Haiku by Hidenori Hiruta in Japan (2)

 

First of all, I present you the following haiku I wrote when I visited 角館（かくのだて）(Kakunodate), Akita.

Hyakusui’s monument

stands in beauty

cherry blossoms

 

さくらばな百穂の碑を飾りけり

Sakurabana  Hyakusui no hi o  kazari keri

 

 

This is a monument inscribed with two tanka poems written by平福百穂（ひらふく ひゃくすい）(Hirafuku Hyakusui)(1877 – 1933), who was a Japanese-style painter as well as a tanka poet. He was born and brought up in 角館 (Kakunodate) , which is famous for the birthplace of 小田野直武 （おだの　なおたけ）(Odano Naotake)(1750 – 1780), one of the greatest painters of Akita ranga (秋田蘭画) , also known as the Akita-ha (秋田派). 

平福百穂 (Hirafuku Hyakusui) was greatly influenced by Akita ranga (秋田蘭画) and earnestly tried to introduce and spread its style, in which the Akita painters for the most part painted traditional Japanese themes and compositions using Western-style techniques and an approximation of oil paints.

The monument for Hyakusui’s tanka poems was erected in 角館 (Kakunodate) on September 9, 1944, with the two following tanka poems inscribed with.

　うつろへる川の流れを見るにさへ
　　　　　　　　　　　年ふりにけり国を出しより 

Seeing the current of the river moved in different sites,

I realize what many years have passed since I left hometown.

 

　　ひと時に芽吹き立ち匂ふみちのくの
　　　　　　　　　　　明るき春にあひにけるかも　　　

How lucky I have felt to be in such a bright spring of the Tohoku district,

where trees have just begun to bud all at once, giving nice smells! 

 

Secondly, I present some of my haiku I wrote when I visited 男鹿半島(Ogahantou), or

the Oga Peninsula in English.

Driving straight

down the coastline

sweetbriers

 

ドライブの海岸線の野バラかな

 

Sailing boat

through the islands

off bonds

 

島巡り絆を後に走りけり

 

Summer colours

call ogres

the Oga Peninsula 

 

夏の色ナマハゲを呼ぶ男鹿半島

 

Diving

into cobalt blue water

the Oga Isles

 

男鹿島や群青の海に飛び込めり

 

 

Thirdly, I present some haiku about summer.

Humid night

staring the cool

summer moon

 

夏の月湿った夜の涼味かな

 

 

Summer’s dream

someone sits in shade

Buddha’s posture

 

夏の夢仏陀が影に座りけり

 

 

Buddha’s rise

from the pond

lotus flower

 

池中より出づる仏陀や蓮の花

 

 

Falling winds

Hiroshima no more

prayers ring

 

風よわりヒロシマの祈り聞こえけり

 

Lastly, I present the latest haiku from my own blog: http://akitahaiku.blogspot.com/.

Permanent snow

cools the air

summer solstice

 

夏至の空万年雪の涼気かな

 

 

The shade

bathes in the water

summer isle

 

夏の島影水中に浴しけり

 

The next posting ‘Haiku by Brian McSherry in Japan (2) appears on July 24.

― Hidenori Hiruta

Haiku by Nobuko Johnson

 

Nobuko Johnson in Washington, USA, loves cherry blossoms and haiku.

In March, 2010, she made a haiku trip to Kumamoto（熊本）, Kyushu, Japan and enjoyed the cherry blossom-viewing there.

Nobuko Johnson kindly contributed haiku she wrote during her visit there.

Some haiku are about the cherry blossoms in full boom shown in the following photo, and others are about the countryside associated with cherry blossoms.

 

 The cherry tree is called “Isshingyou No Ouzakura(一心行の大桜)”, which is the oldest and largest in Kyushu, and is said to be over 400 years old, and about 22 meters high and about 30 meters wide.

 

Here is a photo of the signboard about this cherry tree in Japanese.

 

 

According to the signboard, this cherry tree was planted for the purpose of praying for the repose of a samurai “Nakamura Houkinokami Korefusa” , who was killed  in the battle in 1580. His wife and son are said to have returned to the hometown with a few vassals of his and have devoted themselves to praying for his soul and his vassals’ souls.

 

The cherry tree was planted in the graveyard, where there is a tombstone of Nakamura Houkinokami Korefusa among the tombs.

Now I post haiku by Nobuko Johnson in Japanese with some English interpretations.

 

谷おろす　桜吹雪に　傘いらず 

Tani orosu  sakura fubuki ni  kasa irazu

 

The wind blows from the mountain,

cherry blossoms have blown away,

you don’t need an umbrella this kind of blizzard

 

 

English Haiku, helped by Seren Fargo: 

 

 

Wind swept cherry blossoms,
no umbrella needed for this kind of blizzard
 

 

　南阿蘇　夢のごとくに　咲く桜 

(一心行の大桜、白水村）

 

Minamiaso  yume no gotoku ni  saku sakura

 

Southern Aso 

the cherry blossoms in bloom

as if in a dream

(“Isshingyou No Ouzakura” at Hakusui Village)

 

 　花曇　空へと続く　桜かな
 Hanagumori  sora e to tsuduku  sakura kana

 

Flower-like clouds

hanging up to the sky ― 

cherry blossoms

 

　春霞　山並みけむる　阿蘇の村　
Harugasumi  yamanami kemuru  Aso no mura 

 

Spring haze

all over the mountain

Aso village

 

　阿蘇の地の　夢追う人に　花吹雪
Aso no chi no  yume ou hito ni  hanafubuki 

 

Cherry blossom petals

falling like a shower

on the dreamer of Aso

 

　花見客　眠り眠れず　石の下　

Hanamikyaku  nemuri nemurezu  ishi no shita

 

Viewers of cherry blossoms ― 

sleepless

uder the stones

 
（一心行の桜の下には幾つか墓がありましたが、有名な桜を一目見ようというたくさんの花見客で、花見シーズンは墓の住人は静かに眠れないのではないでしょうか）

There are some tombstones under the “Isshingyou No  Ouzakura(一心行の大桜)” ,

but it seems that the souls dwelling in those tombs could not have a deep sleep during the cherry blossom- viewing  period,

because of a lot of viewers taking a glance of such famous cherry blossoms of the tree. 
 

 

　舞い降りて　蜜食う鳥の　花遊び

Maiori te  mitsu kuu tori no  hana asobi

 

  Flying down

the birds suck nectar ― 

playing with cherry blossoms

 

Here is a photo of cherry blossoms.

 

 

（竜峰山の５合目にある桜の展望台公園には、たくさんのメジロがきていました）

 There were a lot of white eyes coming to the observatory park of cherry blossoms at the fifth level of Mt. Ryuhou.

The next posting ‘Haiku by Kala Ramesh’ appears on June 5.

 

― Hidenori Hiruta

Haiku by Patricia Lidia for Int’l Haiku Spring Festival 2010 (4)

 

Let me introduce Patricia Lidia, a haiku poet, in Romania.

Our friendship started when I received an e-mail on April 7, 2010.

 

Dear Sir,

I am a younger collaborator of Mrs. Marioara Tirenescu and I am the translator of your haiku in Romanian. I took the liberty to translate them by using synonyms for the words you used, in order to be able to keep the 5-7-5 rule. I hope this is not a problem for you. I will just give you an example. In the winter haiku “The winter sun/breaks ―/Mt. Taihei”, I translated the verb “to break” as “falls into pieces” (but in Romanian has the same meaning). If this is ok with you, I will publish the haiku in Romanian, English and Japanese on my personal blog, mentioning your name and blog, and on different Romanian sites. However, if this is not ok, I will give you the Romanian translation (as it sounds in English) and ask for your approval.

Thank you and please excuse me for the trouble.
Patricia Lidia

Patricia Lidia, and Marioara Tirenescu mentioned in the e-mail above, kindly translated my haiku into Romanian and introduced them at their blogs.

My haiku are the ones at my blog: http://akitahaiku.blogspot.com/, some of which appeared in the Asahi Haikuist Network by David McMurray.

Patricia made a special page for my work at her blog:

http://patricialidia.wordpress.com.

Maria Tirenescu also made special pages for my work at her blog:
http://english.agonia.net/index.php/author/0010998/Maria%20Tirenescu
http://japanese.agonia.net/index.php/author/0010998/Maria%20Tirenescu

She writes haiku as well as tanka, which we can enjoy in her blog above.

 

On April 15, 2010, Patricia Lidia kindly contributed her haiku as well as some photos for our festival.

 

Spring  

On top of a hill,  

dissipating its perfume,  

a magnolia

 

春

丘の上に

芳香を放つ

モクレン

 

 

 

Waltz  

 

Holding hands in park  

on the old paths –  

traces in the snow  

 

ワルツ

公園で手を握りながら

古い小径で ―

雪の中トレース

 

Tulips  

Budding branch  –  

the army of turbans  

sits in the garden  

 

チューリップ

蕾吹く枝　―

ターバンを被る軍隊が

庭に座る

 

Silence

 

My footsteps on the road –  

the scent of cherry blossoms

hides me gently  

 

静寂

 

路上の私の足音 ―

桜の花の匂い

私はゆるやかに香りの中に溶け込む

 

 

presented by Hidenori Hiruta

 

End  

The bell rings –  

winter is falling once again  

over the living souls  

 

終わり

鐘が鳴る ―

冬がもう一度やって来る

生きている人たちの上に

 

Light

 

 

 

 

 

Snowing divine –

whispers of angels

arouse nostalgia.  

 

光

 

神々しく雪が降っている ―

天使たちの囁き

ノスタルジアが湧く

 

 

Hope  

White snowdrifts  

on the road side –  

a new beginning  

 

希望

白い風に吹かれる雪

道端に ―

新しい始まり

 

 

Smooth  

A deer  

over the white field –  

rest at dawn

 

滑らかさ

 

一頭の鹿

白い野原の向こうに ―

夜明けに休息

 

Thank you, onde again,
Patricia Lidia

Secondly, I show you how Patricia and I have been sharing and exchanging haiku and ideas as follows:

 

 

A new world  

under the sun –

passing dragonflies.

 

新世界

太陽の下　―

通り過ぎるトンボ

 

My comment is:

 

The image of   ’passing dragonflies’ is rather common in autumn in Japan. So it’s difficult to be associated with ‘A new world under the sun’.

Patricia’s answer is:

In the ‘A new world under the sun’ i was thinking about the fact that dragonflies, in Romania, live about one week and appear only during a month (in July). However, my first thought was of the grub of Ephemeride Polingenia (a species of insect that only lives in Danube) that has a life span of 1 day, but I did not find the translation of its name in English, but in Romanian it is called “rusalia”. Maybe a better evocation is:

A new world

under the sun –

passing rusal.

 

Traces of steps

at sunset –

frozen bumblebee.

 

足跡のトレース

夕焼け ―

凍てついたマルハナバチ

 

My comment is :

A little ambiguous, because it is difficult to see what traces of steps are.

What makes steps? Maybe frozen bumblebee does?

But the word ‘frozen’ means not to move and not to make any steps. 

Patricia’s answer is:

You are right with your comment. I was thinking like this: the bumblebee was caught by the snow and its traces are left in the snow, but in the end it has frozen. However, I have missed to integrate the work “snow”. I think it works better like this:

Traces of steps

at sunset –

shivering bumblebee

 

Last of all, I post some more haiku of Patricia’s.

A ladybug

dancing to the ground –

lilies bloom.

 

テントウムシ

地面に舞い降りぬ　―

百合の花が咲く

 

Lively beetles –

on the garden wires

traces of dew

 

元気な甲虫　―

庭のワイヤーの上に

露の跡

 

A grasshopper is silent

on a clover leaf –

my thought leaps.

 

キリギリスの音が聞こえない

クローバーの葉の上で ―

私の思いがひらめく

 

 

The blooming apple

flirts with a butterfly –

what a lovely romance!

 

花咲くりんご

蝶々と戯れあう ―

何てすてきなロマンス！

 

 

Summer night –

crickets take symphonies

under clear moon.

 

夏の夜　―

コオロギがシンフォニーを奏でる

澄んだ月の下

 

Summer rain –

chattering they walk

two umbrellas.

 

夏の雨　―

おしゃべりしながら歩く

二本の傘

 

 

Smell of lilies –

spring smiles

among butterflies.

 

百合の香り ―

春が微笑む

蝶々の間で

 

Ladybugs standing –

colorful spots

on the easel.

 

テントウ虫が立ち止まっている ―

色鮮やかな斑点　―

画架の上

Thank you.
Patricia Lidia

Last of all, let me decorate our on line festival with the photo flowers presented by Patricia Lidia, a haiku poet, in Romania.

 

The next posting ‘Haiku by John McDonald for Int’l Haiku Spring Festival 2010’ appears tomorrow on May 16.

― Hidenori Hiruta

Haiku by Professor Kirby Record (Part 1)

Professor Kirby Record teaches as director of English for Academic Purposes at Akita International University(AIU)(国際教養大学) in Akita.

He also writes haiku. He is a fellow haiku poet of mine.

 

On October 11 and 12, we participated in AIU Festival and exhibited works of haiku posted on the website, giving haiku activities, such as some haiku quiz.

During the event, Professor Kirby Record joined our activities and contributed his  book of poetry titled “A Welcome Coolness” to me.

 

I post poetry in his book, dividing them into some parts and giving them a Japanese translation, which isn’t sometimes literal. It’s me, Hidenori Hiruta who translated his poetry into Japanese.

The title of his book is derived from the following haiku:

 

a sudden breeze

in bright winter sunlight, leaves

a welcome coolness

 冬光に爽涼迎ふ風そよぐ

toko ni  soryo mukau  kaze soyogu

 

 春は花　　　　　　　　　Haru wa hana

夏ほととぎす             Natsu hototogisu

秋は月                   Aki wa tsuki

冬雪さえて               Fuyu yuki saete

すずしかりけり    　　　 Suzushi kari keri

道元禅師 

This poetry is Waka (和歌literally “Japanese poem”) written by Dogen Zenji (道元禅師)(1200-1253), a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher born in Kyoto, and the founder of the Soto school of Zen in Japan.

Professor Kirby Record translated it into English as follows:

 

“To everything there is a season.” 

Ecclesiastes

 

In Spring, cherry blossoms

In Summer, the cuckoo,

In Autumn, the moon,

In Winter, the snow,

Cold and clear.

 

Dogen　Zenji

 

Here I post haiku about spring by Professor Kirby Record.

 

 

sunset floating

with a single cherry blossom

over green stones

夕焼けの緑石の上桜花

yuyake no  ryokuseki no ue  sakurabana 

 

 

in the rain

cherry blossoms start

falling faster

 雨の中散り急ぐかな桜花

ameno naka  chiri isogu kana  sakurabana

 

 this first hike of spring

following another’s shadow

resting on my own

初ハイク人の影追ひ我に依る

hatsu haiku  hito no kage oi  ware ni yoru

 

an empty house

only pictures on the wall

spring rain

 春の雨空き家の壁に絵画のみ

haru no ame  akiya no kabe ni  kaiga nomi

 

  sudden gust  opens my front door  into spring

 玄関を風吹き開けて春と化す

genkan wo  kaze fukinukete  haru to kasu

 

 turning  the curve of her waist  in spring light

春光に腰の曲線向き変わる

shunkou ni  koshi no kyokusen  muki kawaru

 

 april rains

all－white stones of many shades

rushing water

四月の雨影のある白石走る水

shigatsu no ame  kage no aru hakuseki  hasiru mizu

 

back from a walk

the fresh scent of weed

on tattered blue jeans

 散歩から帰る草の新鮮な匂ひボロボロの青いジーンズ

sanpo kara kaeru  kusa no sinsen na nioi  boroboro no aoi ji―nzu

  

spring rain  futon on tatami  mozart faintly

春の雨畳の上の布団モーツアルト微かに

haru no ame  tatami no ue no futon  mo―tsuaruto 　kasukani

 

 Last of all, I post some pictures of cherry blossoms I took this spring, because Professor Kirby Record’s haiku and Dogen Zenji’s waka reminded me of my visit to Kakunodate（角館）.

Kakunodate（角館）in Akita flourished as a castle town. The attractive view of the many remaining samurai premises surrounded by black fences and cherry trees gives the town an appearance similar to that of Kyoto and is called “Little Kyoto”.

 

Cherry Trees Along the Hinokinai River Bank

 

The bank of Hinokinai River is designated as a scenic spot of Japan. At the end of April, residents and visitors enjoy viewing the cherry blossoms under the tunnel of cherry blossoms of the Somei Yoshino cherry trees that stretches for two kilometers along the river bank.

 ―　Hidenori Hiruta

 

 

Basho’s cherry blossoms

Since the April flowers have come and gone, the May flowers have been coming out and blooming one after another here in Akita.  The other day Thorfinn Tait from the UK happened to see some Enkianthus flowers, called 満天星 (dodantsutsuji) in Japanese.  He took a picture of the flower, deeply moved by its beauty.

Just as its Kanji characters show,  Enkianthus has innumerable flowers like the innumerable stars in the sky.  The following haiku is about this flower:

煌めきや満天星星のごと

Kirameki ya  dodantsustsuji  hoshi no goto

Twinkling－

Enkianthus has blossoms

as if they were stars