Haiku by Professor Alexander Dolin (Part 3)
2009/11/28
Professor Alexander Dolin teaches Japanese Literature and Civilization Studies at Akita International University(AIU)（国際教養大学）in Akita. He also writes haiku.
First of all, we post haiku by Professor Alexander Dolin .
年毎に遊びに来たる秋の風
Every year he comes
to pay me a visit,
this autumn wind…
秋風に友の声かも山の道
With the autumn wind
it seems, the voice of my friend comes –
a mountain track…
秋田にて侘しく見ゆる案山子かな
In the autumn field
it looks so lonely,
this scarecrow!..
夜もすがら別れを惜しむきりぎりす
All night long
he is mourning the coming partition,
this grasshopper…
旅人の姿消えゆく秋の暮れ
The silhouette of a traveler
is slowly vanishing -
the autumn dusk
友達に会えば楽しむ秋の暮れ
When you meet a friend
you can enjoy it, -
this autumn dusk…
「小町にて小町に会えば」秋田夢
“Oh, if I only could
meet a beauty like Komachi in this small town!”-
Dreaming in Akita (in the autumn field)…
象潟や雨にねむれず銅の芭蕉
Oh Kisakata!
Under the rain among the mimosa flowers
Basho carved of bronze doesn’t sleep…
{reference to the famous haiku by Basho Kisakata ya…}
新しき友達の群れ美人ばかり
A flock
of new (girl) friends –
all of them so beautiful!..
カモシカも仲間もがなと思うかも
Even the mountain goat
maybe is thinking now:
“Oh, if I only had a friend!..”
After I read haiku about Komachi （小町）, I visited her hometown in Yuzawa City （湯沢市）, Akita, and met a beauty like her there.
There is a road station called “Ogachi , Komachi’s hometown”（道の駅おがち 小町の郷）(Michi no eki Ogachi Komachi no sato), which has an information center.
One of the staffs, Ms. Nori Saito (斎藤のり）there contributed her pictures to me and told me about Ono no Komachi (小野の小町).
Ono no Komachi (小野の小町, c. 825―c. 900) was a famous waka poet, one of the Rokkasen―the Six best Waka poets of the Heian period. She was noted as a rare beauty; Komachi is a symbol of a beautiful woman in Japan. She is also numbered as one of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals.
According to one tradition, she is said to have been born in what is now Akita Prefecture, daughter of Yoshisada, “Lord of Dewa”.
Her hometown, Ogachi(雄勝), is now in Yuzawa City, and they built Komachi Shrine （小町堂）there and hold Komachi Festival on the second Sunday of June in front of the shrine near the road station in celebration of her birth there.
Behind Komachi Shrine stands a wooden notice board, saying that in 1785菅江真澄 (Sugae Masumi) (1754-1829), one of the most popular folklorists and travelers in the middle to late Edo period, visited Komachi’s hometown.
This picture was taken at the road station called “Kyowa”(道の駅 協和)(Michi no eki Kyowa).
According to his ‘Travelogue’ called “Ono’s hometown （おののふるさと）”, Sugae Masumi stayed in Yuzawa City for about four months from February 9 to June 6, in 1785, which the lunar calendar says was from January 1 to April 29.
During his stay, he visited Ono’s hometown on May 22 and stayed there.
In his diary, Sugae noted : Children say Komachi was born and brought up here till the age of nine, and then she went up to Kyoto. There are beauties seen around here, and it seems to have something to do with Komachi. He also noted about some legends passed down on about Komachi, and some remains related with her.
Last of all, I post waka written by Ono no Komachi.
思いつつ 寝ればや人の 見えつらむ 夢としりせば さめざらましを
omoi tsutsu nure baya hito no mie tsuran yume to shiri se ba same zara mashi wo
Is it because I fell asleep
Yearning for her
That he paid me a visit?
Had I known it was dream, I wouldn’t have woken up.
― Hidenori Hiruta
桝田愛佳（Masuda Aika）began painting haiga in her elementary school days.
In summer, 2008, her mother, 桝田純子(Masuda Junko), and David Ferron, an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) in Akita City, Akita, Japan, took up haiga by Masuda Aika as their haiga project.
We post their haiga project on the website, dividing it into three stages.
This is the last stage of the haiga project.
We hope that you will appreciate the last part of haiga, with the three basic haiga in the first part.
Ms. Masuda’s and David’s Haiga Project
わたしと俳画 Haiga and me
秋田市立外旭川小学校
Akita Municipal Sotoasahikawa Elementary School
六年一組 Sixth grade, First class
桝田愛佳 Masuda Aika
始めたきっかけ Why did I start?
母が知り合いの方に「うちの，愛佳は絵が好きなんですよ。」と，言ったら，その方が「私の母が，俳画を教えています。愛佳さんもやってみませんか？」と，おっしゃったそうです。
I heard that when my mom said to an acquaintance of hers, “My Aika likes paintings,” she replied, “My mother teaches haiga. Would like to try it?”
わたしはそれを聞いて、面白そうだなと、思っておけいこにいきました。
When I heard this I thought it sounded interesting, so I took some lessons.
北潟先生のこと Ms. Kitagata
北潟先生は、八十歳をすぎていても、お元気で、とても優しくおしえてくれる物知りな先生です。
Even though Ms. Kitagata is over eighty years old she is a very gentle teacher who knows a lot.
本名は「北潟幸枝」ですが、俳画で使う時は、「北潟枝穂」です。
Her real name is Kitagata Sachie, but when she makes haiga it is Kitagata Shiho.
愛佳 あいか
弟と おとうとと
ボール遊びの ボールあそびの
秋休み あきやすみ
With my younger brother
Playing ball
During fall break
愛佳 あいか
今日のこと きょうのこと
聴いて始まる きいてはじまる
わが団らん わがだんらん
Today
The time I enjoy starts
When I talk with my family
純子句 じゅんこく
おだんごで おだんごで
みんなでパーティ みんなでパーティ
月の夜 つきのよる
With dumplings
Everyone partied
During the moonlit night
自然との しぜんとの
思い出いっぱい おもいでいっぱい
まんたらめ まんたらめ
Plenty of memories
With nature
Mantarame
愛佳 あいか
初春元旦 はつはるがんたん
初雪の思い出のこるまんたらめ はっゆきのおもいでののこるまんたらめ
First day of the year
Mantarame, where memories of the first snow remain
愛佳 あいか
Cake
美沙季 みさき
愛佳より あいかより
Misaki
From Aika
幸福を こうふくを
祈る本堂 いのるほんどう
冬日さす ふゆびさす
Praying for happiness
In the main hall
Light shines through the window
純子句 じゅんこく
愛佳 あいか
地ふぶきの じふぶきの
果てにほおばる はてにほおばる
桜もち さくらもち
純子句 じゅんこく
The massive snowstorm’s
Mouth-watering, satisfying
Sakura rice cakes
始業式 しぎょうしき
たしかに春の たしかにはるの
かぜがふく かぜがふく
純子 じゅんこ
愛佳 あいか
As an opening ceremony
Without fail the spring
Wind blows
何べんも なんべんも
そりすべりして そりすべりして
春の雪 はるのゆき
純子 じゅんこ
愛佳 あいか
However many times,
Sliding on a sled
In the spring snow
愛佳 あいか
おもたせは おもたせは
秋の走りの あきのはしりの
味ゆたか あじゆたか
幸句 こうく
The souvenir is
The beginning of fall
So delicious
弟からのメッセージ A message from my younger brother
「おねえちゃんがやっているのをみてたのしそうだからやってみたい。」と言って今年七月に始めました。
He said, “I saw my older sister doing it, so I want to try.” He started from July of this year.
かっぱはそのときの作品です。 A kappa is his piece of artwork from that time.
大暑 たいしょ Dog days of summer
健太郎 Kentaro
愛佳 あいか
螢かと思ってみた ほたるがとおもってみた
空の星 そらのほし
I thought they were fireflies
The stars in the sky
二年間を振り返って Looking back at these two years
俳画をやってみて楽しくて、楽しくてアッと言う間に、二年間がすぎていきました。変わったところは、少しだけ堂々とはなせるようになりました。これからも俳画をつづけたいです。
I really, really enjoyed making haiga and before I knew it, two years passed. What changed is that I am now able to speak a little bit more elegantly. From here on, I want to continue making haiga.
A message from the translator (AKA the guy that messed everything up):
I would be happy to remain unacknowledged, however Ms. Masuda asked me to contribute a brief profile of myself with a piece addressing my feelings towards my contribution to the work. So here I go.
I am an American and originally hail from Kansas. Yes, Kansas. If you don’t know where that is, I suggest you watch “The Wizard of Oz” or try and buy something made of wheat from America. I currently work for the Japanese government as an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) in Akita City, Akita, Japan. That basically means I get paid to get kanchos from small children, among other things (I think maybe only two people got that last joke, but I swear those two people laughed really hard).
It is in this hectic, yet occasionally enjoyable school setting that I met Ms. Masuda. She mentioned her interest in haiga and I admitted my ignorance of the art form. After showing me her daughter’s and son’s artwork, we got on the topic of haiga in English and she wondered how they would sound in another language. From here, the details get sketchy: either she asked me to try my hand at translating them, or I offered myself. I honestly can’t remember exactly how the transaction went down, but next thing I knew, here I was in front of my computer looking at a blue and yellow frog (her son’s painting [which actually has a funny story itself, but I’ll let Ms. Masuda tell that herself, because she tells it with the passion only a mother can have]).
As for the translating itself, it actually turned out to be much more of a challenge than what I first thought. Coming into it with some knowledge of Japanese (it was my major in college) and having translated for fun during my free time certainly did help, but by far the hardest part for me was trying to convey the author’s Japanese feelings in English words.
When choosing what words I should use, I tried to keep in mind that the original author started writing haiga when she was nine and made the power point presentation (what I translated from) when she was twelve. So, I tried my best to use words that I thought a girl of similar age, speaking English would use. But at the same time this is a girl writing poetry, so that said, I tried to find a balance between the poetic and the everyday.
A related problem of equal importance was word order. As I was in the process of translating, I felt a lot of the haiga may sound more natural, and maybe even more “poetic” to a native speaker, if their word order was switched. But then I questioned: would this jeopardize the original meaning? Should I sacrifice the structure for the meaning? Was it my place to make this judgment call?
Ultimately, I decided yes, it was. So from the start, I had to choose which I valued more the structure of the haiga or its meaning, and in the end, I tried my best to find a happy balance. Overall, I tried my best to keep the Japanese word order, but when I felt it sounded significantly better in a different order, I changed it for that particular instance and continued on. Since the original Japanese lacks any punctuation whatsoever, I also tried to keep punctuation to a minimum and inserted it in only when I felt it was necessary. However, I did take some liberties with particles and used them to help smooth the beat for the reader. While the original Japanese versions are often times missing particles, I felt that when turned into English they sounded disjointed and incomplete without them.
Finally, I would like to thank Ms. Masuda for putting up with all of my questions and for being patient while I tapped away on my keyboard. Maybe what I wrote above just overanalyzed the entire translating process, but at the very least I hope it shows that I do care about what I did. And I hope it shows as you read it as well. Enjoy.-David Ferron
(The End)
― Posted by Hidenori Hiruta
Tanka by Mr. Tsutomu Nimure in Akita
2009/11/14
This is the first time to post tanka on the website.
We post tanka poems by Mr. Tsutomu Nimure, and one of tanka poems in 万葉集(Manyoshu),“Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves” , which is the oldest existing collection of Japanese poetry, compiled some time around 759 A.D. during 奈良時代（Narajidai）,“the Nara period ”.
First of all, Mr. Tsutomu Nimure introduces himself to us in Japanese, and then in English.
二牟礼 勉の 短歌への道
大学時代に授業で万葉集に触れ、先生が詠歌を勧められたのが最初です。二十歳前後に少し興味をもって詠歌し、先生に指導を受けましたが、その後は時たま詠歌する程度で、縁遠くなりました。６５歳で現役を終えてから、趣味として短歌に興味を注ぎ、レベルを知るために新聞等に投稿を始めました。以来１０年ほど経過しています。2008年の年間賞として朝日新聞秋田支社と毎日新聞秋田支社から記念の盾を受けま した。 (2009.10.20. 現在)
Tsutomu Nimure’s way of TANKA
As a college student, I had a Japanese class, which dealt Manyoushu. The teacher of the class advised us to write a Tanka poem. So at some twenty years of age I tried to make a Tanka and got some advice by the teacher. After that time I neglected to make Tanka poems. At age of 65 I retired, so I have begun to pay attention to Tanka for my hobby. Since that day it has been passed some ten years. In order to know my level I have continued to contribute my Tankas to some newspapers.. I was awarded in 2008 annual prize in Tanka by Asahi shinbun Akita branch and Mainichi shinbun Akita branch. (As of Oct. 20, 2009)
From now on, Mr. Tsutomu Nimure shows his tanka poems in Japanese as well as in English to us.
短歌とその英訳 No.1(2009.10.16)
My Tankas and the Meaning No.1 by Tsutomu NIMURE
1) 戦争の傷跡残る台湾のガイドの使う日本語巧み
A guide uses an excellent Japanese in Taiwan
where the scars of the War still remain
2) 秋の陽の優しく照らすひる時に懐かしき歌耳に届けり
During lunch time when an autumn sun shone softly
a good oldie song came to my ear
3) チェンソーの音に合わせて森の中小鳥互いに美声を競う
Birds in the wood, harmonizing with the sound of
a chainsaw, are singing beautiful songs respectively
4）仕事終えハンドル握り帰路急ぐ頬触れる風に秋感じつつ
Finishing the work I gripped a steeling wheel
and hurried home feeling fall in the wind touching my cheeks
5) 英語での講演聴きて眠りたる脳に突然エンジンかかる
While listening to a lecture in English
I felt my sleeping brain started suddenly
6) 朝明けの鳥海山を眺めつつ凪の沿岸運転楽しむ
Looking up at Mt.Choukai at dawn
I enjoyed driving along a calm coast
7）裏庭に積もりし雪をながめつつ今日もリハビリ続けて励む
Looking at the snow covering the back yard,
I went on striving for rehabilitation today, too.
万葉集(Manyoshu),“Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves” (1)
This is the oldest existing collection of Japanese poetry, compiled some time around 759 A.D. during 奈良時代（Narajidai）,“the Nara period ”.
The anthology is one of the most revered of Japan’s poetic compilations. The compiler,or the final in a series of compilers, is believed to be 大伴家持 (Otomo no Yakamochi). The collection contains poems ranging from A.D. 347 (poems 85-89) through 759(4516), the bulk of them representing the period after 600. The precise significance of the title is not known with certainty.
The following tanka was written by 大伴四綱（Otomo no Yotsuna）.
月夜よし 川音清し いざここに 行くも去ぬも 遊びて帰かむ
tsukuyo yoshi kawato sayakeshi iza koko ni yukumo yukanumo
asobite yukamu
On such a moonlit night
the river is flowing with a clear sound;
those present here,
the departing one and the staying ones,
let’s enjoy ourselves, shall we?
( Translated by Hidenori Hiruta )
This tanka was written at the farewell party for 大伴旅人（Ootomo no Tabito）, a Japanese poet, best known as the father of大伴家持 (Otomo no Yakamochi).
Before tanka was written at the party, 大伴旅人（Ootomo no Tabito） served as Governor-General of 太宰府(Dazaifu), the military procuracy in northern Kyushu(九州) from 728-730, and encouraged the composition of poetry among his subordinates in imitation of Chinese style elegance. He also showed his Chinese education in his set of thirteen tanka in praise of sake.
― Posted by Hidenori Hiruta
桝田愛佳（Masuda Aika）began painting haiga in her elementary school days.
In summer, 2008, her mother, 桝田純子(Masuda Junko), and David Ferron, an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) in Akita City, Akita, Japan, took up haiga by Masuda Aika as their haiga project.
We post their haiga project on the website, dividing it into three stages.
This is the second stage of the haiga project.
We hope that you will appreciate the second part of haiga, with the three basic haiga in the first part.
Ms. Masuda’s and David’s Haiga Project
わたしと俳画 Haiga and me
秋田市立外旭川小学校
Akita Municipal Sotoasahikawa Elementary School
六年一組 Sixth grade, First class
桝田愛佳 Masuda Aika
始めたきっかけ Why did I start?
母が知り合いの方に「うちの，愛佳は絵が好きなんですよ。」と，言ったら，その方が「私の母が，俳画を教えています。愛佳さんもやってみませんか？」と，おっしゃったそうです。
I heard that when my mom said to an acquaintance of hers, “My Aika likes paintings,” she replied, “My mother teaches haiga. Would like to try it?”
わたしはそれを聞いて、面白そうだなと、思っておけいこにいきました。
When I heard this I thought it sounded interesting, so I took some lessons.
北潟先生のこと Ms. Kitagata
北潟先生は、八十歳をすぎていても、お元気で、とても優しくおしえてくれる物知りな先生です。
Even though Ms. Kitagata is over eighty years old she is a very gentle teacher who knows a lot.
本名は「北潟幸枝」ですが、俳画で使う時は、「北潟枝穂」です。
Her real name is Kitagata Sachie, but when she makes haiga it is Kitagata Shiho.
ふるさとが ふるさとが
見え元日の みえがんじつの
炭俵 すみだわら
裕句 ひろしく
愛佳 あいか
In my hometown
During the upcoming New Year
With my charcoal sack
千代紙の ちよがみの
ひなのほほえむ ひなのほほえむ
三日かな みっかかな
Ornate, colored-papered
Grins
Dolls for March third, Girls’ Day
愛佳 あいか
愛佳 あいか
一つとや ひとつとや
二つとやあと ふたつとやあと
遊ぶ夜 あそぶよる
One, oh, yeah
Two, oh, yeah
A playful night
愛佳 あいか
水嵩の みずかさの
増してくる如く ましてくるしく
芹洗ふ せりあらう
The volume of water
Rises up
Washing the Japanese parsley
佳郎句 よしろく
新しい雅号 A new pen name
最初にいただいた雅号は「愛苑」だったけれど、同じ雅号の人がいたので「佳苑」という雅号をいただきました。先生に「佳苑」というはんこを作ってもらいました。
The first pen name I was given was Aien, however there was someone else with the same pen name, so I was given the name Kaen. I also received a personal seal with the name Kaen that my teacher made.
緑さし みどりさし
猫の歩みも ねこのあゆみも
映りけり うつりけり
秀旦句 Does anyone know how to pronounce this?
愛佳 あいか
Day by day, greener and greener
A cat’s steps too
Are reflected
父の日に ちちのひに
絵げいこに来れる えげいこにこれる
幸よ しあわせよ
On Father’s Day
I can practice haiga
So happy (Thank you, dad)
先生と吹く せんせいとふく
草笛の くさぶえの
まちまちに まちまちに
友子句 ともこく
愛佳 あいか
Blowing with my teacher
The blades of grass
Out of synch
母と俳句 Mom and Haiku
母は、時々川柳（せんりゅう）や俳句をつくっています。母が好きなばらを描いて母の俳句をのせたら、泣いて喜んでいました。母は、すっかりその気になって毎月おけいこの時は、はりきって、俳句をつくっています。
My mom sometimes makes haiku and senryu (humorous Japanese poems). When I painted a rose, which my mother likes, and added one of my mom’s haikus, she was so happy she cried. My mom was overwhelmingly pleased and now every month during my lessons cheerfully makes haikus.
嵐にも あらしにも
りんりんと咲く りんりんとさく
花畑 はなばたけ
Despite the storm
The flower garden
Is vigorously blooming
純子句 じゅんこく
愛苑 あいえん
苗代の なわしろの
月夜は つきよは
はんの木に はんのきに
けむる けむる
The bed of rice’s
Moonlit night
Is shrouded by
The Japanese alder
素逝句 そせいく
(To Be Continued)
― Posted by Hidenori Hiruta
Haiku by Mr. Joshua Sellers
2009/10/31
Now is late in autumn here in Akita.
Our website is full of autumn. The readers have contributed pictures and haiku about autumn from all over the world.
伊藤貞順 (Ito Teijun), a Japanese poet in Akita, presented two pictures to us. She rode on a local train from 鷹巣 (takanosu) to 角館 (kakunodate) and enjoyed the beautiful sceneries of nature, taking some pictures of them.
Joshua Sellers, an American poet contributed his haiku about autumn to our site.
pieces of sky ―
autumn drizzling
in puddles
千切れ空秋滴るる水たまり
chigire zora aki shitataruru mizu tamari
heavy fog ―-
from pines, sounds
of dew dripping
霧濃ひし松樹の滴露の音
kiiri koishi shouju no shizuku tsuyu no oto
night shadows ―
a lone cricket chirps,
then silence
夜更けるこおろぎ独り静寂へ
yoru fukeru koorogi hitori seijaku e
moonlit sky ―
quivering crepe myrtles
and their shadows
月光に振るえる影やサルスベリ
gekkou ni furueru kage ya sarusuberi
not one word
whispered ―
an acorn
囁きの一言も無しドングリか
sasayaki no ichigon mo nashi donguri ka
autumn daybreak —
sunlight blazing through
maple leaves
秋の明け紅葉眩む日の光
akino ake momijiba kuramu hi no hikari
Last of all we post some other haiku on the blog, ‘AKITAHAIKU’ , whose address is http://akitahaiku.blogspot.com/.
Harvest time ―
ears of rice bathing
in the sun
収穫の日向に浴す稲穂かな
shuukaku no hinata ni yokusu inaho kana
by Hidenori Hiruta, a Japanese poet
Harvest time ―
approaching winter
ready to celebrate
収穫時祝いを備ふ冬近し
shuukakuji iwai wo sonau fuyu chikashi
by Juhani Tikkanen, a Finnish poet
fou muin ―
hystin
a freithy yill
full moon ―
raising
a frothy beer
満月や泡立つビール醸し出す
meigetsu ya awadatsu biiru kamoshidasu
by John McDonald, a Scottish poet
Harvest Moon ―
i look for you in
other’s poems
名月や詩の中句の中輝けり
meigetsu ya shi no naka ku no naka kagayakeri
by Devika Jyothi, an Indian poet
― Hidenori Hiruta
桝田愛佳（Masuda Aika）began painting haiga in her elementary school days.
In summer, 2008, her mother, 桝田純子(Masuda Junko), and David Ferron, an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) in Akita City, Akita, Japan, took up haiga by Masuda Aika as their haiga project.
We post their haiga project on the website, dividing it into three stages.
We hope that you will appreciate haiga by an elementary schoolgirl in Akita.
Ms. Masuda’s and David’s Haiga Project
わたしと俳画 Haiga and me
秋田市立外旭川小学校
Akita Municipal Sotoasahikawa Elementary School
六年一組 Sixth grade, First class
桝田愛佳 Masuda Aika
始めたきっかけ Why did I start?
母が知り合いの方に「うちの，愛佳は絵が好きなんですよ。」と，言ったら，その方が「私の母が，俳画を教えています。愛佳さんもやってみませんか？」と，おっしゃったそうです。
I heard that when my mom said to an acquaintance of hers, “My Aika likes paintings,” she replied, “My mother teaches haiga. Would like to try it?”
わたしはそれを聞いて、面白そうだなと、思っておけいこにいきました。
When I heard this I thought it sounded interesting, so I took some lessons.
北潟先生のこと Ms. Kitagata
北潟先生は、八十歳をすぎていても、お元気で、とても優しくおしえてくれる物知りな先生です。
Even though Ms. Kitagata is over eighty years old she is a very gentle teacher who knows a lot.
本名は「北潟幸枝」ですが、俳画で使う時は、「北潟枝穂」です。
Her real name is Kitagata Sachie, but when she makes haiga it is Kitagata Shiho.
せつせつと せつせつと
眼まで濡らして めまでぬらして
髪洗ふ かみあらう
節子句 せつこく
愛佳 あいか
Frenziedly
Eyes get wet
When hair’s washed
マスカット マスカット
おいしく食べし おいしくたべし
夜食後 やしょくあと
愛佳 あいか
Muscat grapes
Deliciously eaten
After dinner
愛佳 あいか
山の雲 やまのくも
いけしまま いけしまま
松立てにけり まつたてにけり
章句 あきらく
Pine trees stood
In the mountain clouds
Like arranged flowers
愛佳 あいか
十五夜の じゅうごやの
雲のあそびて くものあそびて
かぎりなし かぎりなし
夜半句 やはんく
For fifteen nights
The clouds played
Endlessly
愛佳 あいか
冬に入る ふゆにはいる
山国の紺 やまごくのこん
女学生 じょがくせい
Headed into winter
The mountain country’s dark blue
Schoolgirl
牡丹雪 ぼたんゆき
地に近づきて ちにちかづきて
迅く落つ はやくおつ
六林男句 むりおく
愛佳 あいか
十才 じゅうさい
Large snowflakes
Come towards the ground
And swiftly fall
金銀の きんぎんの
紙ほどの幸 かみほどのさち
クリスマス クリスマス
欣一句 きんいちく
愛佳 あいか
Gold and silver
Little joy-filled paper
At Christmas
(To be continued)
― Posted by Hidenori Hiruta
Scots haiku by Mr. JOHN McDONALD (Part 2)
2009/10/17
On July 15, we received two comments for ‘Akita International Haiku Network’ from Scotland. Mr. John McDonald sent his comments to us for encouragement, saying ‘Good Luck!’. He was the first haiku poet to send us comments and presented us with his haiku books.
I’d like to take up one of his haiku books, whose title is ‘THE THROU-GAUN CHIEL’.
I post some of his haiku, showing my free translations of them in Japanese to you.
In his e-mail, Mr. John McDonald noted: In Scotland we have two languages one is Gaelic(which is a Celtic language) and the other – the one I write in – is a Germanic language brought to the British isles from Saxony ( old German ) It was the original english language and the original Scottish language ( in the lowlands of Scotland only – Gaelic was in the highlands ) The language was then refined in England, to become present day english, but in scotland it remained for many years ( mainly 17th, 17th centuries and then was replaced by present day english.) but a few of us like to keep the old language alive hence my poetry ( and some of it indeed still spoken in some areas).
Here I’d like to show you some scots haiku in his native language as well as in English, and my free translations of them in Japanese. I hope that you’ll enjoy scots haiku.
slaw watter
takkin in the licht
jowellin the troot
slow water
taking in the light
jewelling the trout
暖流のトラウト飾る暗き地に
danryuu no torauto kazaru kuraki chi ni
drameit o a draigon -
the riven bouk
clootit wi a haiku
dreamt of a kite -
the torn body
patched with a haiku
凧の夢千切れ繕う一句かな
Takono yume chigire tsukurou ikku kana
in the clessroom winnock
new bulbs
sprootin
in the classroom window
new bulbs
sprouting
教室の窓に芽をふく新根かな
Kyousitsu no mado ni me wo fuku sinne kana
thigger wifie -
her sheddae
skiffs me
beggar woman -
her shadow
touches me
物乞い女私に触れる影法師
Monogoi me watashi ni fureru kageboushi
cumulus cluds
…swans
pander by
cumulus clouds
…swans
drift by
わた雲に白鳥の群れ浮かびけり
Watagumo ni hakuchou no mure ukabi keri
― Hidenori Hiruta
Haiku about Autumn Rice Fields
2009/10/10
On September 30, the activities of our network were reported in the Akita Sakigake newspapers （秋田魁新報:Akita Sakigake Shinpou）.
That afternoon one of the readers sent to us haiku about ‘autumn rice fields’ , or ‘秋の稲田(aki no inada)’ . The Kanji characters ‘ 秋田‘ are used as the name of Akita City and Akita Prefecture.
The reader is a haiku poet named 伊藤貞順 (Itoh Teijun) living in 能代市 (Noshiro-shi) , Akita. She also sent us a beautiful picture of the golden rice fields in the countryside.
First of all I’d like to post her haiku.
秋空に黄色輝く稲穂かな
akizora ni kiiro kagayaku inaho kana
Under autumn sky
their yellow color is shining
ears of rice
収穫に稲穂傾く黄色かな
shuukaku ni inaho katamuku kiiro kana
For harvest
ears of rice bending down
how yellow!
金色の稲穂に感謝秋の空
konjiki no inaho ni kansha aki no sora
A lot of thanks
for golden ears of rice
autumn sky
秋の風黄色の海原稲実る
akino kaze kiiro no unabara ine minoru
Autumn wind
rice ripen in fields
like a yellow sea
Secondly, I’d like to show you a picture I took at the foot of Mt. Taihei (太平山 Taiheizan) in Akita, and my haiku.
天高し稲田見守る太平山
ten takashi inada mimamoru Taiheizan
Mt. Taihei
watching rice fields
autumn high skies
Last of all, I’d like to show you haiku written by Matsuo Basho on ‘the Narrow Road to Oku’, in 1689.
早稲の香や分け入る右は有磯海
wase no ka ya wakeiru migi wa Arisoumi
Sweet-smelling rice fields!
To our right as we push through,
The Ariso Sea.
Translated by Donald keene
― Hidenori Hiruta
On September 14, Mr. Joshua Sellers gave us his comment on my haiku in the article ‘Basho’s stay in Kisakata, Akita(Part 1)’.
Mt. Chokai
rising in white clouds
dragonflies below
白雲の鳥海山に蜻蛉飛ぶ
Hakuun no choukaisan ni tonbo tobu
He says in his comment, “This is a beautiful haiku. The contrast between the massive mountain and its stillness and the dragonflies darting about creates a truly beautiful image.”
He also says in his e-mail, “Oh, I have a question for you…This only occurred to me today—there is a piece of music for shakuhachi(honkyoku) that is called ‘Akita Sugagaki’ (which translates as ‘reed fence’). I was curious to know if the ‘Akita’ mentioned in the title of music is the same as the town Akita?”
Mr. Joshua Sellers enjoys playing the shakuhachi (尺八). His performance of the shakuhachi is shown on his homepage“Sketches From Life ( a haiku journal by Joshua Sellers) ”: http://haikuist.wordpress.com/.
I answered his question as follows:
「琴古流本曲 秋田菅垣
琴古手帳によれば、秋田にて梅翁子から伝えられた曲と言われている。秋田地方に伝承された菅垣と理解されているが、詳細は不明。」
The note of the Kinko school says,“This piece of music was passed down in Akita district by the old shakuhachi player called ‘梅翁子 (Baioushi)’,’ Old Man Plum’, but the details are unknown.”
This time Mr. Joshua Sellers has read the following book, ‘Lucien Stryk, Cage of Fireflies: Modern Japanese Haiku Athens: Swallow Press, 1993’.
And he has contributed his book review.
First of all, we’d like to introduce him to you.
Mr. Joshua Sellers is a 39-year old musician and has been involved in various genres over the years. He is one half of the US/New Zealand rock duo, Joker and also records ambient music under the name of Murmur. After a very long hiatus from writing poetry and co-editing the (now-defunct) philosophy journal Heart Beats, he has returned to writing as a student of haiku. His blog, Sketches from Life is a journal recording his own explorations in writing. Josh currently lives in West Memphis, Arkansas.
Next we post his book review.
Anyone seeking books of Japanese haiku in English will immediately notice that the majority of the books available are translations of Bashō, followed by anthologies that include only Bashō, Buson and Issa, “the Big Three” of haiku. There are two things conspicuously missing・what about older haiku poets besides Bashō, Buson and Issa, and also: what about modern Japanese haiku?
True, Bashō, Buson and Issa are important, indispensable poets. There is good reason they are “the Big Three.” Naturally, they outshone their contemporaries. But there were other haiku poets of merit too. I find it annoying that so many other poets are almost impossible to find (unless you are able to pay several hundred dollars for R.H. Blyth’s out-of-print four-volume Haiku!). Why are there no translations of Sōgi, Kyorai, Onitsura and so many others? Imagine searching everywhere for recordings of classical music, finding only Bach, Beethoven and Mozart, but no Handel, Brahms and Schubert. Its puzzling.
Equally puzzling is the lack of modern Japanese poets, even Shiki. As far as I know, Burton Watson’s slim volume is the only book of Shiki’s haiku available in English. Recently, I have come across Lucien Stryk’s wonderful anthology, Cage of Fireflies: Modern Japanese Haiku. Sadly, even this books appears to be currently out-of-print.
Stryk reminds the reader that the tradition of hokku, later to be known as haiku, did not simply stop with “the Big Three,” but continued on its way into 20th century Japan. It is for this reason that the title of Stryk’s book comes from the following haiku, by Kasho:
Into the cage of
fireflies, mostly dead,
I send a breath.
I find the Stryk’s anthology lovely. Lucien Stryk is an American poet in his own right and unsurprisingly, this works to his advantage. Translation is a tricky task, especially with poetry. To compound matters, haiku is made of very few words・there isn’t a lot of “wiggle room” to begin with.
It has been said many times that translation is a balancing act between the objective and the subjective: accurately communicating the written text but at the same time, conveying the feeling and resonance of the original poem. Usually that balance is never quite met. In the case of Cage of Fireflies, I think Stryk errs on the side of subjectivity.
There is only one other English anthology of Japanese haiku I have found, Makoto Ueda’s Modern Japanese Haiku: An Anthology, published in 1974. Ueda also has a lovely anthology of Japanese haiku by female poets, Far Beyond the Field, another rare contribution to Japanese haiku dedicated to poets other than “the Big Three.” Comparing some of the poems with Ueda’s Modern Japanese Haiku confirms that Stryk may have taken some extra liberties with the Japanese text. Ueda’s anthology also includes the original Japanese text, the Romanised text and a literal word-for-word translation. For example, here is a haiku by Sōseki:
肩に来て人懐かしや赤蜻蛉 夏目漱石
(kata ni kite hito natsukashi ya akatonbo) (Natsume Soseki)
Red dragonfly
seeking company,
lands on my shoulder.
(Stryk, pg. 39)
It comes to my shoulder
longing for human company:
a red dragonfly.
(Ueda, pg. 46)
And here is the literal word-for-word (or character-by-character I should say!) rendering by Ueda:
Shoulder / to / coming / person / longs / : / red-dragonfly
Stryk obviously has taken a great liberty with the poem, placing the red dragonfly at the beginning of the haiku, rather than at the end, which is clearly how Sōseki wrote it in the Japanese. The English equivalent of the kireji (“cutting word”) is absent. The word order changes the perception of the moment as well. In Stryk’s version, we see the dragonfly searching about and then landing on the shoulder. It is a sharp image. How much can it really be considered Sōseki’s poem I can’t say.
In spite of this, I confess that I prefer Stryk’s translation to Ueda’s. I love Ueda’s anthology, but I can’t help but wish his translations were less wordy・and this is what I find appealing about Cage of Fireflies: here, the haiku are quite spare. This seems to be more in keeping with the Japanese haiku・they are extremely short, much shorter than what most haiku written in English are.
Here are just few lovely moments in Cage of Fireflies. This is one by Hakusen:
Night・over
sleeping children,
sound of the waves.
(pg. 44)
And this one by Rinka:
Butterflies gone,
how sharply blue
the sky.
(pg. 113)
And this one by Seishi, perhaps my favourite in this collection:
Dewy night,
blazing stars・
I’ll live forever
(pg. 103)
Stryk’s anthology contains some “seasonless” haiku, an innovation characteristic of some modern haiku. But one misleading thing about Cage of Fireflies is that he seems to have excluded those more radical poets who experimented with content and form. The only notable exception is Kaneko Tōta, with his mention of motorcycles, slums and steel mills. Not that I personally am really attracted to many of those more modern innovations myself, but admittedly it doesn’t reveal the diversity of modern Japanese haiku as Ueda’s anthology, which goes so far as to include four- and five-line haiku.
Nevertheless, Lucien Stryk’s Cage of Fireflies is a joy to read and gives readers in English a rare glimpse into modern Japanese haiku. I’m very pleased to add it to my haiku library.
~ Joshua Sellers
PS
Mr. Joshua Sellers gives us his comment, saying that he wants to add that he has discovered that Lucien Stryk’s book is actually still available directly through the publisher at the following link: http://www.ohioswallow.com/book/Cage+of+Fireflies
Posted by Hidenori Hiruta
Basho’s stay in Kisakata, Akita (Part 3)
2009/09/26
According to『おくのほそ道』(Oku no Hosomichi), ‘The Narrow Road to Oku’ ‘ translated by Donald Keene, 松尾芭蕉( Matsuo Basho )(1644-1694) arrived at Kisakata on the evening of August 1, 1689, when a misty rain started to fall, obscuring Chokai Mountain.
The next morning the weather cleared beautifully. When the morning sun rose in all its splendor, Basho and his party took a boat out on the lagoon on Kisakata. They put in first 能因島 (Nohin jima), Nohin Island, where they called at the remains of the hut in which 能因(Nohin)(988-?), a waka poet, lived in seclusion for three years.
After that, Basho and his party left for the opposite shore, where they landed from their boat, and they saw the cherry tree that stands as a memento of 西行法師(Saigyo hoshi)(1118-1190), Saigyo .
Then they called at the temple standing nearby. In those days it was called the Ebb-and-Flow-Pearls Temple(干満珠寺)(Kanman ju ji), which is now called 虫甘満寺(Kanman ji), the Kanman-Temple.
Seated within the priests’ quarters of the temple, Basho rolled up the bamboo blinds and took in all at once the whole spectacle of Kisakata. To the south loomed Mount Chokai, supporting the heavens; its image was reflected in the water. To the west, one can see as far as Muyamuya Barrier; to the east, the road over the embankment leads to Akita in the distance. The sea is to the north. The place where the waves of the sea breaks into the lagoon is called Tide-Crossing（汐越）(Shio-goshi). Kisakata is about two miles in either direction.
What did Basho and his companion Sora(曾良) enjoy?
Judging from some haiku written in『おくのほそ道』(Oku no Hosomichi), ‘The Narrow Road to Oku’ ‘ I suppose they enjoyed going by boat on the lagoon around there after visiting the temple that afternoon.
First of all they went to the place called ‘Tide-Crossing’ （汐越）(Shio-goshi) and enjoyed soaking their legs into the waters.
Basho’s haiku is this:
汐越や鶴はぎぬれて海涼し
Shiogoshi ya tsuru hagi nurete umi suzushi
Tide-Crossing―
The crane’s long legs are wetted
How cool the sea is!
Translated by Donald Keene
I’d like to add my note here:
‘鶴はぎ’ (tsuruhagi) means that ‘衣の丈が短くて、脛が長くあらわれていること’
, which is that ‘the length of a robe is short, and the long legs of a person who wears it is seen’ . Basho’s legs appeared as if they were the legs of a crane. That is because the Kanji characters ‘鶴‘ means ‘crane’ and ‘脛（はぎ）‘ means ‘shin or leg’.
The following notice in the picture is posted now at the place called ‘Tide-Crossing’ （汐越）(Shio-goshi) . It says that Basho used the name of ‘越長’ (Koshi-naga), not ‘汐越’ (Shio-goshi) in his first version of his haiku.
Basho and Sora also enjoyed boat-riding on the lagoon from island to island, having a nice view.of each island.
Sora wrote his haiku:
波こえぬ契ありてやみさごの巣
nami koenu chigiri arite ya misago no su
Did they vow never
To part till waves topped their rock?
The nest of the ospreys.
In memory of Basho’s stay
A basho tree was planted and is now growing in the garden of 虫甘満寺(Kanman ji), the Kanman-Temple in memory of Basho’s visit to Kisakata.
Donald Keene referred to a basho tree in the preface of 『おくのほそ道』(Oku no Hosomichi), ‘The Narrow Road to Oku’ ‘ as follows:
Like most other writers, artists, and even philosophers of the time, Basho was known by various names during the course of his life. The one by which he is best known, Basho, was derived from a tree in his garden: in 1681, when he moved to a bleak area of the city Edo, he planted a basho tree in order to improve the appearance of the garden. The basho, a variety of banana tree that bears no fruit, had a special meaning for poets: its broad green leaves are easily torn by the wind, a ready symbol for the sensitivity of the poet. Visitors began to refer to the place as the Basho-an (Cottage of the Basho tree), and before long Basho was using the name by himself.
Last of all I wrote my haiku for a basho tree in the garden of the temple.
芭蕉の木永遠にありしやねぶの花
Basho no ki towa ni ari si ya nebu no hana
The basho tree
staying for good―
the mimosa blossoms
This is the end of the title ‘Basho’s stay in Kisakata, Akita’.
― Hidenori Hiruta
