BUSON - mijika yo

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. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

kigo for summer
. WKD : mijika yo, mijikayo 　短夜 short night .
night getting shorter, yo no tsumaru 夜のつまる
"dawn hastens", ake isogu 明急ぐ

The shortest night is experienced at the summer equinox.
This feeling of evanescence, ephemeral fleeting of things is expressed here.

Buson is a master of the summer kigo 'the short night'-- mijikayo. At one point, Blyth contrasts the use of the subject of footprints by Buson and Shiki: one set of footprints used in relation to 'the long day', an one set used in relation to 'the short night':

みじか夜や足跡浅き由比ヶ浜
mijika yo ya ashiato asaki Yuigahama / mijikayo ya ashiato asaki yui no hama

A short night of summer:
Faint footprints
On the shore of Yuigahama.

Yosa Buson

Yuigahama 　由比ガ浜　 is the long sandy beach of Kamakura, Japan.


砂浜に足跡長き春日かな
sunahama ni ashiato nagaki haruhi kana

On the sandy beach,
Footprints:
Long is the spring day.

Masaoka Shiki 正岡子規


"The Long Day" also includes haiku on the topic 'osoki hi　遅き日'-- the slow day.

- - - - -　Blyth gives three examples of 'slow day' haiku　by Buson:

遅き日のつもりて遠き 昔かな
osoki hi no tsumorite tooki mukashi kana

Slow days passing, accumulating,--
How distant they are,
The things of the past!


遅き日や谺聞ゆる京の隅
osoki hi ya kodama kikoyuru kyoo no sumi

The slow day;
Echoes heard
In a corner of Kyoto.


遅き日や雉子の下りゐる橋の上
osoki hi ya kiji no oriiru hashi no ue

The slow day;
A pheasant
Settles on the bridge.


. WKD : mijika yo　短夜 short night .

under construction
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?
mijikayo no yami ni kakurete nio no umi

hidden in the darkness
of this short night -
Lake Biwako
Tr. Gabi Greve


. nio no umi におの海 - 鳰の海 "the sea of the grebe bird, lake Biwako　琵琶湖 .
kaitsuburi, nio カイツブリ　ニオ


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みじか夜の闇より出て大井川
. mijikayo no yami yori idete ooigawa .
the river Ooigawa, Oigawa 大井川
- - - - - and
みじかよや2尺落ち行く大井川 - mijikayo ya nishaku ochiyuku ooigawa

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みじか夜や暁早き京はづれ　
mijika yo ya akatsuki hayaki Kyoo hazure


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短夜や浅井に柿の花を汲む
mijikayo ya asai ni kaki no hana o kumu

this short night -
from a shallow well I scoop
a persimmon flower
Tr. Gabi Greve


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source :　rakanneko.jp/buson


みじか夜や浅瀬にのこる月一片
mijikayo ya asase ni nokoru tsuki hitohira

this short night -
in the shallows remains
one sliver of the moon
Tr. Gabi Greve


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短夜や芦間流るる蟹の泡
mijikayo ya ashi ma nagaruru kani no awa

The short night--
bubbles of crab froth
among the river reeds
Tr. Hass


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? attributed to Buson
mijikayo ya ashi no hazure no mizu o deru

A short night--
Reed tips
From the water peeking
Tr. Nelson / Saito

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短夜や吾妻（あずま）の人の嵯峨どまり　
mijika yo ya Azuma no hito no Saga-domari


短夜や化けそこなひし地蔵尊
mijikayo ya bakesokonaishi Jizoo son


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短夜や同心衆の川手水
mijikayo ya dooshinshuu no kawachoozu / かはちょうず kahachoozu (kawa temizu)

this short night -
Edo policemen wash their hands
in the river
Tr. Gabi Greve


. dooshin, dōshin 　同心　Doshin, police officers in Edo .


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みじか夜やいとま給る白拍子
mijikayo ya itoma tamawaru shirabyooshi
. shirabyooshi 白拍子 Shirabyoshi.
female dancers that performed traditional Japanese dances


みじか夜や葛城山の朝曇り
mijikayo ya Katsuragisan no asagumori
. WKD : Katsuragi no hitokotonushi no ōkami .
Mount Katsuragi

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みじか夜や毛虫の上に露の玉 / みじか夜や毛むしの上に露の玉
mijikayo ya kemushi no ue ni tsuyu no tama

Brief night!
Atop the caterpillar
a dewdrop
Tr. Beichman

quote from
A Poet's Anthology: The Rqnge of Japanese Poetry, by Oooka Makoto (Katydid Books, trans. by Janine Beichman, 1994)
Ooka wrote:
Had [Buson] said ue no instead of ue ni, the weight would have fallen on the last line, tsuyu no tama, emphasizing the dewdrop's concrete physicality and giving rise to a different effect.
A modern haiku poet might in fact be more likely to choose the latter route.


The short night--
on the hairy caterpillar
beads of dew.
tr. Hass


The short night is through:
on the hairy caterpillar,
little beads of dew.
tr. Henderson


The night is brief --
on a hairy caterpillar
jewels of dew.
tr. Sawa & Shiffert


short night--
a dewdrop on
the hairy caterpillar
tr. Yasuhiko Shirota


short night;
pearls of dew
on the butterfly grub
tr. Haldane


This night's so short
The caterpillars' spines
Are beaded with dew.
tr. McAuley


short night!
all over the wooly bear
are dew beads
Tr. Dennis Chibi - fb




this short night -
drops of dew
on the hairy caterpillar
tr. Gabi Greve


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みじか夜や小見世明たる町はづれ
mijikayo ya komise aketaru machi hazure

this short night -
some shops are open
at the outside of town
Tr. Gabi Greve


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みじか夜や枕にちかき銀屏風
. mijikayo ya makura ni chikaki ginbyoobu .
a silver folding screen


みじか夜や村雨わたる板庇
. mijika yo ya murasame wataru itabisashi .
planks of the eaves


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source :　rupe.exblog.jp/tags


短夜や浪うち際の捨篝
mijikayo ya namiuchigiwa no sutekagari


this short night -
an abandoned fire
at the shoreline
Tr. Gabi Greve



mijika yo ya nami uchigiwa no sute-booki

the night is short—
on the beach,
a discarded broom
Tr. Addiss


nami-uchi 浪うち where the waves come to an end at the shore


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source :　rakanneko.jp/buson

短夜やおもひがけなき夢の告
mijikayo ya omoigakenaki yume no tsuge
短夜や思ひもよらぬ夢の告げ - mijika yo ya omoi mo yoranu yume no tsuge

this short night -
such an unexpected notice
in my dream
Tr. Gabi Greve


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みじか夜や六里の松に更たらず
mijikayo ya roku ri no matsu ni fuketarazu


みじか夜や僧をとめたる飯けぶり
mijika yo ya soo o tometaru meshi keburi


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明やすき夜をかくしてや東山
. akeyasuki yoo kakushite ya higashiyama .
the night comes to an end fast . . . and the Higashiyama mountains


明安き夜や住の江のわすれ草　
akeyasuki yo ya Suminoe no wasuregusa


明安き夜や稲妻の鞘（さや）走り
akeyasuki yo ya inazuma no saya hashiri


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明けやすき夜を磯による海月かな　
akeyasuki yo o iso ni yoru kurage kana

dawn comes early
to this night and at the beach
a jellyfish


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. - ABC- List of Buson's works in the WKD - .


. Yosa Buson - Study Group on Facebook .


. WKD : Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 - Introduction .


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BUSON - kawa - rivers

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. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

A list of haiku about the famous rivers of Japan.
Buson has also written many poems about river in spring, river in winter and so on . . .


. WKD : kawa　川　river, rivers .


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阿武隈や五十四郡のおとし水
abukuma ya gojuushi gun no otoshi mizu

The Abukuma River;
Water drained off
Flows from fifty-four counties.
Tr. Shoji Kumano


. WKD : Abukumagawa 阿武隈川 in Fukushima .




淺川の西し東す若葉かな
. asakawa no nishi shi higashi su wakaba kana .
shallow river

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source :　katazome.com/buson


易水にねぶか流るる寒さかな
ekisui ni nebuka nagaruru samusa kana

A leek,
Floating down the Ekisui, -
Ah, the cold!
Tr. Blyth

According to Blyth:
Keika, of the kingdom of En, who intended to kill King Shi, of the kingdom of Shin, 222-206 B.C., parted from Prince Tan, of En, at this river in North China. (He failed, and was himself killed).

Buson has taken this long, cold leek and put it in a place a thousand miles away, and at a time of two thousand years ago. What a long way to go to express the apparently simple sensations of whiteness and cold!


The River Ekisui,
A leek is flowing;
How cold it is!
Tr. Shoji Kumano


along river Ekisui
a leek is floating down
in this cold . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve

The cut marker KANA is at the end of line 3.

. WKD : nebuka 葱 leek and Buson .
Buson was very fond of negi leek　葱　 (nebuka) and also of nira 韮 , Chinese garlic chives.


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春雨の中を流るる大河かな　
. harusame no naka o nagaruru taiga kana .
big river in spring rain



みじか夜の闇より出て大井川
mijikayo no yami yori idete ooigawa - (1774)

A short night --
Out of its darkness
Flows the Oi River.
Tr. Nelson / Saito



みじかよや2尺落ち行く大井川
mijikayo ya nishaku ochiyuku ooigawa - (1769)

A short night -
Dropping two inches
The Oi River.
Tr. Nelson / Saito

The short night--
the Oi River has sunk
two feet.
Tr. Hass



さみだれの大井越たるかしこさよ
samidare no Ôi koshitaru kashikosa yo

Early summer rains -
crossing the Oi River,
an accoplishment!
Tr. Sawa / Shiffert

With all the rains of May in the Ôi,
I have crossed it!
Pretty clever-- eh?
Tr. Henderson


. Ooigawa (大井川, Ōi-gawa) Oi River, Ohigawa .
The Ōi River flows from the Akaishi Mountains, the branch of the Japanese Southern Alps which form the border between Shizuoka, Nagano and Yamanashi prefectures.



. mijika yo 短夜 and haiku by Yosa Buson .


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すゞしさや都を竪にながれ川
suzushisa ya miyako o tatsu ni nagaregawa - (1768)

Coolness -
Through the capital from the north
A river flowing.
Tr. Nelson / Saito

A coolness -
lengthwise through the capital,
the flowing river.
Tr. Sawa / Shiffert


. Miyako 都 A river flowing through Kyoto. .


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行年や芥流るゝさくら川
yuku toshi ya akuta nagaruru sakuragawa - (1740)

A passing year -
Garbage drifting down
The Sakura River.
Tr. Nelson / Saito


the year about to end -
dirt and rubbish flowing
in the Sakura River
Tr. Ueda

The river Sakuragawa flows from the west side of Mount Tsukuba.

Buson refers to a famous Noh play, Sakuragawa.




quote
Sakuragawa (The River of Cherry Blossoms)
In the Sakura-no-Baba (Cherry Blossom Riding Grounds) in the province of Hyūga (the present-day Miyazaki Prefecture), a mother and a son lived in poverty. The son, Sakurago (Cherry Blossom Child), distressed at his mother’s hardships, sold himself to a human trafficker. The mother learnt by a letter from the trafficker that her son sold himself. In a frenzy of grief and tears, she dashed out from her house and set out on a journey to find Sakurago.
snip
This is one of the madwoman stories in which a mother, separated from her child, travels in her madness to look for that child. Although this piece has a happy ending, in which finally the child and mother meet, as it unfolds, the emotions of the son who pities his mother and of the mother who whole-heartedly loves her son are finely described and come to settle in the hearts of the audience.
source : www.the-noh.com/en


. WKD : Tsukubasan 筑波山　Mount Tsukuba .
Sakuragawa 桜川, 櫻川


- - - - - Naotaka Uematsu wrote:
. . . . . there is a tributary river of Yodo, Akuta(芥）-gawa near Takatsuki city.
And there is the canal named Sakuragawa in Osaka city.
Once I have been living near Akutagawa. I don't think this Haiku is concerned the Noo "Sakuragawa".
The canal Sakura-gawa was digged in 17c. and it's even now not clean. Akuta-gawa is the first grade river but the basin has been developed and the river becomes very narrow stream.


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春風や堤長うして家遠し
harukaze ya dote nagoo-shite ie tooshi

spring breeze -
the river bank so long and
my home so far

. Buson - harukaze - Discussion of the translation .

Part of the longer poem
. Shunpuu Batei kyoku 春風馬堤曲 Spring Wind on the Riverbank of Kema .


. Yodogawa 淀川　－ Osaka .


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ukawa 鵜川 river for cormorant fishing
The most famous is the Nagaragawa　長良川 in Gifu


朝風の吹きましたる鵜川哉
asakaze no fukisamashitaru ukawa kana

Mornig breeze has blown off
The excitement
Cormorant fishing-river.
Tr. Shoji Kumano

The cut marker KANA is at the end of line 3.



me fusaide soo no sugiyuku ukawa kana - (1769)

Eyes averted
A monk passes along--
Cormorant fishing in the river.
Tr. Nelson / Saito


naki tama mo tobu yo mama aru ukawa kana

Spirits of the dead
often flying over at night,
the cormorant-fishing river.
Tr. Sawa / Shiffert



殿原の名古屋貌なる鵜川かな
Tonobara no Nagoya kao naru ukawa kana

all men of high status
look like born in Nagoya
on a cormorant river
Tr. Gabi Greve



夜やいつの長良の鵜舟嘗て見し
yo ya itsu no Nagara no ubune katsute mishi

at night
we can see cormorant boats
on river Nagara
Tr. Gabi Greve


. WKD : ukai　鵜飼　cormorant fishing .


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nameless river　名もなき川

さみだれや名もなき川のおそろしき
samidare ya na mo naki kawa no osoroshiki  - (1771)

Early summer rain -
A river even nameless
Frightening.
Tr. Nelson / Saito

The rainy season,
and the river with no name
a frightening thing.
Tr. Sawa / Shiffert

summer showers
a river with no name
has become fearful
Tr. Gilles Fabre



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. WKD : ABC- List of his works .


. Yosa Buson - Study Group on Facebook .


. WKD : Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 - Introduction .


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BUSON - numbers

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Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村
(1715-1783)

. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

. ABC - List of Buson's works in the WKD .

. WKD : Numbers used in Haiku and Kigo .


Buson used a lot of numbers in his poetry. Here is a list of some of them.

under construction

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ichi 一, hitotsu ひとつ　 one
hitori　一人　one person

一わたし遅れた人にしぐれ哉
. hito-watashi okureta hito ni shigure kana .
one ferry boat


一軒の茶見世の柳老にけり
. ikken no chamise no yanagi oi ni keri .
one tea house by the roadside


こがらしや炭売ひとりわたし舟
. kogarashi ya sumiuri hitori watashibune .
one charcoal vendor


みじか夜や浅瀬にのこる月一片
. mijikayo ya asase ni nokoru tsuki hitohira .
one sliver of the moon


白露や茨の刺にひとつづつ
. shiratsuyu ya ibara no toge ni hitotsu-zutsu .
one dewdrop on each thorn


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立去ル事一里眉毛に秋の峰寒し
tachisaru koto ichiri mayuge ni aki no mine samushi

one ri away
and my eyebrows feel
the cold of peaks in autumn

Written at 妙義山 Mount Myogi-San, Buson age 36.

ichiri 一里 　one RI, about 4 km

For Yosa Buson, this mountain reminded him of the famous
峨眉山 Gabi San in China.
- note the pun with the Chinese character 眉 .


source : cardiac.exblog.jp

. Mount Myogisan 妙義山 - Gunma .

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ni 二 futatsu　ふたつ　two

二もとの梅に遅速を愛す哉
. futamoto no ume ni chisoku o aisu kana .
two ume trees


二村に質屋一軒冬こだち
. futa-mura ni shichiya ikken fuyu kodachi .
two villages, one pawn shop


蓮の香や水をはなるる茎二寸
. hasu no ka ya mizu o hanaruru kuki ni sun .
one SUN 寸 is about 3.03 cm.


このふた日砧聞えぬ隣かな　
. kono futahi kinuta kikoenu tonari kana .
two days


河骨の二もとさくや雨の中　
. koohone no futatsu mo saku ya ame no naka .
two spatterdocks


みじかよや2尺落ち行く大井川
. mijikayo ya nishaku ochiyuku ooigawa .
two shaku - one shaku is about 30 cm


五月雨や大河を前に家二軒
. samidare ya taiga no mae ni ie niken .
two houses near the swollen river


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ni san 二三 two or three

牡丹散て打かさなりぬ二三片
botan chirite uchikasanarinu nisanpen

peonies scatter . . .
two or three petals fall
on top of each other


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san 三　 mitsu みつ three



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go 五　itsutsu いつつ　five

買うて且うれしさよ炭五俵
. an koote katsu ureshisa yo sumi gohyoo .
five bags of charcoal


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hachi 八 eight

秋ふるや楠八畳の金閣寺 　
. aki furu ya kusu hachijoo no Kinkakuji .
camphor wood board of eight tatami-mat size


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juu, to 十 ten　10

あなたうと茶もだぶだぶと十夜哉
. ana tooto cha mo dabu-dabu to juuya kana .
ten nights (of Amida Buddhist Prayers)


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gojuushi 五十四 - 54 　

阿武隈や五十四郡のおとし水
. abukuma ya gojuushi gun no otoshi-mizu .
fifty-four counties



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- - - - - dates and special days - - - - -

卯月八日 死んで生まるる子は仏
. uzuki yooka 卯月八日 eighth day of the fourth lunar month - Buddha's Birthday .


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- - - - - ikutsu いくつ how many ? - - - - -

極楽の近道いくつ寒念仏
. gokuraku no chikamichi ikutsu kan nenbutsu .
how many shortcuts to paradise ?



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. WKD : Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 .

. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .



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yosabuson
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ISSA - chiri no mi

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. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .

chiri no mi　塵の身 this body of dust


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塵の身のちりより軽き小てふ哉
chiri no mi no chiri yori karuki kochou kana

small butterfly
lighter than the dust
of your dust body
Tr. Chris Drake


This hokku is from the 4th month (May) of 1824.
In Japanese mi in line 1 means both body and social status, and "dust body" was a standard metaphorical expression meaning 1) to have a social status or position (mi) so low no one pays any attention to you or cares about you, making you socially invisible, and 2) to live in the midst of the dusty, dirty world of ordinary affairs and become dusty and dirty yourself.

Issa seems to be using both the literal meaning of chiri as dust or small trash and the first metaphorical meaning of "dust body": being worthless, insignificant, or tiny. On the one hand, the small butterfly (and others like it) is usually marginalized and overlooked if not looked down on by humans and presumably by larger butterflies as well.

On the other hand, the small butterfly's incredibly light movements through the air show it to be even more mobile and less earthbound than motes of dust. It is so graceful and seemingly unbound by gravity that its small size and light weight are its greatest assets, and it leaves the dust of the world behind as it flies here and there very rapidly and seemingly at will. Issa thus turns the normal meaning of "dust body" on its head and uses it to praise the small butterfly.

And, since "dust body" is an expression used mostly with regard to humans, the lightness and flying ability of the small butterfly here may be suggesting that the people often referred to as the "dust" or "trash" of the society, people without wealth, power, or visibility, have the potential to transcend or leave their dust bodies in the normal, discriminatory sense behind as they fly around socially in unthinkable ways.

Chris Drake

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蝶とんで我身も塵のたぐひ哉
choo tonde waga mi mo chiri no tagui kana

butterfly flitting--
I too am made
of dust
Tr. David Lanoue



塵の身もともにふはふは紙帳哉
chiri no mi mo tomo ni fuwa-fuwa shichoo kana

this body of dust
suits this wispy-soft
paper mosquito net
Tr. David Lanoue


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poems using CHIRI but in the more real sense of DUST:


塵塚にあんな小蝶が生れけり
chirizuka ni anna ko chô ga umare keri

in the trash heap
that little butterfly
is born!
Tr. David Lanoue



老僧が塵拾ひけり苔の花
roosoo ga chiri hiroi keri koke no hana

the old priest
picks off the dust...
moss blossoms
Tr. David Lanoue



塵の身も拾ふ神あり花の春
chiri no mi mo hirou kami ari hana no haru

even for this body of dust
a guardian god!
blossoming spring

Shinji Ogawa explains that the phrase hirou kami ("the god who picks you up") is part of a longer expression:

捨てる神あれば拾う神あり
suteru kami areba hirou kami ari

"If a god discards you,
there must be another god who may pick you up".

Tr. and comment David Lanoue


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春風や柱の穴も花の塵
haru kaze ya hashira no ana mo hana no chiri

spring wind -
even in the pillar's hole
petals of cherry blossoms
Tr. Gabi Greve


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. WKD : Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 - Introduction .


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BUSON - emotions

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Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村
(1715-1783)

. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

. ABC- List of Yosa Buson's works in the WKD .

. WKD : Emotions expressed directly in Haiku .


Buson used a lot of word to express his emotions directly. Here is a growing ABC list.

under construction

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kanashii　悲しい　I feel sad
the full meaning is difficult to translate :
1. kawaii, itooshii 　悲しい／哀しい／愛しい　- loved, lovable, adorable, charming, sweet, cute, pretty . . .
2. kanashii, kawaisoo, itawashii - (sad, sorrowful,mournful, depressing, miserable, pathetic . . .


hatake ni mo narade kanashiki kareno kana

even it couldn't become a farm,
it's sad -
withered field
Tr. Stephen Addiss


Not even being farmed
How sad!
The withered field.
Tr. Nelson/Saito



悲しさや 釣の糸ふく 秋の風
. kanashisa ya tsuri no ito fuku aki no kaze .


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masuzhisa 貧しさ poverty, he is poor

鋸の音貧しさよ夜半の冬
. nokogiri no oto mazushisa yo yowa no fuyu .



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natsukashiki, natsukashii　懐かしい to remember fondly


. natsukashiki ge-gaki no sumi no nioi kana .

蜻蛉や村なつかしき壁の色 　
. tonboo ya mura natsukashiki kabe no iro . 　　



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sabishii 　寂しい　I am lonely


さびしさのうれしくも有秋の暮
sabishisa no ureshiku mo ari aki no kure

in loneliness
there is also some joy—
autumn darkens
Tr. Stephen Addiss


In the solitude
There is pleasure, too--
Autumnal sunset.
Tr. Nelson/Saito


Being alone
may also be pleasant--
autumn dusk.
Tr. Sawa/ Shiffert



鮓おしてしばし淋しきこころかな
. sushi oshite shibaraku sabishiki kokoro kana .
my heart feels lonely


kochira muke ware mo sabishiki aki no kure

kyonen yori mata sabishii zo aki no kure

mugi no aki sabishiki kao no kyoujo kana

sabishisa ni hana sakinumeri yamazakura


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ureshi 　嬉　うれし I am happy

近道へ出てうれし野の躑躅かな
chikamichi e idete ureshi no no tsutsuji kana

taking a shortcut
I am so happy (to see)
azaleas in the fields . . .

The cut marker KANA is at the end of line 3.



買うて且うれしさよ炭五俵
. an koote katsu ureshisa yo sumi gohyoo .
an extra joy

enpo ni kuwa wo irete ureshiki

ikedayori sumi kureshi haru no samusa kana

kao shiroki ko no ureshisa yo makura gaya

kayarishite yadori ureshi ya kusa no tsuki

kotori kuru oto ureshisa yo itabisashi

me ni ureshi koigimi no ougi mashiro naru

natsukawa o kosu ureshisa yo te ni zoori

sabishisa no ureshiku mo ari akino kure (see sabishi)

saga e kaeru hito wa izuko no hana ni kureshi

so tomete ureshi to kaya o tako tsuru

tsutsuji saite ishi utsushitaru ureshisa yo

yane hikuki yado ureshisa yo fuyugomori


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. WKD : Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 .

. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .



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yosabuson
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BUSON - onomatopoetic

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. WKD : Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

Yosa Buson uses quite a lot of them, especially in his later works after 1768.

. Onomatopoetic Words in Haiku and Kigo .

. ABC - List of works by Yosa Buson in the WKD .

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- - - - - aruki aruki - - - - -

歩き歩き物思ふ春のゆくへかな
aruki aruki mono omou haru no yukue kana

while walking and walking
I muse about things -
Where has spring gone?
(1769)


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- - - - - notarinotari, notari notari - - - - -

春の海ひねもすのたりのたりかな
. haru no umi hinemosu notari notari kana .


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- - - - - ochikochi - - - - -

おちこちに滝の音聞く若ばかな
. ochi kochi no taki no oto kiku wakaba kana .

遠近をちこちとうつきぬた哉
. ochikochi ochikochi to utsu kinuta kana .

梅遠近南すべく北すべく　
. ume ochikochi minami subeku kita subeku .


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- - - - - tokoro dokoro, tokorodokoro - - - - -


行く秋のところどころや下り梁
. yuku aki no tokorodokoro ya kudariyana .



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. WKD : Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

. ABC- List of works by Yosa Buson in the WKD .


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ISSA - ishizue

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. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .



source :　panoramio.com
ishizue from Hitachi Kokubunji Pagoda

soseki　礎石 Lit. foundation stone.
A base stone which receives the dead load of a pillar. The upper side of the base stone was made roughly level. Natural and processed stones both have a mortise *hozoana ほぞ穴, into which a tenon *hozo ほぞ, is inserted that extends from the bottom of the pillar. A tenon sometimes is cut into the base stone to be inserted into a corresponding mortise on the bottom of the pillar. Some base stones have an extension which serves as a sill or a ground plate, jifukuza 地覆座.

During the 7-8c a porous limestone called tufa *gyoukaigan 凝灰岩, was used and the developed of stone progressed. From the latter part of the 8c after floored buildings became common, stone processing declined. Many natural base stones were cut from andesite, anzangan 安山岩, a type of volcanic rock and granite, kakougan 花崗岩. A firmly packed bed of golfball-sized stones underlay base stones in the ancient period. The use of natural stones for base stones was common until the premodern age when carefully cut stones were used.
source : JAANUS


大寺の礎殘る野菊かな
ootera no ishizue nokoru nogiku kana

the foundation stones
of the big temple remain
amid wild chrysanthemums . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve

Masaoka Shiki　正岡子規 visiting Large Temples：
. Daiji, ootera, oodera 大寺 large temple .


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薄月の礎しめる柳哉
usu-zuki no ishizue shimeru yanagi kana

a willow
makes possible
this cloud-streaked moon
Tr. Chris Drake


This spring hokku was published in a New Year's collection in 1802. A faint moon seen through thin clouds is usually an autumn image, but the hokku is placed among spring hokku, so it seems to be about thin spring clouds, mist, or haze, with willows being the main seasonal image. The moon is dimly visible through thin clouds or mist, and its vague outline appears as a pale circle of light in the sky above a willow tree. If the clouds are moving, the moon may appear to be undulating or floating. The new leaves on the willow below are still small and give the whole tree a diffuse, swelling, cloudlike appearance, so the image does not seem to be about the thin, drooping limbs of the willow literally supporting the moon but about a tender balance and mutual dependence between sky and earth in which the moon on this night seems to find its basic shape in the even more diffuse, looming shape of the dimly moonlit willow below it. Somehow taught or visually supported by the willow, the cloud-streaked moon seems to be trying to realize one of its most basic forms. As for humans, without the support of the willow, we wouldn't be able to make out this very basic form of the moon: the moon couldn't exist this way for us without the willow down below.

Issa uses ishizue, 'foundation, basis, ground, support, foundation stone,' in a similar way in another early spring hokku from 1792:

harukaze ya ishizue shimeru asana-asana

spring wind --
the basic foundation
morning after morning


The days of spring seem to be defined by the early-morning strong wind. It blows hard to begin each day and sets the tone for the whole day, forming the basis for the way people experience and live through the spring.

Chris Drake

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礎や元日しまの巣なし鳥
ishizue ya ganjitsu shima no su nashi tori

cornerstone--
on New Year's morning
a bird without a nest
Tr. Lanoue



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. WKD : Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 - Introduction .


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Buson - Yosa Buson

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Welcome to Yosa Buson in Edo !



Read the main introduction here

. WKD : Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 - Introduction .
(1715-1783)

Around the age of 20, Buson moved to Edo and learned poetry under the tutelage of the haikai master Hayano Hajin.

Buson Ki 蕪村忌 Buson Memorial Day
December 25, 1784.


- - - - - Buson used a lot of alternate names:

Taniguchi Nobuaki (谷口信章), Yosa Nobuaki (与謝信章)
Busei (蕪菁), Chōkō (長康) Chookoo, Chōkyo (趙居) Chookyo, Chōsō (朝滄) Choosoo
Gasendō(雅仙堂) Gasendoo, Hajin(巴人), Hakuundō(白雲堂) Hakuundoo, Hekiundō(碧雲洞) Hekiundoo
In(寅), Rakujitsuan(落日庵), Saichō(宰鳥) Saichoo, Sanka(三果), Sansōdō(三草堂) Sansoodoo, Sessai(雪斎), Sha Shunsei(謝春星), Sha'in(謝寅), Shikoan(紫弧庵), Shimei(四明), Shinshō(信章) Shinshoo, Shunsei(春星)
Tōsei Saichō (東成宰鳥) Toosei Saichoo, Undō (雲堂) Undoo, Unsai (雲斎)
Yahan'ō (夜半翁) Yahano-Oo, Yahantei (夜半亭)

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白梅に明くる夜ばかりとなりにけり
shira-ume ni akuru yo bakari to nari ni keri

it is now the moment
when white plum blossoms
lighten into dawn
Tr. Crowley

. jisei 辞世 his death poem .



. His grave at 金福寺 Konpuku-Ji in Kyoto .


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Collected Haiku of Buson
By Richard C. Stclair

quote
Basho was a master of this practice and provided many hokku opening verses. He, with his "genius," as Professor Ueda puts it, infused artistic discipline into linked verse, and established the Basho style in this arena.

At the same time he also wrote many independent 5-7-5 syllable verses. His independent 17-syllable verses represented an innovative poetic form with a new aesthetics, branching away from the playful poetry of "haikai no renga," but it had no specific name.
Poets simply called it "ku."

Basho's disciples continued his more refined approach after his death, but by the time Buson came along decades later "haikai no renga" had slid back to a mere "lighthearted type of linked poetry." Hence the "Back to Basho" movement arose, with Buson as its central force. Buson was an active participant in "haikai no renga" with those who shared his aesthetic values. He contributed many "hokku." He also composed "ku."

The product of all these literary activities during the Edo period was covered as "a genre of literature," again to quote Professor Ueda, by the blanket term "haikai."
- Mrs. Takako Lento
source : www.amazon.com/review



The Permanence of Bashō
Yet, he [Buson] distinctly differed from Bashō in some ways.
The most important difference was that in the person of Buson there was usually a certain distance between the man and the poet. Buson, as a man living his daily life, was often remote from the reality presented in his poem.

- The master haiku Poet Matsuo Basho -
. WKD : Makoto Ueda and Basho .


under construction
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. . . BUSON - Cultural Keywords and ABC-List . . .

- AAA - / - BBB - / - CCC - / - DDD - / - EEE -

- FFF - / - GGG - / - HHH - / - I I I - / - JJJ -

- KK KK - / - LLL - / - MMM - / - NNN - / - OOO -

- PPP - / - QQQ - / - RRR - / - SSS - / - TTT -

- UUU - / - VVV - / - WWW - / - XYZ -


- BUSON - special pages of this BLOG about

. - - Emotions expressed directly by Yosa Buson - - .
- - - kanashii, sabishii, ureshii and more

. - - Numbers used by Yosa Buson - - .

. - - Onomatopoetic Words used by Yosa Buson - - .


. haru 春 spring .

. harusame 春雨 spring rain .


. jinja　神社 miya - Shinto shrines .

. kakashi 案山子 かかし - kagashi　鹿驚 scarecrow . .

. koromogae 更衣　- 衣替え　change the robes for summer . .

. mijika yo, mijikayo 　短夜 short night .

. nishi higashi　西東 "West - East" the four directions .

. sake 酒 ricewine rice wine - Reiswein .

. tera　寺 Buddhist temple, temples .

. tsuki 月　the moon in all seasons .


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. Yosa Buson - Collections - 蕪村句集 Kushu .
Dengaka, Denga-Ka 澱河歌 - Three Songs on Yodo River
Shunpuu Bateikyoku 春風馬堤曲 - collage in which Chinese-style verses
Hokujuu Roosen o itamu 北寿老仙を悼む - for Hayami Shinga 早見晋我

. Yosa Buson - Four Seasons - Collection .

. Reference - Books, Articles, external LINKS - .

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October 2015 - Hundreds of poems by haiku master Buson discovered
at the Tenri Central Library

The anthology contains 212 previously unknown haiku poems.
A total of about 2,900 haiku poems have been attributed to Buson.
Tenri Library (near Nara) announced on 14 Oct. that they had discovered two new books of original haiku by Yosa Buson: one volume of Spring & Summer poems, the other of Autumn & Winter ones.

蜻蛉や眼鏡をかけて飛歩行
kageroo ya megane o kakete tobiaruki

Large-eyed dragonfly
flies from here to there
while wearing glasses.


傘も化けて目のある月夜かな
karakasa mo bakete me no aru tsukiyo kana

Paper umbrella
with holes poking through allows
moonlight to shine down.

The poems are contained in two volumes that are copies of an anthology put together by Buson's disciples while he was alive.
- source : asahi newspaper and hailhaiku -



- Look at the manuscript here:

我焼し野に驚や屮の花
ware yakishi no ni odoroku ya kusa no hana

- source : isao3264.exblog.jp-

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- Discussions of facebook -

. Comparing Basho and Buson - and Makoto Ueda .

. Buson the painter and haijin .


To join BUSON on Facebook, click the image!


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- source : Yosa Buson by Tom McAuley - 99 Hokku -

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#yosabuson #buson
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ISSA - kasen - pine shade

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. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .


. WKD : matsu 松 the pine .


. WKD : Tsurukame 鶴亀 the Crane and the Turtoise .


The following by Chris Drake :

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celebrating peace in the land --


松蔭に寝てくふ六十よ州かな
matsukage ni nete kuu rokujuu yo shuu kana

sleeping and eating
in pine shade -- more than
sixty provinces

Issa


tsuru to asoban kame to asoban

let's be friends with the cranes
let's be friends with the turtles

Kakuroo



tsukikage no dandan hosoki haru nare ya

the moon
grows thinner
along with spring

Issa


yaeyamabuki no kakusu andon

a portable lamp hidden
by wild yellow roses

Issa



These are the first four verses of a 36-verse renku kasen sequence Issa composed with the Tendai-school priest Kakuroo ( 鶴老), or Old Man Crane in the 2nd month (March) of 1812, when Issa visited Kakurou's temple in the area east of Edo. Issa attached a headnote to characterize the mood of the sequence, especially the hokku. It is a phrase that means the hokku celebrates the fact that Japan has been at peace under the rule of the Tokugawa shoguns for more than two centuries. The Tokugawa shoguns came from the Matsudaira (Pine Level) clan, so long-lived, always green pine trees were a widely used symbol for the "eternal" rule of the shogunate. Referring directly to this image of the shogunate, Issa uses an old ritual phrase and writes that all of the more than 60 provinces of Japan were at peace, and people can eat and have a place to sleep thanks to ("in the shadow of") the peace brought by the Matsudaira shogunate. Of course Issa is not praising the shogunate unconditionally, but he does thank the regime for bringing peace to Japan after centuries of civil war. Issa surely knows many farmers and even many people in Edo are homeless or starving or close to starving, but his hokku is a ritualistic semi-prayer more than a pure description or observation.

In Issa's diary the hokku is placed in the 2nd month section among a group of celebratory hokku using pines, bamboo, cranes, and turtles to praise the new year and pray for health, prosperity, and long life. The season of this hokku isn't clear, and strictly speaking the hokku is seasonless, but since it is a celebratory hokku, Issa seems to be using it as a designated or makeshift New Year's hokku in the wider sense, with the Matsudaira ruling clan serving in place of the New Year's pine decorations. It is also therefore implicitly a prayer for continued peace or perhaps even for true peace and prosperity for everyone in Japan in the future. Although the pine shade in the hokku was later interpreted by some as referring to Basho, Issa's headnote indicates that this was not his main intent at the time he composed the hokku with Kakurou. If the pine shade refers to anyone specific beyond the shoguns, then it would be to Issa's host Kakurou.

A hokku, normally written by the guest, contains a greeting to the host of the renku sequence, and by referring to New Year's pines and their association with longevity, Issa is wishing the host Kakurou a long, healthy life. Since Kakurou's name contains the word crane, Issa is also referring to the fact that cranes often nest or rest in pines and are linked with them as symbols of longevity and good health.





In the wakiku, verse 2, the host Kakurou also takes Issa's hokku to be a half-mythic semi-prayer for peace in Japan as well as a greeting to him, so it, too, seems to be a makeshift New Year's verse responding to Issa's makeshift New Year's verse. In this kasen, Kakurou replies to Issa, suggesting that they become friends with with felicitous cranes and turtles and have a good time with them. Most immediately, it means that Kakurou, as a crane, wants to have a pleasant, friendly time with Issa as they write the kasen sequence. Since cranes were said to live a thousand years and turtles ten thousand years, he is also wishing Issa a long, healthy life in return, thus establishing a positive, festive mood for the sequence. Kakurou also seems to be comparing Japan to one of the decorations brought out at New Year's and at weddings: a small table with an island shape on it representing the Daoist island of eternal youth, known as Horai in Japan. On the small bonsai island are one or more pines and bamboos as well as cranes and turtles. The whole of Japan, Kakurou suggests, continuing the celebratory mood, is like Horai Island, where everyone can live a long life in peace and harmony and be friends with cranes and turtles.





However, the third verse, the daisan, swerves away from the hokku's mythical, utopian language and returns to the world of time and change. The spring moon -- since New Year's must be left behind, I take this to be the third-month moon -- is getting thinner and thinner as spring comes to an end. It would be nice to play around with idealized cranes and turtles all the time, but in the real world the cranes are taking to the sky and flying north, leaving Japan behind. At the same time, a crescent moon hangs softly in the warming sky. The late spring nights are becoming dark, with only a sliver of moon remaining, and someone has carried a portable frame lamp outside to do something, perhaps finish some work.

The lamp has been left on the far side a bush of yellow mountain roses (Japanese kerria plena), and the bush is now heavy with the blooming flowers. The color of the roses may be just visible in the mostly hidden light of the lamp, and there is a curious symmetry between heaven and earth: between the narrow, mostly hidden moon and the light of the lamp mostly hidden by the mountain rose bush. Issa has followed a spring moon with another spring verse -- something he couldn't do if the first two verses were spring verses and not designated New Year's verses -- but the next verse, no. 5, is a summer verse directly following only two spring verses, something a bit different from classic Basho-style renku, a placement which, along with the loose definition of semi-New Year's status for the first two verses, shows the interesting flexibility of renku composition in Issa's age. Would Basho have raised his eyebrows?

The above is only a brief sketch of what seems to be going on in the first four verses of this interesting sequence and is intended only to put the hokku in context.

Chris Drake

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. WKD : Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 - Introduction .


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