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202 Basho Verses
A Collection of English
Translations
by Dr. Gabi Greve
from the
Matsuo Basho Archives –– World Kigo
Database
A study resource compiled by
Elaine Andre, 2014
Selected
translations from the 1031 verses by Matsuo Basho (1644 – 1694)
for study
purposes only – use by permission –
Matsuo Basho - Bronze Sculpture - Otsu City,
Shiga
How to use this resource:
Each verse, (below),
is listed in the alphabetical order of the 1st word in romanji - the
phoenetic equivalent for pronouncing Japanese words (shown below in bold font
above its English translation).
Dr. Greve’s translations appear in a contrasting
color to the rest of the text. Most of the kanji and/or hiragana, as well as
additional information (links to resources, and background information), have
been omitted for brevity.
To locate
the verse in the WKD – Matsuo Basho Archives:
2. Find the alphabetical links under “-CONTENTS-“
(right-hand column)
3. Click the link appropriate to the 1st word of the romaji (as
shown below)
4. Scroll down to the entry listed by its romaji
5. Click on it to navigate to the page where the verse is listed
6. Scroll down to the matching entry
Notes: to navigate to verses in the Matsuo Basho Archive of the WKD that are not included in this study, located them by the first word in the Romaji, as
described above.
Dr. Greve updates the information from time to time, so please check for additions or corrections to her entries.
(This collection for study purposes - June, 2014.)
Translations
by Dr. Gabi Greve
ajisai ya katabira doki no usu-asagi
these hydrangeas -
time for a linen kimono
in light blue
Basho age 41.
usugi - the color named usugi, asagi: color #edd3a1
katabira - unlined (linen) kimono
aki ki
ni keri mimi o tazunete makura no kaze
autumn has come -
the wind has come to visit
my ear at the pillow
Basho age 34
This hokku is in the style of the Danrin School with a
personification of the autumn wind.
There is also a waka by Fujiwara no Toshiyuki:
aki kinu to me ni wa sayaka ni miene domo
kaze no oto nizo odorokaenuru
Autumn has come
Without realizing clearly
With eyes, however,
The sound of wind
Surprises us.
aki no
iro nukamiso tsubo mo nakari keri
Kukuu, Kuku had asked Basho for a hokku that he could add to a
scroll painting of priest Kenkoo Kenko called "Nukamiso tsubo".
he does not even have
a pot in the colors of autumn
for fermented miso paste . . .
Written in 1691, Basho age 48
Kenko did not have much possesions, some say only one pot to
wash his hands and take his meal. He kept this possession on his daily walks
praying for food.
nukamiso salted rice-bran paste for pickling, barley miso
WASHOKU - Miso, Miso paste
This is kept in special pots with a lid, even now in the
"color of autumn".
This hokku is one sentence and has the cut marker KERI at the
end of line 3.
It is best to start the translation from the end.
Yoshida Kenkoo, Yoshida Kenko (1283? –
1350?)
Tsurezuregusa - "Essays in Idleness"
aki no
kaze Ise no hakahara nao sugoshi
wind of autumn
the graveyard at Ise
now even more dreadful
Written in 1689, Basho age 46
Basho at the graveyard of priest Arakida.
sugoshi, sugoi, is a very strong emotional expression.
Arakida is the name of the priest family caring for Ise shrine. This
is the Arakida family graveyard.
Arakida Moritake (1473 - August 30,1549), (dates vary, now
celebrated on September 15) was a famous waka and haikai poet. Moritake is the
ancestor, forefather of haikai poetry together with Basho from Iga
There is a waka by Saigyo, using SUGOKI:
fukiwatasu kaze ni aware o hitoshimete
izuku mo sugoki aki no yuugure
aki
totose kaette Edo o sasu kokyoo
ten autumns -
now I think of Edo
as my hometown
Basho has lived in Edo now for ten years and feels it is his
home now. He sets out on a trip to his hometown in Iga, Ueno.
totose - an expression from the Genji Monogatari.
Hashi Hime, Hashihime
sono hito mo kashiko ni te use haberi ni shi nochi, totose amari
nite
Quote:
A pictorial subject based on "The Lady at the Bridge"
Hashihime, Chapter 45 of GENJI MONOGATARI (The Tale of Genji).
The last ten chapters of the Tale are known as UJI JUUJOU (The
Ten Books of Uji). This chapter, the first of the ten, introduces the Eighth
Prince Hachi no miya 八宮, a half-brother of Genji, and his two daughters, Ooigimi and
Naka no kimi, who live with him in his self-imposed retirement at Uji (south of
Kyoto). The prince is known for his piety and wisdom. Kaoru, whose serious
character is engendered by deep misgivings about his paternity, begins to study
under Hachi no miya.
Eventually he learns from Ben no kimi, the daughter of
*Kashiwagi's wet nurse, that he is not in fact Genji's son, but rather the
illegitimate son of Kashiwagi. The scene most frequently chosen for
illustration shows Ooigimi playing a lute biwa and Naka no kimi a harp koto
under the moon and clouds while Kaoru secretly peers in through a break in the
villa's bamboo fence.
This scene survives in a section of the earliest illustrated
version (12c) in the Tokugawa Art Museum.
Source: Jaanus
ame no hi ya seken no aki o Sakai choo
this rainy day -
(I leave behind) the autumn of the every-day-world
entering Sakai town
Matsuo Basho, age 35, in 1678
seken ... has a special notion as a place including the
hardships and vicissitudes of every day life.
.
Even on such a rainy day
This world's autumn has
A border with the pleasure quarter.
(Tr.
Thomas McAuley)
a rainy day
the autumn world
of a border town
(Tr.
Jane Reichhold)
ano
naka ni maki e kakitashi yado no tsuki
into this roundness
I want to draw a maki-e painting -
moon over my inn
it's inside I'd like
to line with lacquer:
moon at the inn
(Tr.
Barnhill)
On that sphere
I'd draw with gold and silver -
O'er an inn the moon.
(Tr.
Nelson/Saito)
Basho age 45
Nozarashi Kiko. At a lodging in Kiso, where he was offered a
rustic sakazuki sake cup with a simple maki-e lacquer motif or even a plain one
with no image at all.
Quote:
Maki-e, literally “sprinkled picture,” is Japanese lacquer
sprinkled with gold or silver powder as a decoration using a makizutsu or a
kebo brush. The technique was developed mainly in the Heian Period (794–1185)
and blossomed in the Edo Period (1603–1868). Maki-e objects were initially
designed as household items for court nobles, they soon gained more popularity
and were adopted by royal families and military leaders as an indication of
power.
ariake
mo misoka ni chikashi mochi no oto
even dawn gets closer
to the last day of the year -
the sound of pounding mochi
Written in 1693, Genroku 6, Basho age 50
This was the last time he spent the New Year in Edo. It is also
the last time for him to spend the New Year, he died on the road in the
following year, Genroku 7.
Kigo for mid-winter
sound of pounding mochi, mochi no oto , pounding mochi in the
cold, kantsuki)
Basho's hokku is an allusion to a waka by the famous poet
Yoshida Kenko, Yoshida Kenkoo. 1283? – 1350? :
aritodani hito ni shirarenu mi no hodo ya
misoka ni chikaki ariake no tsuki
asacha
nomu soo shizuka nari kiku no hana
drinking morning tea
the monk becomes peaceful -
chrysanthemum flowers
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.
At temple Soozuiji, Katada, Otsu town
asagao
ni ware wa meshi kuu otoko kana
by the morning-glories
I am this rice-eating
fellow . . .
In response to Kikaku's firefly poem with morning glories a man
eats breakfast — that is what I am asagao I ni I ware I wa I ...
based on the proverb "Some worms eat nettles":
kusa no to ni ware wa tade kuu hotaru kana
within the grassy gate
a firefly eats nettles –
that is what I am
Compared to Kikaku (who liked nightly outings with the ladies)
Basho states: I am a serious type, getting up early (with the asagao) and eat
my rice cooked properly (gohan o itatdaite imasu).
Master Basho, wishing to warn against his disciple's
dissipation, copied the priest Honen's pledge against drinking, added this
hokku to the end, and sent it to Kikaku
Other translations:
with morning glories
a man eats breakfast
--that is what I am
(Tr.
Ueda)
one who breakfasts
with morning glories:
that's what I am
(Tr.
Barnhill)
asamutsu
ya tsukimi no tabi no ake-banare
six in the morning -
my trip for moon-viewing
ends at dawn
Written on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month (full moon day) in
the year 1689
It is said Basho wrote 15 haiku wandering around in this night,
which were recorded by Miyazaki Keikoo (? - 1725), a haiku poet in Mino (Gifu),
a samurai from Ogaki
This was the last one when it became light.
It is also a kind of pun of ake-mutsu and akarui, to become
light in the morning.
Asamutsu is also the name of a bridge he crossed in Fukui.
Oku no Hosomichi - Basho in Tsuruga
Another translation:
Around six in the morning
my moon viewing journey
breaks off at break of dawn
(Tr.
Liza Dalby)
asatsuyu
ya nadete suzushiki uri no tsuchi
morning dew -
the cool earth on the melon
when I pat it
Basho talks about the makuwa uri, an Oriental melon. He liked to
pat them to feel the coolness. This haiku was written in 1694.
Other versions:
asa-tsuyu ni yogorete suzushi uri no doro
In the morning dew
Dirty, but fresh,
The muddy melon.
(Tr.
Blyth)
In monring dew,
dirty, but oh so very cool--
mud on the melon.
(Tr.
Carter)
Wet with morning dew
and splotched with mud, the melon
looks especially cool
(Tr.
Alan Chung?)
Makoto Ueda gives a version of the haiku as:
asatsuyu ni yogorete suzushi uri no tsuchi
in the morning dew
spotted with mud, and how cool--
melons on the soil
asayosa
o taga Matsushima zo katagokoro
Basho was planning his trip to Sendai and Matsushima (Oku no
Hosomichi) and was looking forward to see this famous place:
day and night
it is only Matsushima -
my great longing
This last haiku has no season word. Basho argues that if it has
a well-known place name like Matsushima, there is no need for a season and it
will be in the section of "miscellaneous" haiku.
[miscellaneous: Zappai]
asu wa
chimaki Naniwa no kareha yume nare ya
by tomorrow
the Chimaki leaves from Naniwa will become dry
and become a dream . . .
Basho age 34.
Tomorrow is the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Boy's
Festival or Seasonal Festival of the Fifth Month, Tango no Sekku.
This hokku has the cut marker YA at the end of line 3.
This refers to a waka by Saigyo:
Tsu no kuni no Naniwa no haru wa yume nare ya
ashi no kareha ni kaze wataru nari
In the land of Tsu,
that glorious Naniwa spring -
only just a dream?
Over the dead leaves of reeds
a harsh wind blows.
(Tr.
Sam Hamill)
awa
hie ni toboshiku mo arazu kusa no io (an)
(or)
awa
hie ni mazushiku mo nashi kusa no an
foxtail and barn millet
are not scarce at all -
this thatched hut
Written on the 20th day of the 7th lunar month, 1688, Oi Nikki
At the home of Chookoo 長虹 Choko in Nagoya.
Greeting hokku for a kasen with his disciples.
Choko was a priest at the temple Gedatsu-Ji in Nagoya. In the
temple compound was the "grass hut" Chikuyooken, Chikuyo-Ken,
"Hermitage of Bamboo Leaves". Basho observes that the priest had
enough to eat, but it was very simple fare, just all kinds of millet, not even
rice.
ayamegusa
ashi ni musuban waraji no o
I shall tie
irises to my feet -
sandal thongs
Grass of the sweet flag -
I shall use them to tie
my straw sandals
(Tr.
Shirane)
I will bind iris
Blossoms round my feet―
Cords for my sandals!
(Tr.
Keene)
It looks as if
Iris flowers had bloomed
On my feet -
Sandals laced in blue.
(Tr.
Yuasa)
Basho on his way from Sendai to Hiraizumi.
Quote:
In 1689 Matsuo Basho crossed the Natori River and entered
Sendai, Miyagi on ‘ The Narrow Road to Oku.’ It was the day they celebrate by
converting their roofs with ‘Sweet flags’, or Calami’. He visited there around
the time of the Sweet Flags Festival (5th day of Fifth Month, also called the
Boy’s Festival), when sweet flags were displayed on the eaves of houses to
drive away evil spirits, or they took “Shobuyu, or (bath with floating sweet
flag leaves)” baths.
The leaves keep mosquitoes and snakes away with strong
fragrance. As the strong fragrance was believed to drive away bad air, people
began to take baths with sweet flag leaves. Furthermore, the plant ‘Sweet Flag’
was believed to be a symbol of the samurai’s bravery because of its sharp
sword-like leaves. Even now many families with young boys enjoy “Sweet Flag
Bath (shobu yu)” in the Boy’s Festival on May 5. - Akita Haiku
ayu no
ko no shirauo okuru wakare kana
young ayu sweetfish
are seeing off the whitefish
and say good bye . . .
Written in 1689. Matsuo Basho and a bit of "personification"
The whitefish are the first to go upstream to spawn, the ayu
follow them one month later.
Basho and Sora (whitefish) are ready to depart for "Oku no
Hosomichi" and he has to leave his young disciples (ayu no ko) behind at
Senju.
This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.
Oku no
Hosomichi - - - Station 2 - Departure at Senju
bashoo
uete mazu nikumu ogi no futaba kana
we planted the banana tree
but now I hate the first sprouts
of the ogi reeds . . .
having planted the bashoo,
now I despise them:
the reed sprouts
(Tr.
Barnhill)
Written in the spring of 1681
This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.
His disciple Rika had given him one banana plant and this is his
"thank you" hokku. They had planted it at his new home, later called
the "Basho An". Basho worries that the fast-growing reeds might take
away the nourishment for his banana tree.
ogi - common reed, Miscanthus sacchariflorus
After exploring the "family ties" of Basho, we next
read a bit about his living quarters, the "hut" or hermitage.
bashooha
o hashira ni kaken io no tsuki
one banana leaf
placed on the pillar -
the moon above my hut
Matsuo Basho, age 49
After he had come back from three years travelling, his friends
had set him up again at Bashoan, the Banana Hut at Fukagawa, Edo. His discipled
had take off one leaf and written eight haiku on its backside. This was placed
on one of the pillars. From his hut, Basho enjoyed to watch the autumn moon.
In the accompanying text, Basho compares himself to two Chinese
sages, who also enjoyed the banana plant leaves:
Zhang Hengqu (1020-1077) and Huaisu (725-785).
"The monk Huaisu ran his brush along it;
Zhang Hengshu gained strength for his studies
just by gazing upon the emerging leaves."
byoogan
no yosamu ni ochite tabine kana
like a sick goose
fallen ill on a cold night
I sleep on this journey . . .
(Paraverse
Gabi Greve)
a wild goose falls
ill in the cold night;
itinerant sleep
(Tr.
Haldane)
a sick goose
falling in the night’s cold:
sleep on a journey
(Tr.
Barnhill)
Written in 1689, Basho age 47.
Basho was visiting friends at the temple Honpuku-Ji in Katata
(Katada) and fell ill himself. His disciple Mikami Senna cared for him.
This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.
Ando Hiroshige - Descending Geese at Katata
One of the 8 scenes of Omi
chi ni
taore ne ni yori hana no wakare kana
I fall to the ground
closer to the roots to bid farewell
to this cherry blossom . . .
falling to the ground,
returning to the roots:
a flower’s farewell
(Tr.
Barnhill)
Down on the ground,
bowing to the very roots -
farewell to flowers
(Tr.
Hamill)
Written at the death of his Zen teacher, priest Tandoo, Tando in
1686.
Not much is known about this priest.
hana here is a reference to the cherry blossoms in spring.
This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.
The poem is a honkadori to an waka by Sutoku-In (Sudoku-In)
the retired Emperor Sutoku (1119 - 1164)
chichi
haha no shikiri ni koishi kiji no koe
Father, mother dear!
I hear as I mourn for you –
hear the pheasant's cry!
The voice of the pheasant;
how I longed
for my dead parents!
(Tr.
Blyth)
Written in 1688, Basho age 45
at Mount Koyasan. He had been to Iga Ueno to celebrate the
important 33th death anniversary of his father.
There is also a waka by Gyoki Bosatsu (Gyooki Bosatsu) (668-749
AD) Gyōki
yamadori no horohoro to koe kikoeba
chichi zo omou haha ka to zo omou
Listening
to the cry of a pheasant
I wonder:
Could it be my father?
Could it be my mother?
(Tr.
Ueda)
choo
mo kite su o suu kiku no namasu kana
a butterfly also comes
to sip vinegar from pickled
chrysanthemum petals . . .
This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.
Written in autumn of 1690
Chooshoo
no haka mo meguru ka hachitakaki
are they walking around
the grave of Choshoshi ?
Hachitataki ceremony
Basho remembers Kinoshita Choshoshi (1569 - 1649)
fuji
no mi wa haikai ni sen hana no ato
fuji beans
as theme for our haikai -
after the flowers
Seki, where Izen lived, was quite famous for its wisteria
flowers, but when Basho arrived, it was autumn. So he composed this poem for
his host, Hirose Izen, who had come all the way from Seki.
(Maybe Izen was insecure about the various possibilities of
haikai and this was an instruction for him.)
For Basho, anything at hand was worth a subject for a greeting
poem and haikai session. This shows his true haikai spirit.
Matsuo Basho, Oku no Hosomichi at Oogaki / Ogaki
Fuji
no yama nomi ga chausu no ooi kana / cha-usu
Mount Fuji
like the tea-grinding mill
carried by the lice . . .
Basho age 33
To compare Mount Fuji to a cha-usu, a mill for grinding tea
leaves, has been done since olden times.
This is complete fiction to show the greatness of Mount Fuji.
There was a popular song in Edo to which Basho is referring:
The lice are carrying a tea-grinding mill
carrying it on their back
just trying to climb over Mount Fuji.
It was also a popular game to cover a tea-grinding mill with
strong washi paper to make it look like Mount Fuji.
Fuji
no yuki Rosei ga yume o tsukasetari
snow on Mount Fuji -
Rosei creates the world
in his dream
Basho
age 34
He
compares the fresh white snow of mount Fuji to the mountain of silver which the
young Rosei saw in his dream.
The proverb is:
Kantan no Makura -
Pillow of Kantan
Kantan yume no makura
Kantan is a city in China.
Kantan is now also a famous Noh Play
Rosei no yume, Kantan no yume
Quote: the Chinese tale of Lu Sheng, in Japanese: Rosei), (713 -
741)
a young man who falls asleep in the Zhao capital of Handan), and
dreams of glory but wakes to find that the millet at his bedside has not even
begun to boil. However, in the manner of a roman à clef the reader is given
visual and textual clues that the characters actually represent contemporary
figures such as the kabuki actor Segawa Kikunojō II and these figures' personal
lives are parodied.
summer grasses--
traces of dreams
of ancient warriors
"... The emphemerality, the dream-like nature of such
"ambitions" (yume), is foreshadowed in the opening phrase of the
prose passage ("in the space of a dream," 'issui no yume'), a
reference to the Noh play 'Kantan', about a man (Rosei) who napped and dreamed
a lifetime of glory and defeat while waiting for dinner. ..." - Harao Shirane
Rosei kantan issui no yume
Lu Sheng's Transient Dream at Handan
furazu
tomo take uu hi wa mino to kasa
even if it does not rain
they plant on bamboo planting day -
a mino-raincoat and a rain-hat
According to the old Chinese tradition, bamboo planted on the 31
day of the fifth lunar month, this bamboo would certainly take roots and grow
well. This custom was also appreciated in Japan, where bamboo planting began
just at the beginning of the rainy season.
Basho uses the expression "mino to kasa" to describe
the looks of the farmers planting bamboo.
furusato
ya hozo no o ni naku toshi no kure
my home town -
I weep over my navel string
at the end of the year
Written in 1687, Oi no Kobumi
This hokku has the cut marker YA at the end of line 1.
Japanese mothers keep the umbilical cord as a memento of the
birth of their babies.
heso no o, hozo no o - umbilical cord
When Basho has the chance to hold it in his hands again in Iga
Ueno, he is overwhelmed with the memories of his late mother and father.
furusato - a very important feeling in Japan
fuyu
shiranu yado ya momi suru oto arare
no winter is known
in this home - hulling rice with the sound
of hail
Written in 1684, Basho age 41.
This hokku has the cut marker YA in the middle of line 2.
Basho visited the area around Takenouchi Village and Nagao.
He observed a son hulling the rice carefully to give good food
to his old mother.
The mountain village of Nagao in the province of Yamato is not
so far from the capital and thus not quite a typical "mountain
village" . . .
It has the atmosphere of the "Holy Horai Mountain" of
ancient China.
hoorai 蓬莱 Buddhist mountain Horai - a mountain in China, where people
would live forever.
The farmer had built a separate room (inkyobeya) for his aging
mother in the back yard.
The village is located close to Temple Taimadera.
Chris Drake wrote:
fuyu shiranu yado ya momi-suru oto arare
hail hits a house
where there are no winters --
rice-hulling sounds
This is a late autumn hokku from the middle of the 9th month
(October) in 1684, when Basho was visiting someone in the Nagao area south of
Nara, not far from Taima Temple, where Chujo-hime was believed to have woven her
large Pure Land Mandala.
The man, a wealthy farmer, was warm-hearted and took care of his
aged mother very well. He built her a small house behind the main house where
she could have some privacy, and he designed a garden around her house that
looked like Mt. Horai (Penglai in Chinese) on the legendary Daoist Island of
Immortality located somewhere out in the eastern sea. On this island there were
said to be no winters or pain, fresh fruit was always available, and an elixir
of immortality could be taken. Basho says the farmer designed the garden as the
closest thing possible on this earth to the island's elixir of immortality,
since he wanted his mother to live many more years.
Hearing and seeing this, Basho greeted the man with the above
hokku. It has irony, hyperbole, and humor. The house (actually two houses, the
main house and the mother's smaller house in the garden) is so warm with human
feeling that winter never really comes to it, and yet the first hail of the
winter seems to be falling on it now, making quite a racket. How could this
possibly be? The answer of course is that the sound isn't made by hail but is
the somewhat similar loud grinding sound made by people just outside hulling
rice with a stone or earthen mortar. In this way Basho praises his host more
strongly by denying the opposite, telling him his house is truly a Daoist
paradise on earth filled with familial love and warmth in which the closest
thing to winter isn't related to winter at all: the hail-like sounds turn out
to be related to the source of warm food.
The farmers just outside or perhaps in a special workroom of the
house aren't beating the rice but are operating one or more advanced mortars
(invented in China) in which a revolving upper grindstone has replaced the less
efficient pestle used in earlier centuries.
If you scroll down to the bottom of the first site below you can
see a contemporary picture from the Edo period of five farmers operating a
hulling mortar with a long wooden crankshaft.
Chris Drake
momisuri - hulling rice, polishing rice
kigo for late autumn
ha ni
somuku tsubaki no hana ya yosogokoro
the camellia blossom
goes against the leaf -
absentmindedness
Basho age 41 or later
yoso gokoro, yoso-gokoro ... the heart goes astray . . .
hamaguri
no futami ni wakare yuku aki zo
the clamshell
divides in two and leaves
this autumn . . .
(like) a clamshell
divided in two we depart now
into this autumn . . .
The kakenotoba word with a double meaning here is
Futami - two bodies
This expression can be interpreted in many ways.
Here Basho thinks of his physical separation from Sora, who has
been his faithful companion on the road for so many weeks.
Basho also thinks of the body of his elder brother Matsuo
Hanzaemon, who had been home keeping the Basho family estate ever since Basho
left him, more than 24 years ago.
His brother loved hamaguri clamshells.
There are also translations, which interpret FUTAMI as a place
name in Ise.
Dividing like clam
and shell, I leave for Futami -
Autumn
hana
ayame ichiya ni kareshi Motome kana
this Ayame iris
has withered over night
like actor Motome . . .
Written on the 5th day of the 5th month in 1688, in Osaka. Basho
age 45.
Basho saw a performance with this young actor on the 4th day of
the 5th lunar month, probably at Yamatoya Jinbei za. But by next morning, the
actor had died. It is not quite clear what happened.
Basho was quite perplexed by this news and wrote this requiem
for him.
The hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.
WKD: ayame / Ayame iris
A favorite flower for the Boy's Festival of the 5/5 day.
Yamatoya Jinbei I, First Generation (? - 1704) Kabuki Actor and Theater
Group Leader in Kamigata (Osaka and Kyoto).
Yamatoya Jinbei II - Second son of I. Acted first on the Soun-Za
in Kyoto in 1701.
Yamatoya Jinbei III - He is famous for playing female roles at
the Soun-Za. In 1747 he also performed other roles.
hana
ni ukiyo waga sake shiroku meshi kuroshi
cherry blossoms in this fleeting world
my ricewine is white
my rice is black
Amid the blossoms' joy
a cruel world: My wine is cloudy and
My rice unmilled.
(Tr.
haikubandit)
Basho age 40
The meter of this poem is 6-7-5.
He is quite poor and has to drink "nigorizake", a
cheap white type.
His rice is not hulled and white, but "black", because
he has to eat unhulled genmai brown rice.
hana
ni yoeri haori kite katana sasu onna
drunk by cherry blossoms
a lady wearing a haori coat
and a sword
Basho age 38 to 40.
At that time, ladies never wore haori coats or had a sword in
the sash. That was samurai wear.
Maybe someone was using this as costume? When drunk with
blossoms, all things seem possible.
The meaning is not quite clear.
hana
no kumo kane wa Ueno ka Asakusa ka
cloud of blossoms
is that the bell from Ueno
or Asakusa?
haru
mo yaya keshiki totonou tsuki to ume
spring is slowly
taking shape -
moon and plum blossoms
Written in 1693.
Probably an inscription to a painting
The extra joy of seeing the moon with the plum blossoms, making
the arriving of spring even more pleasant.
From:
- Komojishi shuu, Komojishi Shu Collection -
hatsu
yuki ya saiwai an ni makariaru
first snow -
I am lucky to be here
in my own hut
Written on the 18th day of the 12th lunar month 1686, Basho age
43
This day was also considered as the 31st day of the 1st month
1687
Other sources place it on the ninth day of the 12th lunar month.
On that day he wrote about the first narcissus.
Basho was fond of "first snow" and made some trips to
friends when he heard the good news. Now finally it has started snowing on his
own home and he is happy to be there.
makari aru - an emphatic verbal prefix,
shows his great joy about the snow.
hito
shigure tsubute ya futte Koishikawa
a winter drizzle
and now - some hailstones falling
at Koishikawa
Written in 1677, Basho age 34
The cut marker YA is in the middle of line 2.
The name Koishikawa used to be written with the Chinses
characters means small stones, Basho here uses a pun with the hailstones.
Koishikawa is a locality within Bunkyo, Tokyo. It is located
nearby with the same name are two well regarded gardens: the Koishikawa
Botanical Garden (related to Tokyo University) in Hakusan, and the Koishikawa
hito-koe no e ni yokotau ya
hototogisu
a single call
comes across the inlet -
hototogisu
Basho was referring to a poem by Su Dongpo,
Su Dungpo (So Toba):
hokku nari Matsuo Toosei yado no haru
this is a hokku -
Matsuo Tosei's
home on New Year
1679, Basho age 36
On the first morning of the New Year
In 1678 he had put up his "shop sign" Tosei and become
a professional Haikai Master.
This hokku shows his strong self-confidence in his new
profession.
Toosei "Green Peach" was the nom de plume of Basho at
that time.
He sounds almost like a tweeter [tweet], sharing his joy and expectations with the world.
Later on, Issa uses the expression ora ga haru - "My
Spring", my New Year.
WKD: "spring in this lodge", "spring in my
home" - yado no haru.
kigo for the New Year
Maybe Basho was the first to use this expression?
ie wa
mina tsue ni shiragami no hakamairi
all family members
with canes and white hair
visiting graves
Matsuo Basho, 1656, at the local shrine of his village at Iga
Ueno
He had come home after a long time to celebrate O-Bon, the
Ancestor Festival, with his family.
O-Bon, a most important festival for the ancestors
ikameshiki
oto ya arare no hinoki-gasa
so harsh
the sound - hail
on my traveler's hat
Basho listens to the sound of hail bouncing off from his hat. This
is the only hokku where he uses ikameshii, so it must have been quite
frightening and special.
This hokku has the cut marker YA in the middle of line 2.
ikameshii - solemn, stern, harsh,
grave, dignified
hinokigasa - "cypress hat" cypress-bark hat
Nozarashi Kiko, 1684
iku
shimo ni kokoro Baseo no matsukazari
frost comes and goes
on the pine decoration
of my home
kokorobase is a word play Basho uses to imply himself (Baseo),
someone with a sincere heart.
How often the frost comes on the pine, the green does not change
and stands there in endurance.
Written in 1686, New Year
imo
arau onna Saigyoo naraba uta yoman
a woman washes taro -
if Saigyo were here
he would compose a poem
- - - - - other possibilities
a woman washes taro -
if I were Saigyo
I would compose a poem
a woman washes taro -
if she were Saigyo
she would compose a poem
Basho on his way to Ise shrine -
At Saigyoo-dani / Saigyō Valley, Uji Yamada. The sacred
Isuzugawa river flows through this valley.
One day Saigyo had to take shelter in the valley in a farmhouse
because of heavy rain.
The wife of the owner did not want him to stay, but he offered
her a poem. So she wrote a poem back and let him stay over night.
And now Basho had passed this place, with his memories of the
story about Saigyo.
The "imo" is a taro potato, grown in the mountain
regions of Japan.
Saigyō’s waka:
yo no naka o itoo made koso katakarame
kari no yadori o oshimu kimi kana
It's hard to despise
the whole world
as a borrowed lodging,
but that you should begrudge me
even one night's lodging!
(Tr. John Corrigan)
inasuzume
cha no kibatake ya nigedokoro
sparrows in the rice paddies
the field of tea plants
is your place to flee
Written in the autumn of 1691 at temple Gichu-Ji
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.
sparrows in the rice paddies
this field of tea plants -
yes, your place to flee
Rice-field sparrows
find the tea plantation
is their place of refuge.
(Tr.
Aitken)
Rice-field sparrows
can escape from hunters
in the groves of tea
(Tr.
Addiss)
rice-field sparrows
in the tea fields —
their refuge
(Tr.
Barnhill)
Sparrows in the rice paddy
consider the tea bushes
their hideout
(Tr.
Dalby)
inochi
koso imo dane yo mata kyoo no tsuki
the source of life
in these taro seed potatoes - again
the moon of tonight
Basho about 25
Written in Iga Ueno, before moving to Edo.
The cut marker YA is in the middle of line 2.
kyoo no tsuki is the "moon of the taro potatoes"
This hokku has the okashimi teasing flavor of the Danrin school
of hokku.
Sato-imo. satoimo, Taro potatoe
kigo for all autumn
- - - - - and
taneimo, tane-imo, seed potato of taro
kigo for mid-spring
imo meigetsu "taro moon"
the full moon in mid-autumn of the lunar calendar.
It was custom to boil the new sprouts of the taro and prepare a
soup with it
"to nourish the life of all generations".
from one satoimo there are some generations
oyaimo - parent potato
koimo - child potato
magoimo - grandchildren potato
irozuku
ya toofu ni ochite usumomiji
they are starting to change color ...
a slightly red maple leaf
falls on my tofu
Basho age 34.
The whiteness of the Tofu is stressed by the color of the fallen
leaf.
iwa
tsutsuji somuru namida ya hototogisu
rock azaleas
colored by his tears -
this hototogisu
Basho age 24
The flowers are red like blood.
The inside of the mouth of the cuckoo is so red that it looks
like blood when the bird is singing.
iza
saraba yukimi ni korobu tokoro made
let us say goodbye
until we fall and slip
while watching the snow
Iwakura waterfall and temple Daiun-Ji with a memorial stone
ka o
nokosu ranchoo ran no yadori kana
the remaining fragrance
of the room curtain
in a lodging of orchids . . .
Written around 貞亨元年 , Basho age 41 to 51.
Basho visited the retired priest Etsudoo / Etsudo, while he was
still alive or maybe after his death.
It is not quite clear what kind of orchids priest Etsudo kept in
his garden or room.
The cut marker KANA is at the end of line 3.
ranchoo, tobari, curtain, hangings, partition of a room
In this poem it might be the curtain in front of a miniature
shrine for a statue in a room.
kachi
naraba Tsuetsuki-zaka o rakuba kana
"I rented a horse at the village of Hinaga ... so I could
ride up Walking-stick Hill. But my pack-saddle overturned and I was thrown from
the horse.”
if only I had walked
the steep slope Tsuetsuki-zaka
(but even though,) I fell from my horse
if only I had walked
Walking-stick Hill:
falling from my horse
(Tr.
Barnhill)
This hokku has no season word.
The cut marker KANA is at the end of line 3.
It is difficult to translate, keeping the meaning of the place
name understandable without a long footnote.
The slope Tsuetsukizaka, "slope to climb with a walking
stick"
is in Mie prefecture, Yokkaichi, between the villages Uneme and
Ishiyakushi, on the way to the great shrine at Ise.
After the legendary hero Yamato Takeru no Kami had fought with
the wild deities of Mount Ibukisan, he was so tired that he had to use a stick
to walk this slope.
Yamato Takeru, first Deity of Renku
[Basho argues that a place name may substitute for kigo. Listed as 'micellaneous' - Zappai]
kagemachi
ya kiku no ka no suru toofugushi
waiting for sunrise ...
the tofu skewer smells
of chrysanthemums
or
celebrating till sunrise ...
the tofu stick smells
of chrysanthemums
It seems more natural to inverse the Japanese, which has the
tofu skewers as the last line.
Written in the ninth month of 1693, Genroku 6, at the home of
Taisui.
kagemachi, lit. "waiting for shadows", refers to a
custom of the Edo period to invite guests on an auspicious day of January, May
or September for a good meal to stay awake all night and wait for the sunrise.
In September, you could sit in a chrysanthemum garden and enjoy the flower
exhibitions.
Also called himachi, waiting for the sun.
kaki
yori wa nori o ba oi no uri mo sede
rather than oysters
it's dried seaweed one should sell
when one is old
Basho has no need for oysters because he is of age, but to stay
healthy he ate dried seaweed.
Written in the spring of 1687.
It seems he observed an old man with a shoulder carrying pole,
selling oysters, and wondered if the lighter seaweed would not be a better
deal.
kakitsubata
kataru mo tabi no hitotsu kana
kakitsubata iris -
to talk about it is one of the joys
when travelling
Matsuo Basho (1688)
Oi no Kobumi.
Basho is visiting with the paper merchant Yasukawa Yaemon in
Osaka
kakurega
ya tsuki to kiku to ni ta san tan
this hermitage -
the moon, chrysanthemums and
three tan of rice paddies
Written in the ninth lunar month of 1689, Basho age 46
Greeting hokku for Boku-In (Bokuin) at Ogaki.
On his trip to Oku no Hosomichi.
Basho had also visited Boku-In in 1688 (Oi no Kobumi)
Tani Bokuin (1646 - 1725)
tan - an old unit of measurement measure of about 9.91 ar.
This hokku reminds of a waka by Zen master Ikkyu about living in
the mountains, with three tan of paddies, some miso paste, a young attendant
and fresh water - all you need to be content.
Kamakura
o ikite ideken hatsu-gatsuo
you made it
past Kamakura alive -
first Katsuo bonito
Basho age 49
Basho was well aware of the customs of Edo, where the first
Katsuo was an expensive delicacy unknown in his homeland, Iga. The bonito from
Kamakura was then carried to Edo as a present to the Shogun.
hatsugatsuo no shinku
offering first katsuo bonito
During the Edo period, Kamakura was famous for the first bonito
to be fished at the beaches of the inlet. The very first ones were offered at
Hachimangu with prayers for a good fishing season. This was usually done in
January or February. In newer years, the first fish of the year landing on the
beach of Kamakura was called "ofuri" and offered to the deities.
kami
haete yoogan aoshi satsuki ame
my hair has grown
my face is pale -
samidare rain
Basho age 44
Basho is looking in the mirror and sees his pale face. It
reflects his poverty and the mood of the long rainy season of Japan.
samidare (literally, rains of the fifth lunar month)
There are more than 400 kigo related to the rain in Japan.
We have the rainy season and the typhoons with a lot of damage,
we have flooding and rain rituals.
For the farmers of the Edo period, proper rainfall was a matter
of life and death, because it affected the rice harvest.
Rain was called the "Water of Heaven", tensui.
Strong emotions are attached to some kinds of rain:
spring drizzle (harusame) leads to romance -
long summer rain (samidare) makes us melancholic -
cold showers in autumn and winter (shigure) show the uncertainty
of all things.
kamigaki
ya omoi mo kakezu Nehanzoo
within the fence of the shrine -
what a surprise to find
(a statue of) Buddha lying down to die
The "fence of the Gods" at Ise Shrine and the statue
of Buddha lying down to die
During this time, the distinction between Buddhist temple and
Shinto shrine was not so distinct and many religious places housed both.
This hokku was written on the 15th day of the second lunar
month, the ceremony for the Nehan Buddha.
Quote:
This was composed at the Ise Shrines, on the 15th day of the
Second Month, and Bashō is expressing his surprise (and pleasure) at something
which, however much sanctioned by ancient custom, is still astonishing, namely,
the fusion of Shintō and Buddhism. This amalgamation took place at the
beginning of the 9th century a.d., when the Shington Sect developed the
doctrine of Ryōbu-Shintō,1 or Shimbutsu-Kongō2 by which the gods of Shintō were
recognised as manifestations or incarnations of the Buddhist divinities.
Source: Blyth on Basho
kanashiman
ya Bokushi seriyaki o mite mo nao
Does he grieve?
Mo-Tsu sees the dropwort
being cooked
Written in 1680, Basho age 37
Bokushi Mozi, Mo-tsu is a Chinese scholar. (460- 380 BC ?)
Legend knows that he grew sad when he observed white silk
threads being dyed with various pigments.
The seri dropwort gives an appetizing smell when cooked, but
looses its color.
Quote:
Mo Di (Mo Ti), better known as Mozi (Mo-tzu) or Master Mo,” was
a Chinese thinker active from the late 5th to the early 4th centuries BCE. He
is best remembered for being the first major intellectual rival to Confucius
and his followers.
... The most famous of these theses is the injunction that one
ought to be concerned for the welfare of people in a spirit of “impartial
concern” (jian’ai) that does not make distinctions between self and other,
associates and strangers, a doctrine often described more simplistically as
“universal love.”
kao ni
ninu hokku mo ideyo hatsu zakura
I will write hokku
that do not resemble my face -
first cherry blossoms
(or in plural)
we will write hokku
that do not resemble our faces -
first cherry blossoms
1694, Autumn
Basho was at Iga, Ueno, his homeground. He was discussing haikai
with his student, Iga Toho, and most probably wrote this hokku to teach him a
lesson. This was shortly before the death of Basho.
"Even now, when I am so old, I want to write hokku with a
young touch, like the first cherry blossoms, always new and fresh. My heart
will always be young."
karakasa ni oshiwake
mitaru yanagi kana
with my umbrella
I part the branches
of the willow trees . . .
Written
in the spring of 1694 as the hokku for a haikai meeting with Jokushi, Yaba and
others.
Basho
describes his experience on the way to the meeting.
The cut
marker KANA is at the end of line 3.
kari
kiki ni miyako no aki ni omomukan
to listen to the geese
in the autumn of the capital
I will set out
Written in autumn of 1690
It is not clear weather this is a hokku by Basho himself.
In a letter to Takahashi Dosui.
Takahashi Dosui (? - 1743)
Takahashi Kihei - A leading figure of the Basho disciples in Omi
(Oomi Shoomon).
The younger brother of Suganuma Kyokusui, who had offered the
Genjuan to Basho.
Kasa-dera
ya moranu iwaya mo haru no ame
temple Kasadera !
even at the watertight grotto
the rain of spring
Written in the spring of 1687
Matsuo Basho was impressed by the story of Kasadera temple and offered this
hokku as a greeting.
This temple is dedicated to the memory of the beautiful Princess
Tamateru Hime, who had been taken by a rich man from Narumi and lived in great
misfortune. Day and night she prayed to a stone statue Kannon. One day with a
heavy rainfall, she put her own straw rain hat on the statue to protect her.
By chance Fujiwara no Kanehira (875 - 935), came by on this day
and saw her.
Her luck changed and she married Kanehira, still praying to the
Kannon statue with the straw hat.
Thus she could begin to rebuild the temple.
Ryuufukuji, Ryufuku-Ji, short "Kasadera"
Ryuufukuji, Ryufukuji Kannon
Kasadera Kannon, "Kannon at the Rain Hat Temple"
kashi no ki no hana ni
kamawanu sugata kana
the
Kashi oak
seems
not to care about
the
cherry blossoms . . .
Written in 1685,
when Basho visited Mitsui Shuufuu, Shufu at Narumi.
(Shufu - 1646 -
1717) A rich kimono merchant and haikai poet from Kyoto.
The cut marker KANA is at the end of line 3.
kashi no hana -
Kashi-oak tree blossoms - kigo for late spring
Basho compares the
Kashi oak to his independent-minded host (or rather, vice-versa).
Basho
often uses the nature around him to imply a human condition also just now
around him.
kiku no hana saku ya ishiya no ishi no ai
chrysanthemums blooming -
in a stonemason's yard
amid the stones
(Tr. Barnhill)
chrysanthemum flowers
are blossoming - amongst the stones
of a stonemason's
(Tr. Greve)
kitsutsuki mo io wa
yaburazu natsu kodachi
even a woodpecker
won't (dare to) damage this hermitage -
summer grove
About the hermitage of Zen pries Butchoo, Butcho, his master,
temple Ungan-Ji.
Basho left this message at the entrance post of the hermitage
and left, because the Master was not at home.
Oku no Hosomichi, Station 8 - Unganji
even woodpeckers
don't damage this hut:
summer grove
(Tr.
Barnhill)
Even woodpeckers did not
Damage this hermitage
In the summer grove
(Tr.
Oseko)
Kiyotaki
no mizu kumasete ya tokoroten
water drawn up
from Kiyotaki stream -
this Tokoroten jelly
Written in 1694, Basho age 51
This hokku has the cut marker YA at the end of line 2.
This is a greeting hokku for his host Yamei to thank him for the
refreshment.
Written at the home of Sakai Yamei in Sagano, Kyoto.
Nearby was the river Kiyotakigawa. The Kiyotaki waterfall brings
the water from Mount Atagoyama to the gorge in Sagano.
Yamei was a masterless Samurai from Hakata, Kuroda. His haiku
name YAMEI was given to him by Matsuo Basho himself. He is also called Hoojin.
tokoroten jelly - Cold Jelly Stripes, gelidium jelly, tokoroten,
tokoroten: kigo for summer
