida no niyuru oto

even the banked fire
is dying - my tears
make a hissing sound
Tr. Gabi Greve

Written most probably in the first year of Genroku 元禄元年 in Gifu.
This hokku has the cut marker YA in the middle of line 2.

While he sits near the smoldering coals, he remembers a good friend who has died recently and his tears do not stop.
The sound of his burning tears is a very strong expression of his sorrow and pain he feels.


. WKD : uzumibi 埋火 "hidden fire" .
Some charcoal is left under the ashes to smolder and provide a bit of warmth.
kigo for all winter

..........................................................................................................................................................



行く春や鳥啼き魚の目は涙
. yuku haru ya tori naki uo no me wa namida .
(spring) end of spring. voice of birds, tears. fish
- for his patron, the fish dealer Sugiyama Sanpu 杉山杉風 (Sampu)
on leaving Edo for the Deep North.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


naku　泣く　to cry, I cry, I weep, I wail


旧里や臍の緒に泣く年の暮 / 故郷　古里
. furusato ya hezo no o ni naku toshi no kure .
(winter) end of the year. my hometown, navel string


俤や姨ひとり泣く月の友
. omokage ya oba hitori naku tsuki no tomo .
(autumn) moon. old woman, weeping
at Mount Sarashinayama 更科山


..........................................................................................................................................................


塚も動け我が泣く声は秋の風
tsuka mo ugoke waga naku koe wa aki no kaze

Shake even the grave!
My wailing is
the autumn wind!
Tr. Eri Takase

quote
Basho wrote this lamenting the death of his friend Issho - a man of talent who died before his time.

From the sampling of translations below you can see there are two general interpretations of this haiku. Some use words like "crying" and "weeping" - as if Basho's felt a relatively quiet sadness or sorrow.
Dumoulin writes,
"Death and birth alike belong to the life that comes from nature and is reabsorbed by nature. In many songs Basho develops variations on the motif of the autumn wind. When he mourns the death of his young poet friend Issho, the autumn wind breathes the pure sorrow of death".

Miyamoto writes,
"This verse is an elegy of Issho, a poet of Kanazawa who, although not a personal pupil of Basho, had a warm admiration for him and his poetry. He was comparatively young, but evinced a remarkable poetic talent. Therefore Basho deeply lamented his premature death, and his feelings were powerfully excited. The result was this verse, which means :-
"The autumn wind is my lamentation; therefore, grave-mound, move with it!"
What a violent outburst of grief! Perhaps none but poets of Basho's genius and sincerity can think of such impressive symbolism."


Oh, grave-mound, move!
My wailing is the autumn wind.
Tr. Asataro Miyamori

Shake! O tomb!
The sound of my wailing
Is the wind of autumn!
Tr. Minoru Toyoda

Move, O tomb,
the sound of my weeping,
is the wind of autumn.
Tr. Hoffnam

Mound, Oh Move!
My crying voice is
The autumn wind.
Tr. Nelson and Saito

Shake, oh tomb!
My weeping voice
Is the wind of autumn.

and

Shake, oh grave!
The autumn wind
Is the voice of my wailing
Tr. Blyth

source : www.takase.com/



move the gravemound!
my wailing voice,
the autumn wind
Tr. Ueda

Here we see Basho's persistent determination to make nature serve his own emotions rather than let himself be absorbed into nature.
Abe Y.
MORE comments about this hokku:
quoted from Ueda : Basho and his Interpreters
source : http://books.google.co.jp


Written in Kanazawa, Oku no Hosomichi
on the 22th day of the seventh lunar month.


Kosugi Isshoo 小杉一笑（こすぎ　いっしょう） Kosugi Issho
元禄元年（1632）～寛永九年（1688）
"one laugh"
a tea merchant from Kaga, Kanazawa, now Ishikawa.
Basho never met Issho in person, but had been looking forward to this meeting.

. . . CLICK here for Photos of his grave stone and Kanazawa!

..........................................................................................................................................................



笑ふべし泣くべしわが朝顔の凋む時
. warau beshi naku beshi waga asagao no shibomu toki .
(summer) morning glories. should I laugh? should I cry? withering

and MORE hokku about laughing 笑う warau

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

. WKD : Tear, tears (namida 涙 . 泪 ) .
naku　泣く to cry


. Emotions expressed directly by Basho .


. - Basho about Basho and his life - .


[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::