H
A I K U S P
I R I T
Japanese
Haiku 2001
FROM:
JAPANESE HAIKU 2001
Published and edited
by the MODERN HAIKU
ASSOCIATION (GENDAI HAIKU KYOKAI)
Translations by Eric
Selland, Philip Zitowitz and Martin Lucas
IMPORTANT
Aro Usuda
(1879-1951)
Oh, a cuckoo -
how far should I walk
until I meet somebody
Into the shrieking north
wind
a hawk flies
aiming for Mount Fuji
On the tip of a branch
hangs the setting sun
- autumn wind
Growing dark as usual
from the depth of a snowstorm
a huge solar disk
Santoka Taneda
(1882-1940)
I disappear into the winter
rain
Hailstones
Into my iron bowl for alms
Other
haiku by Santoka Taneda
Hosai Ozaki
(1885-1926)
Even when I cough
alone
I walk round
to the back of the gravestone
Other
haiku by Hosai Ozaki
Hisajo Sugita
(1890-1946)
Let my best kimono fall
around my feet
colorful cords in a tangle
Echoing -
A mountain cuckoo has
its own way
Shuoshi Mizuhara
(1892-1981)
Carp in midwinter
keeping still
their fins drooping
Suju Takano
(1893-1976)
From the eaves
of the abbot's chamber
flutters a spring butterfly
In the sky flying in one
cloud
cherry blossoms
Issekiro Kuribayashi
(1894-1961)
A cannon's muzzle
pointed at me
from the New Year's newspaper
Summer grasses
after the war
kitchen fires burn
Takako Hashimoto
(1899-1963)
Lightning
from the north
so I gaze toward the north
Seiho Awano
(1899-1992)
Mountain after mountain
wild cherry blossoms
after wild cherry blossoms
A forest fire
as in my long-ago dream
Hakko Yokoyama
Evening -
breaking off some cherry blossoms
she shows her white throat
Butterflies flutter
while I talk
with the dead
Koi Nagata
(1900-1997)
A young boy -
like spring
after sixty years
Other
haiku by Koi Nagata
Sanki Saito
(1900-1962)
In Hiroshima
my mouth opens
when I eat a n egg
Sojo Hino
(1901-1956)
The morning glory droops
its desire fulfilled
A sleepy kitten
picked up by the scruff
sleeps on
Kusatao Nakamura
(1901-1983)
Water in winter
reflecting the tiniest twig
Fujio Akimoto
(1901-1977)
As I slapped my child
the moment lasted forever
cicadas were singing in the
heaven
Seishi Yamaguchi
(1901-1994)
Winter winds
blow into the sea
no way to come home
Stars on a desolate field
moved
to the ocean
Other
haiku by Seishi Yamaguchi
Kakio Tomizawa
(1902-1962)
Only two blades of grass
growing:
time -
Kanseki Hashi
(1903-1992)
When fire is appraoching
how quiet are
withered grasses
Mudo Hashimoto
(1903-1974)
Troops for Mandchuria
packed in
the freight train lurches forward
I move
and
feel cold
Life without war comes
summer festival
Tatsuko Hoshino
(1903-1984)
Spring thunder -
the moment comes and leaves
far, far away
A bonfire
in the morning
as if finding happiness
Shuson Kato
(1905-1993)
Whenever larches awake
snow is falling
In the fire
watching a peony crumble
Open mouths
in the A-bomb panorama
my open mouth - the chill
A bright-eyed pheasant
sold
Other
haiku by Shuson Kato
Seito Hirahata
(1905-1997)
Stepped on an Alaskan
glacier
with dirty shoes
Nanso Uchida
(1906- )
The sea is deep blue
wouldn't mind being shot
in the back
Hosaku Shinohara
(1906-1936)
Ant! After climbing up
to
the top of the rose
the
sun is still a long way off
Ayako Hosomi
(1907-1997)
Swallow - swallow
a
bird that likes mud
Escargot
small
as peas
each
moving its tentacles
Atsushi Azumi
(1907-1988)
A lamp sller
lights
a lamp
on
a foggy night
Sayu Togo
(1908-1991)
Chief justice
the
beach disappeared
so
the shellfish did, too
Takeo Nakajima
(1908-1988)
Becoming a trout
dawn
becoming
transparent water
Tatsunoke Ishibashi
(1909-1948)
Night-school student!
have
you no hat
but
a soldier's hat
Keiro Ishikawa
(1909-1975)
So cold
I
laughed
my
wife laughed, too
The sound of bamboo
shedding
its skin
releases
sparrows
Soshu Takaya
(1910-1999)
In my head
a
white summer field
Falling cherry
blossoms
as
the sea is so blue
fall
onto the sea
Akira Mitani
(1911-1978)
Sea lice
live
without shadows
die
without shadows
Hakyo Ishida
(1913-1969)
picking out
the
most beautiful rose,
spring
thunder
Time
beyond
the deep blue
of
a morning glory
Hakusen Watanabe
(1913-1969)
Street lamps
for
collecting moisture in the night
fog
The summer sea
one
sailor lost
Sonoko Nakamura
(1913-
)
Yesterday
I
became a tree
standing
on a spring hill
Kihachi Wachi
(1913-
)
Good be the world
I
warm my sleeping child's feet
Taiho Furusawa
(1913-2000)
Saw a Russian film -
so fat
a
winter carrot
Hiryoshi Tagawa
(1914-1999)
When weak
I'm
at my strongest
I
buy some violets
Covered with snow
no
footsteps heard
on
the red bridge
Nobuko Katsura
(1914-
)
I'm here
where
I was yesterday
the
first sunrise of the year
Ashio Hori
(1916-1993)
A deer is lonely
wherever
he stands
holding
the sun on his antlers
Pulling my child
by
the hand
I
carry potatoes