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- hotaru 蛍 (ほたる) firefly, fireflies -
Their appearance along rivers of Japan brings a romantic, poetic feeling to all who watch them. And it did not cost the farmers a penny to go out and enjoy them.
There are more than 40 different types of fireflies known in Japan.
The mention of "fireflies" in the haikai times of Basho also referred to the "hot buttocks" of the young men and their love-life.
. nanshoku、danshoku 男色 homosexuality in Edo .
Kono Bairei (1844-1895)
. WKD : hotaru 蛍 firefly, fireflies .
Luciola lateralis. Glühwürmchen; Leuchtkäfer - kigo for mid-summer
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source : chiyopro/okuno-in
愚に暗く茨を掴む蛍かな
gu ni kuraku ibara o tsukamu hotaru kana
foolishly, in the dark,
he grabs a thorn:
hunting fireflies
Tr. Barnhill
quote
a fool in the dark
grabs a bramble -
firefly hunt
Kuraku, as in the Enlish word "dark", can mean either physical or metaphorical darkness.
Read more by Ueda, Bashō and His Interpreters
source : http://books.google.co.jp
foolishly in the darkness
I grab a thorn
hunting for fireflies . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve
The cut marker KANA is at the end of line 3.
Basho seems to make fun of his own foolishness. He should know better than grabbing into the darkness . . .
He is also referring to all people who fool themselves with shallow knowledge . . .
Written in 延宝9年（天和元年）, Basho age 38.
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. hotarumi ya sendoo yoote obotsukana .
(summer) Hotaru fireflies from Seta. drunken boatsman
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蛍火の昼は消えつつ柱かな
hotaru-bi no / hiru wa kie tsutsu / hashira kana
. hotarubi no hiru wa kie-tsutsu hashira kana .
At Hiraizumi, where the pillars of the Golden Hall are loosing some chippings of the gold foil, shimmering like fireflies.
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. koko hotaru tagoto no tsuki to kurabeken .
(summer) fireflies. each field. moonlight, to compare
. kono hotaru tagoto no tsuki ni kurabemin .
(autumn) moon. reflected in each paddy. fireflies (from Seta)
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source : www.garitto.com/product
草の葉を落つるより飛ぶ蛍かな
kusa no ha o otsuru yori tobu hotaru kana
falling from
a grass blade, and flying away:
a firefly
Tr. Barnhill
The hotaru disappears from the clumps of grass
to immediately reappear in the distance.
Tr. Sanm Sasaki - Chado: The Way of Tea
from a blade of grass
a firefly falls and then
flies away . . .
Tr. Gabi Greve
The cut marker KANA is at the end of line 3.
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. me ni nokoru Yoshino o Seta no hotaru kana .
(summer) fireflies from Seta, Lake Biwa. Yoshino
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Here is a linked verse "己が光" (Ono ga hikari - をのが光 ) from the Summer of 1962, as reported by Shayo:
己が火を木々に蛍や花の宿
ono ga hi o kigi ni hotaru ya hana no yado
- Basho 芭蕉
With their own light,
fireflies turning trees
into blossom-viewing inns.
Tr. Robin D Gill
蛍見や鯉も胴うつ五間の間
hotarumi ya koi mo doo utsu gokan no ma
- Shayo 車庸
Written in the summer of 1690 元禄3年夏, at Ishiyama.
- another source dates it to
in 1692 元禄5年夏
. Shioe Shayoo 潮江車要 Shayo .
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. WKD : hotaru 蛍 firefly, fireflies .
. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .
. - KIGO used by Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - .
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