Spring Haiku
Author:
Natsume Sōseki
夏目漱石《なつめそうせき》
Translation and notes:
Dan Bornstein
Natsume Sōseki
夏目漱石《なつめそうせき》
Translation and notes:
Dan Bornstein
> Bilingual text
(1)
塔五重五階を残し霞けり
tō gojū / gokai o nokoshi / kasumikeri
Analysis
Pagoda five stories / fifth-story [direct object] leave-behind / be hazy [CW].
Translation
A pagoda with five stories; leaving only the fifth story visible—the haze.
Notes
(2)
金屏を幾所かきさく猫の恋
kinbyō o / ikusho kakisaku / neko no koi
Analysis
gilt folding-screen [direct object] / multiple places scratch-tear / cats [possessive] heat
Translation
The gilt folding screen, scratched and ripped in multiple places; cats in heat.
Notes
(3)
岡持の傘にあまりて春の雨
okamochi no / kasa ni amarite / haru no ame
Analysis
wooden-carrying-box- / -umbrella [indirect object] be too much / spring-rain
Translation
My wooden carrying box is not enough as a makeshift umbrella; spring rain.
Notes
(4)
菫程な小さき人に生まれたし
sumire hodo na / chiisaki hito ni / umaretashi
Analysis
violet as-much [attributive] / tiny human [indirect object] / be born [want]
Translation
As tiny as a violet—that is the man I would like to be born as.
Notes
(5)
初蝶や菜の花なくて淋しかろ
hatsuchō ya / na no hana nakute / samishikaro
Analysis
first-butterfly [CW] / rapeseed-flowers absent / lonesome [probably]
Translation
The first butterfly of this year! There are no rapeseed blossoms yet; it must feel lonesome.
Notes
(6)
鶯や障子あくれば東山
uguisu ya / shōji akureba / higashiyama
Analysis
Bush-warbler [CW] / sliding-screen open [when] / east-hills
Translation
A bush warbler! I slide open the screen and—the Eastern Hills.
Notes
(7)
煩悩の朧に似たる夜もありき
bonnō no / oboro ni nitaru / yo mo ariki
Analysis
mind-afflictions [subject] / night-haze [indirect object] similar [continuous] / night [also] exist [CW]
Translation
Afflictions of the mind resembling moonlit haze; it's one of those nights.
Notes
(8)
里の子の猫加へけり涅槃像
sato no ko no / neko kuwaekeri / nehanzō
Analysis
Village-kid [subject] / cat added [CW] / Nirvana-Buddha-statue
Translation
A village kid has added a cat onto that: a reclining Buddha statue.
Notes
(9)
春惜む人にしきりに訪はれけり
haru oshimu / hito ni shikiri ni / towarekeri
Analysis
spring reluctant-to-let-go / people [by] frequently / being visited [CW]
Translation
People reluctant to part with the spring; one after another they come to visit me.
Notes
(10)
永き日やあくびうつして分れ行く
nagaki hi ya / akubi utsushite / wakare yuku
Analysis
long day [CW] / yawn passing / separate-go
Translation
A lingering spring day; passing a yawn from one to another, we go our separate ways.
Notes
(1)
塔五重五階を残し霞けり
tō gojū / gokai o nokoshi / kasumikeri
Analysis
Pagoda five stories / fifth-story [direct object] leave-behind / be hazy [CW].
Translation
A pagoda with five stories; leaving only the fifth story visible—the haze.
Notes
- tō gojū: Five-storied pagodas are commonly seen in Japanese Buddhist temples. They have five layers of roofs, with each representing one of the five traditional elements (五大, godai), from the base up: earth (地, chi); water (水, sui); fire (火, ka); wind (風, fū), and void (空, kū).
- gokai: The fifth, top story of the pagoda.
- kasumikeri: From the verb kasumu, "to be / become hazy" + the cutting word keri. Haze (kasumi) is a spring SW. The translation here changed the verb into a noun.
(2)
金屏を幾所かきさく猫の恋
kinbyō o / ikusho kakisaku / neko no koi
Analysis
gilt folding-screen [direct object] / multiple places scratch-tear / cats [possessive] heat
Translation
The gilt folding screen, scratched and ripped in multiple places; cats in heat.
Notes
- kinbyō: A folding screen covered with gold leaf. This word short for 金屏風(kinbyōbu). Byōbu is the generic word for traditional-style folding screens.
- neko no koi: Literally "cat-heat". SW. Refers to the heat period of cats in the spring, when they cry loudly and exhibit violent, unexpected behavior.
(3)
岡持の傘にあまりて春の雨
okamochi no / kasa ni amarite / haru no ame
Analysis
wooden-carrying-box- / -umbrella [indirect object] be too much / spring-rain
Translation
My wooden carrying box is not enough as a makeshift umbrella; spring rain.
Notes
- okamochi: A flat, round wooden box with a cover and a handle. Used for carrying food outdoors.
- The no that follows okamochi has an attributive function, making the carrying box the substance of the umbrella—that is, the box is the umbrella.
- amarite: The idea is that the rain is too strong for the box to successfully serve as a makeshift umbrella. The literal meaning of amarite is "being too much".
- haru no ame: SW. The cold rain of early spring.
(4)
菫程な小さき人に生まれたし
sumire hodo na / chiisaki hito ni / umaretashi
Analysis
violet as-much [attributive] / tiny human [indirect object] / be born [want]
Translation
As tiny as a violet—that is the man I would like to be born as.
Notes
- sumire: A violet (flower). Spring SW.
- hodo: Marking an extent or base of comparison.
- na: Attributive, making the preceding words describe the word hito.
- umaretashi: Literally "want to be born", but the word hints at the idea of being reborn, according to the Buddhist concept of reincarnation.
(5)
初蝶や菜の花なくて淋しかろ
hatsuchō ya / na no hana nakute / samishikaro
Analysis
first-butterfly [CW] / rapeseed-flowers absent / lonesome [probably]
Translation
The first butterfly of this year! There are no rapeseed blossoms yet; it must feel lonesome.
Notes
- hatsuchō: The first butterfly that the writer has seen in the year in which the poem was written. Spring SW.
- na no hana: Rapeseed blossoms. Grow in expansive yellow patches. Spring SW. This poem has two SW, a construction which is usually considered redundant and avoided by haiku poets. Here, however, there is a good reason for this choice, since the second SW is actually absent, and this shows the time to be very early in the spring.
- samishikaro: A shortened speculative form of the adjective samishi (also sabishi). The poet is speculating on the butterfly's lonesome feeling in the absence of the flowers.
(6)
鶯や障子あくれば東山
uguisu ya / shōji akureba / higashiyama
Analysis
Bush-warbler [CW] / sliding-screen open [when] / east-hills
Translation
A bush warbler! I slide open the screen and—the Eastern Hills.
Notes
- uguisu: A Japanese bush warbler. Spring CW. This small bird has a distinct mating call which is heard in the spring and is strongly associated with the coming of this season.
- shōji: A rice-paper sliding screen. Such screens serves as both doors and walls of a traditional Japanese house. Mentioning the screen is enough to tell us that the poet was staying at such a house—an example of how haiku rely on established associations to convey ideas without using many words.
- higashiyama: A place name. The Eastern Hills of Kyoto, a range of hills and low mountains stretching from south to north along the eastern side of the city. The name higashiyama also covers Kyoto's built-up area at the lower reaches of the hills, where many temples and traditional quarters have been preserved to this day.
- The poem describes how the Higashiyama hills suddenly come into view when the screen is slid open. Since Kyoto is built on a basin between mountain ranges, these hills can be easily seen from most parts of the city.
(7)
煩悩の朧に似たる夜もありき
bonnō no / oboro ni nitaru / yo mo ariki
Analysis
mind-afflictions [subject] / night-haze [indirect object] similar [continuous] / night [also] exist [CW]
Translation
Afflictions of the mind resembling moonlit haze; it's one of those nights.
Notes
- bonnō: A Buddhist term which denotes our unwholesome, suffering-inducing mental states such as desire, anxiety, anger, etc. The term comes from the Sanskrit word kleśa, and encompasses virtually every mental state of the unawakened mind. The ideal goal of the Buddhist practitioner is to cut loose from the attachment and suffering created by such states of mind.
- oboro: Nighttime haze, particularly when lit by the moon. This word serves as an abbreviated spring SW in this poem. The more typical word is oborozuki (朧月, "hazy-moon").
- yo mo ariki: Literally "there was also such a night". The word mo marks the night emphatically, while the final ki is used as a CW.
(8)
里の子の猫加へけり涅槃像
sato no ko no / neko kuwaekeri / nehanzō
Analysis
Village-kid [subject] / cat added [CW] / Nirvana-Buddha-statue
Translation
A village kid has added a cat onto that: a reclining Buddha statue.
Notes
- sato: A vague term for small countryside settlements, applicable to anything from a group of houses to a small town.
- nehanzō: Literally "nirvana statue". A reclining image of the Buddha as he lies down ill, before his death and entry into complete nirvana (final release from the cycle of reincarnation). The same scene is also commonly depicted in paintings, which are called nehanzu (涅槃図, "nirvana-painting").
- Paintings, more so than statues, tend to show the scene of entering nirvana with a multitude of living beings—including disciples, heavenly creatures, and animals—surrounding the Buddha and mourning his loss, based on how this episode is described in religious narratives. The poet may have been reminded of that when he saw the cat on the statue.
(9)
春惜む人にしきりに訪はれけり
haru oshimu / hito ni shikiri ni / towarekeri
Analysis
spring reluctant-to-let-go / people [by] frequently / being visited [CW]
Translation
People reluctant to part with the spring; one after another they come to visit me.
Notes
- haru oshimu: To be sorry that spring is about to end; to be reluctant to leave spring behind. Spring SW. Also appears in poetry as the Chinese-style SW jakushun (春惜). This expression also has the figurative sense of feeling sorry for the gradual passing of one's youth: in Japan, spring is a metaphor for youth.
- shikiri ni: In rapid succession, one after another.
- The poem is originally phrased in the passive, with the poet being visited by spring-lamenting people. This has been translated as an active construction, which sounds more natural in English.
(10)
永き日やあくびうつして分れ行く
nagaki hi ya / akubi utsushite / wakare yuku
Analysis
long day [CW] / yawn passing / separate-go
Translation
A lingering spring day; passing a yawn from one to another, we go our separate ways.
Notes
- nagaki hi: A long, lingering day, compared to the short days of winter. Spring SW. This word also has the traditional sense of "lingering sun" (in Japanese the word hi means both "day" and "sun").
- akubi: Yawn. Here the reference is to the "contagious" type that passes from one yawning person to another.