Free Verse Haiku
Author:
Ozaki Hōsai
尾崎放哉《おざきほうさい》
Translation and notes:
Dan Bornstein
Ozaki Hōsai
尾崎放哉《おざきほうさい》
Translation and notes:
Dan Bornstein
> What is free verse haiku?
A haiku is defined as a short poem that has a meter of 5-7-5 syllables (or sound units) and contains a season word that places it in a specific time reference. Diverging from one or more of these elements is generally allowed, but is considered undesirable and is kept to a minimum.
Free verse haiku, on the other hand, is a much more recent, alternative poetic approach that sees itself as liberated from these constraints. In addition, whereas standard haiku is composed in literary Japanese (that is, based on the grammar rules of the older language), free verse haiku emphasizes the spoken language as used in real life. In short, free verse haiku dispenses with the formalities of haiku in order to gain a greater latitude in preserving its essence—that elusive but distinctive haiku spirit of direct, fresh awareness to the tiny things and events that make up the world around us.
Since free verse haiku can adopt or ignore elements of standard haiku at will, it can sometimes be difficult to determine whether a poem is truly a free verse haiku or simply a pattern-braking standard haiku. The typical free verse haiku, however, looks just like a short, stylized prose sentence. Regardless of its formal appearance, it is unmistakably poetic, and often succeeds in evoking the essence of haiku even better than the standard variety.
A haiku is defined as a short poem that has a meter of 5-7-5 syllables (or sound units) and contains a season word that places it in a specific time reference. Diverging from one or more of these elements is generally allowed, but is considered undesirable and is kept to a minimum.
Free verse haiku, on the other hand, is a much more recent, alternative poetic approach that sees itself as liberated from these constraints. In addition, whereas standard haiku is composed in literary Japanese (that is, based on the grammar rules of the older language), free verse haiku emphasizes the spoken language as used in real life. In short, free verse haiku dispenses with the formalities of haiku in order to gain a greater latitude in preserving its essence—that elusive but distinctive haiku spirit of direct, fresh awareness to the tiny things and events that make up the world around us.
Since free verse haiku can adopt or ignore elements of standard haiku at will, it can sometimes be difficult to determine whether a poem is truly a free verse haiku or simply a pattern-braking standard haiku. The typical free verse haiku, however, looks just like a short, stylized prose sentence. Regardless of its formal appearance, it is unmistakably poetic, and often succeeds in evoking the essence of haiku even better than the standard variety.
> Bilingual text
(1)
蛇が殺されて居る炎天をまたいで通る
hebi ga korosareteiru enten o mataide tōru
Analysis
snake [subject] killed-[resulting state] blazing-sky [direct object] stride-over pass
Translation
A killed snake is lying on the ground under the blazing sky; I stride over it and continue on my way.
Notes
(2)
井戸の暗さにわが顔を見出す
ido no kurasa ni waga kao o miidasu
Analysis
water-well [possessive] darkness [location] self's face [direct object] discover
Translation
In the darkness of the well—discovering my own face.
Notes
(3)
雨に降りつめられて暮るる外なし御堂
ame ni furitsumerarete kururu hoka nashi midō
Analysis
rain [agent] fall-press-[passive] grow-dark other none temple-hall
Translation
Spending my time cornered by the pounding rain as the day draws to an end; no other choice here in the temple hall.
Notes
(4)
いつ迄も忘れられた儘で黒い蝙蝠傘
itsu made mo wasurerareta mama de kuroi kōmorigasa
Analysis
up-to-any-time forgotten [unchanging] [state] black bat-umbrella
Translation
Forever remaining forgotten in the same spot; a black bat-like umbrella.
Notes
(5)
たばこが消えて居る淋しさをなげすてる
tabako ga kieteiru samishisa o nagesuteru
Analysis
cigarette [subject] burn-out-[resulting state] desertedness [direct object] toss-away
Translation
My cigarette has burned out; I toss that desertedness away.
Notes
(6)
昼の蚊たたいて古新聞よんで
hiru no ka tataite furushimbun yonde
Analysis
daytime [attributive] mosquito swatting old-newspaper reading
Translation
Swatting a daytime mosquito, then starting to read that old newspaper.
Notes
(7)
人をそしる心をすて豆の皮むく
hito o soshiru kokoro o sute mame no kawa muku
Analysis
people [direct object] badmouthing mentality [direct object] discard beans [possessive] skin peel
Translation
Having discarded my mentality of badmouthing others, I peel the skin off soybeans.
Notes
(8)
赤とんば夥しさの首塚ありけり
akatombo obitadashisa no kubizuka arikeri
Analysis
red-dragonfly countlessness [attributive] head-mound is [CW]
Translation
I have come across a head-burial mound; it is swarming with countless red dragonflies.
Notes
(9)
何か求むる心海へ放つ
nanika motomuru kokoro umi e hanatsu
Analysis
something seek mind sea [direction] release
Translation
The heart that always seeks something: I toss it into the sea.
Notes
(10)
竹の葉さやさや人恋しくて居る
take no ha sayasaya hitokoishikute iru
Analysis
bamboo [possessive] leaves rustling-sound longing-for-humans be
Translation
The bamboo leaves are rustling; I keep longing for human company.
Notes
(11)
島の女のはだしにはだしでよりそふ
shima no onna no hadashi ni hadashi de yorisō
Analysis
Island [attributive] woman [possessive] barefooted [direction] barefooted [state] draw-closer
Translation
A woman on the island; to her bare feet I draw closer with my own bare feet.
Notes
(12)
破れた靴がぱくぱく口あけて今日も晴れる
yabureta kutsu ga pakupaku kuchi akete kyō mo hareru
Analysis
come-apart shoe [subject] rapid-gasping mouth open today also sunny
Translation
My shoe, having come apart, keeps opening its mouth in gasps; it is sunny again today.
Notes
(1)
蛇が殺されて居る炎天をまたいで通る
hebi ga korosareteiru enten o mataide tōru
Analysis
snake [subject] killed-[resulting state] blazing-sky [direct object] stride-over pass
Translation
A killed snake is lying on the ground under the blazing sky; I stride over it and continue on my way.
Notes
- Hebi: Snake. A summer season word.
- Korosareteiru: Lit. "has been killed". The snake is in the resulting state of having been killed, i.e., the carcass of a snake.
- Enten: Blazing sky, scorching heat. This is another summer SW. It is associated with the height of summer.
- In the original poem there is no explicit reference to the ground. Only the blazing sky is mentioned, and this word (enten) also includes, by extension, everything that is under that sky and affected by the scorching heat.
(2)
井戸の暗さにわが顔を見出す
ido no kurasa ni waga kao o miidasu
Analysis
water-well [possessive] darkness [location] self's face [direct object] discover
Translation
In the darkness of the well—discovering my own face.
Notes
- This poem contains no season word. Seasonless poems also exist in standard haiku poetry, but the are much more common in the free verse variety. In the following pages, where no season word is identified in the notes, the poem is seasonless.
- The image invoked here is that of the poet's face being reflected in the water at the bottom of the well as he looks down into it, probably while drawing up water.
(3)
雨に降りつめられて暮るる外なし御堂
ame ni furitsumerarete kururu hoka nashi midō
Analysis
rain [agent] fall-press-[passive] grow-dark other none temple-hall
Translation
Spending my time cornered by the pounding rain as the day draws to an end; no other choice here in the temple hall.
Notes
- Furitsumerarete: A compound verb made of furu "to fall, to rain" and the auxiliary tsumeru "to corner someone and do (the main verb) incessantly and aggressively". This compound verb is further conjugated in the passive, with the poet being the recipient of the rain's action.
- Midō: Lit. "noble hall", this term refers to any hall that enshrines a Buddha image in a Buddhist temple. Ozaki wrote this poem while living at the Sumadera Temple (須磨寺) in Kobe, where he worked as the caretaker of Daishi Hall. (Daishi, lit. "Great Master", refers to Kūkai, the founder of the Shingon school to which the temple belongs).
(4)
いつ迄も忘れられた儘で黒い蝙蝠傘
itsu made mo wasurerareta mama de kuroi kōmorigasa
Analysis
up-to-any-time forgotten [unchanging] [state] black bat-umbrella
Translation
Forever remaining forgotten in the same spot; a black bat-like umbrella.
Notes
- Itsu made mo: Lit. "until whenever". Forever, indefinitely.
- Mama de: In the unchanging state resulting from the preceding verb. In this case, it means that the umbrella was at one time forgotten and left somewhere, and then remained there without any change.
- Kōmorigasa: An early modern term for Western-style umbrellas and parasols supported by a thin metal skeleton, as opposed to their traditional Japanese counterparts, which are made from wood. The term comes from the visual similarity of such umbrellas, when they are opened, to bats with spread wings.
(5)
たばこが消えて居る淋しさをなげすてる
tabako ga kieteiru samishisa o nagesuteru
Analysis
cigarette [subject] burn-out-[resulting state] desertedness [direct object] toss-away
Translation
My cigarette has burned out; I toss that desertedness away.
Notes
- Tabako: Derived from "tobacco", this word refers to the whole cigarette rather than only to its filling material.
- Samishisa: Can also be pronounced sabishisa. The former pronunciation is more common in western Japan, where Ozaki was born and lived.
- Samishisa is a noun made from the adjective samishii. Both of these words denote a sense of lacking something or someone that should (from the speaker's subjective point of view) have been present but is not. In this case the cigarette can no longer be enjoyed, and this is the direct cause of this feeling, which also extends to a broader sense of lonesomeness. The original is literally phrased "the desertedness of the burned-out cigarette".
(6)
昼の蚊たたいて古新聞よんで
hiru no ka tataite furushimbun yonde
Analysis
daytime [attributive] mosquito swatting old-newspaper reading
Translation
Swatting a daytime mosquito, then starting to read that old newspaper.
Notes
- Hiru no ka: Daytime mosquito. A summer season word. Refers to mosquitoes that are active in the daytime, which are usually less aggressive than their nighttime counterparts.
- Furushimbun: The old newspaper that the poet used for swatting the mosquito. He first killed the mosquito with the newspaper and then started reading it, presumably after noticing some interesting phrases while he was holding it.
(7)
人をそしる心をすて豆の皮むく
hito o soshiru kokoro o sute mame no kawa muku
Analysis
people [direct object] badmouthing mentality [direct object] discard beans [possessive] skin peel
Translation
Having discarded my mentality of badmouthing others, I peel the skin off soybeans.
Notes
- Hito: Lit. "people", this word actually means "other people" (who are not the speaker or the listener).
- Soshiru: To say bad things about other people behind their backs. This word denotes the action of engaging in negative gossip or criticism.
- Mame: This word can technically refer to any type of beans, but when used on its own with no further qualification, it refers by default to soybeans.
(8)
赤とんば夥しさの首塚ありけり
akatombo obitadashisa no kubizuka arikeri
Analysis
red-dragonfly countlessness [attributive] head-mound is [CW]
Translation
I have come across a head-burial mound; it is swarming with countless red dragonflies.
Notes
- Akatombo: Red dragonfly. An autumn season word.
- Obitadashisa: The state of being countless, in a measureless swarm.
- Kubizuka: A burial mound that contains the head of a dead person. Such burial was traditionally given to two main groups: (1) Criminals executed by beheading. (2) Enemy soldiers who were killed in battle and whose heads were brought back for inspection as a proof of victory (a practice known as kubijikken, 首実検). The practice of burying the head in a dignified manner was supposed to pacify the angry spirit of the killed person and prevent it from harming the killers.
- Arikeri: The cutting word keri is actually an auxiliary verb that lends a sense of unexpected discovery to the main verb, ari (there is).
- This poem has a meter of 5-7-8 syllables and contains both a season word and a literary cutting word, so it can also be considered a pattern-braking example of standard haiku, rather than a true free verse haiku. Ozaki started his writing career in standard haiku before shifting his attention to free verse.
(9)
何か求むる心海へ放つ
nanika motomuru kokoro umi e hanatsu
Analysis
something seek mind sea [direction] release
Translation
The heart that always seeks something: I toss it into the sea.
Notes
- This is another poem that was written while Ozaki was living and working as a caretaker at the Sumadera Temple (須磨寺) in Kobe. The temple is built on a mountain slope not far from the beach, and the sea would have been easily visible to Ozaki from its grounds.
- The heart that seeks things, and the act of letting go of it, are Buddhist-inspired themes. This poem basically evokes the Buddhist practice of releasing oneself from attachments, and places it within the physical environment of the Buddhist temple where Ozaki spent most of his time.
(10)
竹の葉さやさや人恋しくて居る
take no ha sayasaya hitokoishikute iru
Analysis
bamboo [possessive] leaves rustling-sound longing-for-humans be
Translation
The bamboo leaves are rustling; I keep longing for human company.
Notes
- The bamboo leaves mentioned here are most probably those of the temple's bamboo grove.
- The adjective hitokoishii, lit. "people-are-longed-for", describes a strong feeling of being lonely and wanting to be in the company of other people. This feeling is general and not directed at any specific person.
(11)
島の女のはだしにはだしでよりそふ
shima no onna no hadashi ni hadashi de yorisō
Analysis
Island [attributive] woman [possessive] barefooted [direction] barefooted [state] draw-closer
Translation
A woman on the island; to her bare feet I draw closer with my own bare feet.
Notes
- Shima no onna: Literally "an islander woman" or "a woman of the island".
- Hadashi ni hadashi de: Lit. "to her barefootedness, barefooted". The woman and the poet are both barefooted, and he walks up to her.
(12)
破れた靴がぱくぱく口あけて今日も晴れる
yabureta kutsu ga pakupaku kuchi akete kyō mo hareru
Analysis
come-apart shoe [subject] rapid-gasping mouth open today also sunny
Translation
My shoe, having come apart, keeps opening its mouth in gasps; it is sunny again today.
Notes
- Pakupaku: A rapid, repetitive opening and closing of the mouth, similar to a fish. This word does not necessarily suggest gasping in the sense of hard breathing, but this is the closest English equivalent.
- Since Japanese does not distinguish between singular and plural, the poem can also be interpreted as referring to both shoes instead of just one.