Spring Haiku
Author:
Matsuo Bashō
松尾芭蕉《まつおばしょう》
Translation and notes:
Dan Bornstein
Matsuo Bashō
松尾芭蕉《まつおばしょう》
Translation and notes:
Dan Bornstein
> Bilingual text
(1)
おもしろやことしのはるも旅の空
omoshiro ya / kotoshi no haru mo / tabi no sora
Analysis
Enjoyable [CW] / this year [possessive] spring also / travel [possessive] sky
Translation
How delightful! Yet another new year's spring comes while I travel under far away skies.
Notes
(2)
ふるはたやなづなつみゆくおとこども
furuhata ya / nazuna tsumiyuku / otokodomo
Analysis
Old-field [CW] / nazuna-herb pick-go / man-plural
Translation
A neglected field; they are busy picking nazuna herbs—a group of men.
Notes
(3)
わするなよ藪の中なるむめの花
wasuru na yo / yabu no naka naru / mume no hana
Analysis
Forget [don't] [emphatic] / thicket [possessive] inside located / plum [possessive] flowers
Translation
Don't you forget about them: the plum blossoms hidden in the thicket.
Notes
(4)
人も見ぬ春や鏡の裏の梅
hito mo minu / haru ya kagami no / ura no ume
Analysis
people even not-see / spring [CW] mirror [possessive] / back [possessive] plum tree
Translation
Here's a spring that people never see: the plum tree on the other side of the mirror.
Notes
(5)
梅がかや見ぬ世の人に御意を得る
ume ga ka ya / minu yo no hito ni / gyoi o uru
Analysis
plum-tree [possessive] scent [CW] / not-see world [possessive] people [indirect object marker] / honorable-thought [direct object marker] obtain
Translation
The scent of plum trees in full bloom: giving me the pleasure of meeting people from bygone eras that I have never witnessed.
Notes
(6)
鶯や餅に糞する椽の先
uguisu ya / mochi ni fun suru / en no saki
Analysis
Bush-warbler [CW] / rice-cake [indirect object] droppings do / veranda [possessive] edge
Translation
A bush warbler—leaving droppings on the rice cakes at the far edge of the veranda.
Notes
(7)
春の夜や籠り人ゆかし堂の隅
haru no yo ya / komorido yukashi / dō no sumi
Analysis
spring [possessive] night [CW] / stay-in-person fascinating / temple-hall [possessive] corner
Translation
Spring evening; fascinated by a pilgrim who is staying overnight, here in the corner of the temple hall.
Notes
(8)
春雨や蜂の巣つたふ屋ねの漏
harusame ya / hachi no su tsutau / yane no mori
Analysis
Spring-rain [CW] / hornet [possessive] nest run-along / roof leak
Translation
Spring rain; running down a hornet nest—a roof leak.
Notes
(9)
猫の恋やむとき閨の朧月
neko no koi / yamu toki neya no / oborozuki
Analysis
cats [possessive] heat / stop time bedroom [possessive] / haze-covered-moon
Translation
Cats in heat; and when they stop howling, I notice that my bedroom is lit by the haze-covered moon.
Notes
(10)
蛇くふときけばおそろし雉の声
hebi kū to / kikeba osoroshi / kiji no koe
Analysis
snakes eat [quotation] / when hear terrifying / pheasant [possessive] sound
Translation
They eat snakes: after hearing that, it suddenly sounds terrifying—the call of the pheasant.
Notes
(1)
おもしろやことしのはるも旅の空
omoshiro ya / kotoshi no haru mo / tabi no sora
Analysis
Enjoyable [CW] / this year [possessive] spring also / travel [possessive] sky
Translation
How delightful! Yet another new year's spring comes while I travel under far away skies.
Notes
- omoshiro: The stem of the adjective omoshiroi. Adjective stems were often used in literary language to express exclamations.
- kotoshi no haru mo: The arrival of spring is the starting point of the new year in Japanese tradition. Haru is SW.
- tabi no sora: Literally "travel-sky". This term refers both to the actual sky seen while traveling and to the act of traveling in far away lands. During his life, Bashō traveled extensively around the country and being away from home was his typical condition, hence his reference to "yet another" new spring.
(2)
ふるはたやなづなつみゆくおとこども
furuhata ya / nazuna tsumiyuku / otokodomo
Analysis
Old-field [CW] / nazuna-herb pick-go / man-plural
Translation
A neglected field; they are busy picking nazuna herbs—a group of men.
Notes
- nazuna: An edible herb. Spring SW. This is one of the so-called seven herbs of spring, which are traditionally picked on the seventh day of the first month according to the Japanese lunar calendar. These herbs are then used for preparing a rice porridge called nanakusagayu (七草粥, seven-herb-porridge).
- tsumiyuku: the yuku part indicates progress toward a certain point or goal. The men are gradually picking herbs across the field.
- otokodomo: domo is a plural suffix.
- Haiku poems are supposed to offer a fresh point of view on everyday life. Here this happens by noticing how the old neglected field suddenly has people working in it—not to cultivate it, but to pick naturally-growing herbs.
(3)
わするなよ藪の中なるむめの花
wasuru na yo / yabu no naka naru / mume no hana
Analysis
Forget [don't] [emphatic] / thicket [possessive] inside located / plum [possessive] flowers
Translation
Don't you forget about them: the plum blossoms hidden in the thicket.
Notes
- wasuru: The literary form of the modern verb wasureru, to forget.
- naru: This verb signifies location inside the preceding noun. It is a fusion of the location particle ni and the existence verb aru.
- mume: The old form of the word ume, Japanese plum tree. SW. Ume flowers blossom in the early spring and were originally considered as the characteristic flower associated with this season, following their significance in Chinese culture. Later they lost that status to sakura (cherry) flowers, which closely resemble them but blossom later in the year and for a shorter period.
- Ume blossom viewing used to be a traditional custom in the early spring, in the same way that sakura viewing is still popular to this day. The poem reminds the reader that some ume trees are hidden away from the hustle and bustle of public viewing, and one interpretation suggests that Bashō was also referring to himself, living as he did in his secluded residence.
(4)
人も見ぬ春や鏡の裏の梅
hito mo minu / haru ya kagami no / ura no ume
Analysis
people even not-see / spring [CW] mirror [possessive] / back [possessive] plum tree
Translation
Here's a spring that people never see: the plum tree on the other side of the mirror.
Notes
- minu haru: A spring that nobody notices (even though it is there).
- kagami no ura: The back side of the mirror. The plum tree is carved or painted there as a decoration, but it is of course the front side that people care more about.
- ume: Japanese plum tree. SW. See also poem 3 on the previous page. Here too the poet describes an ume tree that is hidden from view, in contrast with this tree's usual association with public viewing and admiration in the spring.
(5)
梅がかや見ぬ世の人に御意を得る
ume ga ka ya / minu yo no hito ni / gyoi o uru
Analysis
plum-tree [possessive] scent [CW] / not-see world [possessive] people [indirect object marker] / honorable-thought [direct object marker] obtain
Translation
The scent of plum trees in full bloom: giving me the pleasure of meeting people from bygone eras that I have never witnessed.
Notes
- ume: SW. See poems 3 and 4 above.
- ka: Scent, fragrance. The kanji character is 香.
- minu yo no hito: Literally "people from unseen worlds", meaning persons from older times which the speaker has never witnessed with his own eyes. "Unseen" refers to the historical period itself, and by extension, to the people living in it.
- gyoi o uru: An honorific expression meaning "to have the pleasure of meeting and talking with" [a person of higher status]. Here referring collectively to people from ancient times—presumably poets and Buddhist figures seen as role models by Bashō.
- To the poet, ume seems to be associated with the Chinese-influenced culture of older Japan, which is why its scent evokes thoughts of bygone eras. Note also that it is the sense of smell, not of sight, that makes the poet think of the unseen object of the poem.
(6)
鶯や餅に糞する椽の先
uguisu ya / mochi ni fun suru / en no saki
Analysis
Bush-warbler [CW] / rice-cake [indirect object] droppings do / veranda [possessive] edge
Translation
A bush warbler—leaving droppings on the rice cakes at the far edge of the veranda.
Notes
- uguisu: A Japanese bush warbler. Spring CW. This small bird has a distinct mating call which is heard in the spring, and is therefore strongly associated with the coming of this season.
- mochi: Small cakes or cookies made from glutinous rice. A popular type of traditional food in Japan. The poem suggests that the mochi had been left on the veranda to cool.
- en: Short for engawa, a narrow wooden deck that surrounds a traditional Japanese house and separates it from the yard. Usually written with the character 縁. The character used in this poem (椽) originally means "rafters", but can also stand for 縁.
- saki: The outer edge of the engawa, closer to the yard.
(7)
春の夜や籠り人ゆかし堂の隅
haru no yo ya / komorido yukashi / dō no sumi
Analysis
spring [possessive] night [CW] / stay-in-person fascinating / temple-hall [possessive] corner
Translation
Spring evening; fascinated by a pilgrim who is staying overnight, here in the corner of the temple hall.
Notes
- haru no yo: SW.
- komorido: A person who stays overnight at a temple as part of his religious practice.
- yukashi: Fascinating, intriguing. Something you are drawn to and makes you want to know more about it.
- dō: A hall of a Buddhist temple or Shintō shrine, which is built to enshrine religious objects of worship and prayer.
(8)
春雨や蜂の巣つたふ屋ねの漏
harusame ya / hachi no su tsutau / yane no mori
Analysis
Spring-rain [CW] / hornet [possessive] nest run-along / roof leak
Translation
Spring rain; running down a hornet nest—a roof leak.
Notes
- harusame: SW.
- hachi no su: Hachi can also mean "bee", which would make this expression refer to a beehive. But the poem is set indoors, and in Japan, hornets are the ones that commonly build their nests inside houses in the spring. This phrase is also a spring SW in its own right.
- Hornets usually build an indoor nest in a corner between a wall and the roof. In this case the water leaks in through the roof and runs down the solid mass of the nest before falling down on the floor. This kind of attention to unusual juxtapositions of everyday objects is said to embody the spirit of haiku poetry.
(9)
猫の恋やむとき閨の朧月
neko no koi / yamu toki neya no / oborozuki
Analysis
cats [possessive] heat / stop time bedroom [possessive] / haze-covered-moon
Translation
Cats in heat; and when they stop howling, I notice that my bedroom is lit by the haze-covered moon.
Notes
- neko no koi: Literally "cat-heat". SW. Refers to the heat period of cats in the spring, when they howl loudly and exhibit violent, unexpected behavior.
- oborozuki: The moon when shrouded in nighttime haze. This is also a spring SW.
- The poem suggests that after the cats finally fell silent, the poet suddenly noticed the moon at his window. Up to that point he was too disturbed by the noise to be aware of that.
(10)
蛇くふときけばおそろし雉の声
hebi kū to / kikeba osoroshi / kiji no koe
Analysis
snakes eat [quotation] / when hear terrifying / pheasant [possessive] sound
Translation
They eat snakes: after hearing that, it suddenly sounds terrifying—the call of the pheasant.
Notes
- hebi kū: The object of the verb kū (eat) is hebi (snakes) and the subject is pheasants in general. These birds hunt other small animals, including snakes.
- kiji: Pheasant. SW. The mating season of the Japanese pheasant is in the early spring, and its abrupt high-pitched calls during that period have made this bird a spring SW.
- The pheasant is a brightly colored and mild looking bird. But when the poet learns that it actually eats snakes, his perception changes and the pheasant's calls suddenly sound fearsome.