14/06/2012

Mukai Kyorai

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- Mukai Kyorai 向井去来 -

1651 - 1704
慶安4年(1651年) - 宝永元年9月10日(1704年10月8日)




応々といへど敲くや雪の門
oo to iedo tataku ya  yuki no mon

'Yes, yes!' I answered,
But someone still knocked
At the snow-mantled gate

Tr. Blyth


and his home,
Rakushisha 落柿舎 "Hermitage of the fallen persimmon"

. WKD : Persimmon (kaki) .


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Kyoraisho, Kyorai-sho, Kyorai Sho 去來抄
Writing of Kyorai, Conversations with Kyorai

one of the most important studies of Basho. A record of conversions of Basho with his disciples.

さびは句の色なり。 閑寂なる句をいふにあらず。 たとへば、老人の甲冑をたいし 戦場に働き、
錦繍をかざり御宴に侍りても、老の姿有るがごとし。

sabi wa ku no iro nari.
kanjaku naru ku wo iu ni arazu. tatoeba, roujin no katchuu wo taishi senjou ni hataraki,
kinshuu wo kazari goen ni haberitemo, oi no sugata aru ga gotoshi.

Sabi is the color of haiku.
It is different from tranquility.
For example, if an old man dresses up in armour and helmet and goes to the battlefield,
or in colorful brocade kimono, attending (his lord) at a banket, [sabi] is like this old figure.

Tr. Zoltan Barczikay


quote
‘Yamei asked me, what the "sabi" of a poem was?
I said that sabi was in the colour of a poem, not in its subject, however sombre it may be. It is like an old man in armour fighting in a battle, or a man drinking and feasting in his best clothes, and yet looking aged. It can be found in both gay poems and sad poems.
I gave a poem of my own as an example:

hanamori ya shiroki kashira o tsukiawase

The flower keepers —
They put their heads together,
Frosted with white hair.

My master praised this poem, saying that the colour of sabi is well described in it.’
source : Yuasa in haijinx




去來抄 - 口語訳
source : sasa.org/library

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Rakushisha 落柿舎(らくししゃ)
"Hermitage of the fallen persimmon"

is the cottage of Genroku poet Mukai Kyorai 向井去来.
Kyorai was one of ten disciples of the haiku poet, Matsuo Basho.

quote
The cottage was listed in the Shui Miyako Meisho Zue, an Edo period travel book that listed famous places to see in Kyoto. The name of the place is derived from a story of how Kyorai achieved enlightenment.
As the story goes, Kyorai had forty persimmon (kaki) trees planted around the hut. One autumn, when they were heavy with fruit, he had arranged to sell the persimmons. But during the night before they were to be picked, a great storm arose. The following morning, not a single persimmon remained on the trees. As a result Kyorai was enlightened and from that point forward called the hut and garden, Rakushisha or 'the cottage of the fallen persimmons'.
The poem he wrote for the occasion is inscribed on a stone in the garden:

かきぬしや こずえはちかき あらしやま
柿主や梢はちかきあらし山
kakinushi ya kozue wa chikaki Arashiyama

Master of Persimmons
Treetops are close to
Arashiyama


There's a bit of word play here. Arashiyama is a mountain near Kyoto but it means literally 'Storm Mountain'.

Basho visited here three times, in 1689, 1691 and 1694.
source : jgarden.org : Rakushisa


quote
Having been born into a Samurai family, Kyorai was a man of exemplary character and held a spirit worthy of bushi (warrior) all through his life. Not a few of his hokku reflect such personality of his.
For example:

元日や家にゆずりの太刀帯ん 
Ganjitsu ya ie ni yuzuri no tachi hakan

New Year’s Day...
today I shall wear the special sword
handed down for generations


Kyorai was a brave man. One episode which is testimonial to his bravery is to be found in a book entitled “Rakushi-sha Kyorai-Sensei Jijitsu” (Facts of Master Kyorai of Rakushi-sha) written by Genchu Mukai

Susumu Takiguchi
source : worldhaikureview2


It is possible that Kyorai began to practice haikai shortly before the compilation of Ichiro-Fu in the summer of 1685. A year before that, namely the first year of Jokyo (1684), Kikaku came up to Kyoto and stayed there for some time during which he had kukai meetings with local haikai poets. This resulted in the compilation of the anthology Shimi-Shu. Kyorai’s name was not yet found in it.
...
The second year of Jokyo (1685) was very important for Kyorai in another way. That is to say that in this year Kyorai had a second home built in Saga area of Western Kyoto. This was the detached house which was to become Rakushi-Sha (Falling Persimons Pavillion) when in 2 Genroku (1689) Kyorai came back from his visit to Nagasaki. There were as many as forty persimmon trees in this second house which indicates that it was quite a sizable estate.

Kyorai’s main house is said to have been situated near Shogo-in in Okazaki. He must have been a man of substance if in addition to this main house he could afford to buy a large estate even if it was in the countryside. There were forest lands in Shogo-in. The area where Kyorai’s main house was located is held to have been called Okazaki Village. Kyorai’s family was a rich family with successful medical doctors. However, Kyorai was not a doctor himself and quite how he amassed wealth is a moot point.

Susumu Takiguchi
source : worldhaikureview2 - 2012



quote
After Bashô’s journey, which he recorded in The Narrow Road to the Depths (Oku no hosomichi), the Shômon haikai witnessed a stylistic change in the 1690s, as Bashô’s disciple Kyorai observed:

"When the late Master came back to the capital from his journey to the far North, our school’s style changed drastically. We all carried a knapsack to see the Master at the Unreal Dwelling, or attended his lectures at the Fallen Persimmons Cottage.
Most of us learned the essentials of the Master’s teaching during that time. Hisago and Sarumino were the results."

Hisago (Gourd, 1690) and Sarumino (Monkey’s straw raincoat, 1691)
are two haikai collections compiled under Bashô’s direct supervision.

The collections, particularly Sarumino, are generally considered representative of the Shômon style of the 1690s, which Bashô describes as karumi (lightness). In karumi, Bashô called for naturalness and spontaneity in haikai composition as opposed to the heavy conceptual implications of earlier haikai.

“Naturalness” does not seem to be a very unique characteristic in literary theories, but to achieve naturalness in haikai is not so easy. As we have seen, the strict compositional rules inherited from renga predetermined the occurrence of seasons and themes at certain locations of a sequence and required poets to compose on cherry blossoms and the moon at particular places and limited times. They also restricted the mention of specific topics to a number of successive links, and even prescribed in what form a line cuts and a link ends.
Clearly, these regulations made it extremely difficult to achieve naturalness in haikai composition.
Moreover, in order to transform haikai from an entertaining pastime to a high art, for more than a decade Bashô and his followers tried to infuse it with a greater cultural and literary import.
Their adaptation of Daoist themes in the 1680s was a major part of this effort.

source : Basho-and-the-Dao - Peipei-Qiu

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Mukai Kyorai 向井去来 (むかい きょらい)
1651~1704
Reference : Mukai Kyorai



. Mukai Chine 向井千子 . (? - 1688)
his sister, who died very young, age 25 only.

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- - - - - NAGASAKI - - - - -



quote
Nagasaki no nagaki mo towan kumo-gasumi

wishing to know
how long the spring mist extends
over Nagasaki


This poem is said to be one which Kyorai wrote wistfully longing to return to his hometown, Nagasaki. This actually came true in Genroku 2 (1689).

When he was only 8 years old, his father, Gensho, took the whole family from Nagasaki to live in Kyoto. It was in Manji 1 (1658). This means that Kyorai was away from his birth place for 31 long years. He was already 38 years old.

He arrived there in summer which quickly turned autumn when he had to leave back for Kyoto already. He left behind a poem which since has become one of his most celebrated haiku:

kimi ga te mo majiru naru beshi hana-susuki

your waving hand
must be mingled among
the pampas grass


His family and friends did not want him to go and came as far as the hill called Himi, the boundary, to see him off, where there were pampas grass waving in the autumn wind as they said the final goodbye to the departing traveller. This haiku was published in the famous Sarumino(The Monkey’s Straw Raincoat) and the kotoba-gaki (a kind of note) says “Departing Ushichi at the Himi Hill when coming back from Chikushi (the Province of Nagasaki)”. Ushichi was a relative of his, said to be either his nephew or cousin or cousin-in-law, and was very close to Kyorai in that he discussed haikai with Kyorai a lot and had tutorial from him.

The Himi Hill is now part of the administrative district of the City of Nagasaki and calledSusuki-zuka-cho. There is a stone monument there which was erected in Tenmei 4 (1784), bearing this haiku. To reach there you follow the old Nagasaki Gaido and climb up to the Himi-toge which will lead to Yagami-mura and Susuki-zuka can be found there. It is very picturesque and it commands a fine view of the Mount Unzen. In the past one could not enter or come out Nagasaki except for passing this particular route. It is believed that this haiku was the only known poem Kyorai wrote in commemoration of his first return to his homeland.

. . . . . Are there any other stone monuments in Nagasaki with inscriptions of Kyorai’s poems? The answer is in the affirmative.

MORE
source : Susumu Takiguchi


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Arashiyama 嵐山 "Storm Mountain"
is a district on the western outskirts of Kyoto, Japan. It also refers to the mountain across the Ōi River, which forms a backdrop to the district. Arashiyama is a nationally-designated Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty.



Iwatayama Monkey Park
"Moon Crossing Bridge" (渡月橋,Togetsukyō), Togetsukyo
tombstone of the Heike courtesan Kogo of Sagano
hamlet of Kiyotaki and Mt Atago
Kameyama koen
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


六月や峯に雲置あらし山
rokugatsu ya mine ni kumo oku Arashiyama

Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉


the six month -
clouds are laying on the summit
of Mount Arashiyama

Tr. Gabi Greve



the sixth month --
with clouds laid on its summit
Mount-Arashi

Tr. Ueda Makoto

Basho is referring to the sixth lunar month.

. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

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徳山の蕎麦白妙や綿もふく
Tokuyama no soba shirotae ya wata mo fuku

. Tokuyama Kaido 徳山街道 Tokuyama Highway / Gifu .

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. WKD : Persimmon (kaki 柿) .


. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .

. - KIGO used by Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - .


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kaze no oto

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- kaze no oto 風の音 the sound of wind -

voice of autumn (aki no koe 秋の声, shuusei 秋声)
"sound of autumn" (aki no oto 秋の音)
particularly at night: wind in trees, plants; patter of leaves, rain; insect cries; and so on

. WKD : Wind in various kigo (kaze 風) .





under construction
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jinen, shizen 自然

quote
In Bashô’s writings, the same Chinese compound (read as shizen or ji’nen in Japanese) implies a meaning identical to its Chinese counterpart in Daoist discourse. Bashô’s use of the term in his early writings reflects a clear awareness of the literary significance of Daoist principles, and this awareness paved the way for his theoretical emphasis to “follow zôka and return to zôka” in his later years.

An early occurrence of ji’nen in Bashô’s writings is found in “Eulogy on a Kasen,” in which Bashô uses the term to praise a linked-verse sequence.

"The stormy wind from Pine Mountain in Iyo has blown upon the withered leaves of the Plantain Tree Hollow. Its sound sings poems. “Yeee!” The sounds of the tossing and trembling wind are like the jiggling of jade and the whistling of metals, sometimes strong and sometimes soft, bringing people to tears and touching man’s heart.
The meaning of each verse is distinct, as if ten thousand hollows are howling while each has a different sound—only such can be called an author of the piping of Heaven (tenrai) and spontaneity (ji’nen). The plantain leaves are torn, floating along the wind."

This eulogy is a response to a haikai sequence sent to Bashô by a poet from Matsuyama (Pine Mountain) in the Iyo area. “Plantain Tree Hollow” is one of Bashô’s literary names. The short prose piece strikes the reader with its unusual image and expressions, particularly the use of “the sounds of wind” as a metaphor for the superb quality of poetry and the juxtaposition of two kanji words, tenrai and ji’nen—“the piping of Heaven and spontaneity”—toward the end of the eulogy. But once we place this short quotation in the context of early Daoist sources, their implications are no longer ambiguous.

At the beginning of the second chapter of the Zhuangzi, “Discussion on Making All Things Equal,” we find very similar images and expressions in a dialogue between Nanguo Ziqi and Yancheng Ziyou:

Ziqi of South Wall sat leaning on his armrest, staring up at the sky and breathing—vacant and far away, as though he’d lost his companion. Yancheng Ziyou, who was standing by his side in attendance, said,
“What is this? Can you really make the body like a withered tree and the mind like dead ashes? The man leaning on the armrest now is not the one who leaned on it before!”
Ziqi said,
“You do well to ask the question, Yan[cheng]. Now I have lost myself. Do you understand that? You hear the piping of men, but you haven’t heard the piping of earth. Or if you’ve heard the piping of earth, you haven’t heard the piping of Heaven!”
Ziyou said,
“May I venture to ask what this means?”
Ziqi said,
“The Great Clod belches out breath and its name is wind. So long as it doesn’t come forth, nothing happens. But when it does, then ten thousand hollows begin crying wildly. Can’t you hear them, long drawn out? ... They roar like waves, whistle like arrows, screech, gasp, cry, wail, moan, and howl, those in the lead calling out yeee! Those behind calling out yuuu! In a gentle breeze they answer faintly, but in a full gale the chorus is gigantic. And when the fierce wind has passed on, then all the hollows are empty again. Have you never seen the tossing and trembling that goes on?”
Ziyou said,
“By the piping of earth, then you mean simply [the sound of] these hollows, and by the piping of man [the sound of] flutes and whistles. But may I ask about the piping of Heaven?”
Ziqi said,
“Blowing on the ten thousand things in a different way, so that each can be itself — all take what they want for themselves, but who does the sounding?”

source : Basho-and-the-Dao - Peipei-Qiu


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source : ttetsuo_2005


冬枯れや世は一色に風の音
. fuyugare ya yo wa hito iro ni kaze no oto .
(attributed to Basho)

all the withered plants -
the sound of wind
in a world of one color

Tr. Gabi Greve


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西か東かまづ早苗にも風の音
nishi ka higashi ka mazu sanae ni mo kaze no oto

from the west? from the east?
above all in the rice sprouts
the sound of the wind

Tr. Barnhill


from the east or west?
among the first rice-sprouts now
the sound of the wind

Tr. Chilcott

Written in the fourth lunar month of 1689. 元禄2年4月
At Shirakawa, on the trip

Oku no Hosomichi - - - - Station 10 - Shirakawa no Seki 白川の関 - - -
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


. WKD : The Four Directions "Tozai Nanboku 東西南北". .


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秋来にけり耳を訪ねて枕の風 
aki ki ni keri mimi o tazunete makura no kaze

autumn has come -
the wind has come to visit
my ear at the pillow


Written in 延宝5年, Basho age 34
This hokku is in the style of the Danrin school, with a personification of the autumn wind.

There is also a waka by Fujiwara no Toshiyuki 藤原敏行

秋来ぬと目にはさやかに見えねども
風の音にぞ驚かれぬる

aki kinu to me ni wa sayaka ni miene domo
kaze no oto nizo odorokaenuru

Autumn has come
Without realizing clearly
With eyes, however,
The sound of wind
Surprises us.


MORE about the pillow on the road
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .



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. WKD : Wind in various kigo (kaze 風) .


. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .

. - KIGO used by Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - .


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Kyoto Miyako

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- Kyooto 京都 Kyoto, Kyo - Miyako 都 / みやこ -


. WKD : Kyoto (Hana no Miyako 花の都) .





Paintings about Basho from the Kyoto Museum Collection
京都国立博物館所蔵
source : www.bashouan.com


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京まではまだ半空や雪の雲
. Kyoo made wa mada nakazora ya yuki no kumo .
(winter) snow, clouds, half-way


. Kyoo mo tooku Narumi ga taharukeki
umi o naka ni hedatete .

alone at the beach of Narumi


京に飽きてこの木枯や冬住ひ
. Kyoo ni akite kono kogarashi ya fuyuzumai .
(winter) winter storm. I am bored by Kyoto. lodging in winter
for - Suganuma Gon-emon 菅沼権右衛門 耕月 Kogetsu -


京にても京なつかしやほととぎす
. Kyoo ni te mo Kyoo natsukashi ya hototogisu . Kyoo nite mo
(summer) little cuckoo, longing for Kyoto


京は九万九千くんじゆの花見哉
. Kyoo wa kuman kusen kunju no hanami kana .
(spring) ninety-nine thousand (people). watching cherry blossoms


天秤や京江戸かけて千代の春
. tenbin ya Kyoo Edo kakete chiyo no haru .
comparing Edo and Kyoto


梅が香やしらら落窪京太郎 
. Ume ga ka ya Shirara Ochikubo Kyōtarō .
Kyootaroo. Allusion to the story Jōruri-hime Monogatari.


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- - - - - Miyako - - - - -


雁聞きに京の秋に赴かん
kari kiki ni miyako no aki ni omomukan

to listen to the geese
in the autumn of the capital
I will set out


Written in autumn of 1690 元禄3年秋.
It is not clear weather this is a hokku by Basho himself.

In a letter to
. Takahashi Dosui 高橋怒誰 .


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都出でて神も旅寝の日数哉
. miyako idete kami mo tabine no hikazu kana .
I left the capital


子の日しに都へ行かん友もがな
. ne no hi shi ni miyako e ikan tomo mo gana / nenohi.
(New Year) day of the rat. capital Kyoto. no friend


里人は稻に歌詠む都かな
. (satobito) sato-bito wa ine ni uta yomu miyako kana .
(summer) rice plant. the local people. to sing. the capital Kyoto



塩にしてもいざ言伝てん都鳥 
. shio ni shite mo iza kotozuten Miyako-dori .
"bird of the capital"

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瓜の皮剥いたところや蓮台野 
. uri no kawa muita tokoro ya Rendaino .

Rendaino was a famous graveyard in Kyoto.
The word is also used for graveyards elsewhere.

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たんだすめ住めば都ぞ今日の月
tanda sume sumeba miyako zo kyoo no tsuki
Tanda sume sumeba miyako zo kyô no tsuki

Only live and let it be clear!
If you live in the capital Kyô,
today’s full moon so clear


Basho played with homonyms: “sume” means “clear” and “live”; “kyô” means “Kyoto” and “today”. His haiku at this time was far from his later work that developed a mental depth that was non-existent in haiku before. The above poem followed the examples by haiku school called Danrin which was quite popular at that time. This school was most characterized by playing with words and humor and lacked mental or emotional substance. Basho’s rhetorical skill at this point in his career is not so excellent, though it was far from mediocre.
His haiku writing was not based on the particulars of reality experienced by himself. Basho was a mere young countryman of poetry imitating the days’ fashion of haiku writing.

Modernity and anti-urbanism in Basho Matsuo
. Ban’ya Natsuishi .


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. WKD : Kyoto (Hana no Miyako 花の都) .

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- quote -
Cooling off by the River at Shijo (1690)
The custom Basho describes in the following haibun and haiku began in the late 12th century as part of the Gion Festival; a temporary bridge was set up for portable shrines to cross the Kamo River near Gion Shrine (now Yasaka shrine), and eventually tearooms proliferated at the foot of this bridge.
By Basho’s time in the late 17th century platforms were built over the river and people flocked there to enjoy the river coolness. There are famous paintings of “Cooling off by the River at Shijo” by both Ando Hiroshige (1835) and his son-in-law Ando Hiroshige II (1860).



Cooling off by the river at Shijo
is a custom from the time of the evening moon till it passes through the dawn sky.
People line up on a platform over the river to pass the night drinking, eating, and having a good time.

The women’s kimono sashes are extravagant, the men’s haori jackets long in the formal style, Buddhist priests mingle with old folks, and even the blacksmith’s and bucket maker’s apprentices, their faces smiling with leisure, sing loud rowdy songs.
It is a scene to be expected in Kyoto.

River breeze —
wearing pale persimmon
in evening cool


- Read the full article here:
- source : writersinkyoto.com Jeff Robbins -


四條の「河原涼み」とて、夕月夜のころより有明過ぐるころ*まで、川中に床を並べて、夜すがら酒飲み物食ひ遊ぶ。女は帯の結び目いかめしく、男は羽織長う着なして、法師・老人ともに交り、桶屋・鍛冶屋の弟子子まで、いとま得顔に*、うたひののしる。さすがに都のけしきなるべし。

. 川風や薄柿着たる夕涼み .
kawakaze ya usugaki kitaru yuusuzumi - river breeze


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. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .



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kami - Shinto deities

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- kami 神 Shinto deities -

How to translate KAMI?
It may be one or more. In a Shinto shrine, more than one deity is usually enshrined.

In Japan, a variety of deities are known, usually peacefully side by side, starting with ancient animistic believes of "Gods of Mountains, Waterfalls, Rocks" and so on, leading to the concept of KAMI in Shintoism and later the influence of Buddhism with its manyfold HOTOKE.

Christianity came with the Portugese Missionaries, so we have
Deus sama デウスさま
Jesus, Iesu sama イエスさま
(the pronounciacion GODDO ゴッド is seldom used when talking about God.)

God of Christianity キリスト教の神 (kirisutokyo no kami)

To distinguish the Christian God, with a capital letter, from the other gods of other religions,
we can use the capital G !
In German, we can distinguish between Gott and Gottheiten, deities.

. WKD - Japanese deities (kami to hotoke) and haiku .






. WKD : Introducing Japanese Deities .


- - - - -


quote
Bashô is concerned with God
as he sees himself in the mind of the poet before flowers and fields.
. . .

The rice-pounder,
Cooling himself by the convolvulus flowers,—
A sight of pathos.

The rice-pounder is exhausted, and sits in the shade mopping his brow. Along the fence the convolvulus flowers are blooming because of and in spite of the heat. The half-obliviousness of the flowers on the part of the man, and the complete obliviousness on the part of the flowers, gives Bashō a feeling which, like God, is nameless.
source : R. H. Blyth on Bashō



under construction
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半日は神を友にや年忘れ
hanjitsu wa kami o tomo ni ya toshi wasure

half a day
I spent in the company of these deities -
year-end party


half a day
I spent in the company of the Kami gods -
year-end party


half a day
in the company of the Kami gods -
year-end party

Tr. Gabi Greve


Written in 1690 元禄3年, Basho age 47
Basho spent the last day of the year with the priest Ogurusu Yuugen 小栗栖祐玄 Yugen
at the shrine Kami Goryoo Jinja 上御霊神社 in Kurama, Kyoto.
This shrine houses a lot of Japanese deities.

. WKD : Kami Goryoo Jinja 上御霊神社 Upper Goryo Shrine .


for half a day,
companions to the gods -
setting the year off

Tr. Barnhill


for half a day
my friend turns into a god
end-of-the-year party

Tr. Chèvrefeuille


For half a day long,
We have a god as our friend
In our year-end party!

Tr. Oseko




A Basho Haiku Sweet 芭蕉俳諧 by Kikyo san, Iga Ueno
source : kikyou0123



. WKD : toshi wasure 年忘 "forget the old year" .

.............................................................................



神垣や思ひもかけず涅槃像
. kamigaki ya omoi mo kakezu Nehanzoo .
the "fence of the Gods" at Ise Shrine 伊勢神宮
and the statue of Buddha lying down to die

quote
This was composed at the Ise Shrines, on the 15th day of the Second Month, and Bashō is expressing his surprise (and pleasure) at something which, however much sanctioned by ancient custom, is still astonishing, namely, the fusion of Shintō and Buddhism. This amalgamation took place at the beginning of the 9th century a.d., when the Shington Sect developed the doctrine of Ryōbu-Shintō,1 or Shimbutsu-Kongō2 by which the gods of Shintō were recognised as manifestations or incarnations of the Buddhist divinities.
source : Blyth on Basho

.............................................................................


この松の実生えせし代や神の秋
. kono matsu no mibae seshi yo ya kami no aki .
Autumn of the Gods - at Kashima Shrine 鹿島神宮



都出でて神も旅寝の日数哉 
. miyako idete kami mo tabine no hikazu kana .
sharing nights on the road with the gods .
Hiyoshi Shrine 日吉大社 Hiyoshi taisha



なほ見たし花に明け行く神の顔
. nao mitashi hana ni ake yuku kami no kao .
"the face of God" - the deity Hitokotonushi 一言主



留守のまに荒れたる神の落葉哉
. rusu no ma ni aretaru kami no ochiba kana .
the "Gods are absent", the 10th lunar month, when the Gods assemble at Izumo


.............................................................................



月に名を包みかねてや痘瘡の神
. tsuki ni na o tsutsumi kanete ya imo no kami .
Imo no Kami 痘瘡の神 God of Smallpox - a pun with Imo Meigetsu moon


. WKD special : The Deity of Smallpox .


.............................................................................





source :keifusa.exblog.jp
Tenmangu shrine at Hoofu, Yamaguchi 防府の天満宮


我も神のひさうや仰ぐ梅の花
ware mo kami no hisoo ya aogu ume no hana

me too I look up
to god - in the blue sky -
these plum blossoms

Tr. Gabi Greve


Written in 1676 延宝4年, Basho age 33
The cut marker YA is in the middle of line 2, but lines 1 and two are one sentence
ware mo kami no hisoo o aogu

There are two kanji for HISO : 秘蔵 and 彼蒼

秘蔵 refers to the "secret storehouse" of the Tenmangu shrine in honor of Sugawara Michizane.

彼蒼 refers to the "sky" in an old poem in the collection
Kanke Kooshuu 菅家後集 Kanke kōshū from the Heian period, about 903,
with poems of Sugawara no Michizane 菅原道真.

Here Michizane writes about his feelings on the way to exile in Dazaifu,
having left his home three or four months ago.
It still feels like a dream when he looks at the blue sky.

家を離れて三四月 落涙百千行万事皆夢の如し
時々彼蒼<ひそう>を仰ぐ

Ça fait trois ou quatre mois que je suis parti de chez moi
Je verse des larmes de cent ou mille lignes
Tout ce qui est arrivé, c'est comme une rêve
Je me lève souvent les yeux au ciele bleu
(Le ciel bleu connaît son inocence et il ne peut dire sa tristesse sauf au ciel ...)
source : ameblo.jp/yubazzz


. Michizane and the Plum Blossoms .


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Basho speaks paradoxically about how the gods have motivated his decision to travel. He refers to two types of gods.

The first is Sozorogami, the other are the Dosojin.

Vom Kofferpacken und dem Gott des Fernwehs.

sozorogami そぞろ神 / そヾろ神 / 漫ろ神
suzurugami すずろがみ / 漫神
sowasowa no kami そわそわの神
. WKD : Aruki-gami 歩行神 God of Wandering .


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. WKD - Japanese deities (kami to hotoke) .



. Shinto Shrines visited by Basho .

. Buddhist Temples visited by Basho .
and hokku with HOTOKE.


. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .


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kane temple bell

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- kane 鐘 bell, temple bell -


. WKD : Bell, temple bell (kane 鐘) .

There were various types of large bells in the Edo period, mostly located in temples and some in the towns to tell the time.


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花の雲鐘は上野か浅草か
. hana no kumo kane wa Ueno ka Asakusa ka .

.............................................................................


iriai no kane 入逢の鐘 the time-telling bell at sunset


入逢の鐘もきこえず春の暮 
iriai no kane mo kikoezu haru no kure

I do not even hear
the bell at sunset -
this spring evening

Tr. Gabi Greve

The hokku has the word MO at the end of line 1.
not even ... since in another version, Basho tells us that in this poor village there was not even a sunset bell to be rung.

Written on the 29th day of the 3rd lunar month
元禄2年3月29日 at Kanuma town 鹿沼市, Oku no Hosomichi
It is maybe just another version of the famous

. kane tsukanu sato wa nani o ka haru no kure .


the sunset bell too
cannot be heared:
spring evening

Tr. Barnhill



The sunset bell
goes unheard
on this spring evening.

Tr. McAuley


The tolling for the parting day
I hear not -
This spring sunset.

Tr. Takafumi Saito


With reference to this waka by Monk Nooin 能因法師 Noin
新古今和歌集

yamazato no
haru no yuugure
kite mireba
iriai no kane ni
hana zo chirikeru

Spring nightfall
in a mountain village
where, at the sound of a bell
tolling the close of a day,
cherry blossoms keep falling.

Tr. Ueda


.............................................................................



鐘消えて花の香は撞く夕哉
. kane kiete hana no ka wa tsuku yuube kana .


鐘撞かぬ里は何をか春の暮
. kane tsukanu sato wa nani o ka haru no kure .
(see above)



月いづく鐘は沈める海の底
. tsuki izuku kane wa shizumeru umi no soko .
The mystery background story of the war bell at the bottom of the sea



.............................................................................



tsurigane 撞鐘 monk ringing the tempel bell



撞鐘もひびくやうなり蝉の声
tsukigane mo hibiku yoo nari semi no koe
(sukigane mo / hibiku yo nari / semi no koe)

the temple bell too
seems to be ringing:
cicada's cry

Tr. Barnhill



the temple bell too
seems to start ringing -
cicada's screech

Tr. Ueda

Written in the summer of 1688 貞亨5年.

At the ruins of castle of Mount Inabayama 稲葉山 near river Naragawa 長良川 in Gifu.

Even among the shrilling of the cicadas suddenly the bell can be heared reveberating.


. Inabayama 稲葉山 and Juuhachiro no Ki 十八楼ノ記 Tower of Eighteen - .


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. WKD : Bell, temple bell (kane 鐘) .
hanging temple bell, tsurigane 釣鐘
"crocodile's mouth", waniguchi 鰐口
bronze bell, dootaku 銅鐸
small bell, suzu 鈴

toki no kane 時の鐘 the bell to tell the time

asamutsu ya tsukimi no tabi no ake-banare

. akemutsu 明け六つ the sixth double-hour of the morning .
kuremutsu 暮れ六つ the sixth double-hour of the evening


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Kiso Nagano

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- Kiso 木曽 / 木曾 -

Kiso Mountains (木曽山脈  Kiso Sanmyaku)
are a mountain range in Nagano and Gifu prefectures in Japan. They are also called the Central Alps (中央アルプス, Chūō Arupusu?) and they combine with the Hida Mountains ("Northern Alps") and the Akaishi Mountains ("Southern Alps") to form a group collectively known as the Japanese Alps.


The Kiso River (木曽川  Kiso-gawa)
is a river in Japan roughly 193 km long, flowing through the prefectures of Nagano, Gifu, Aichi, and Mie before emptying into Ise Bay a short distance away from the city of Nagoya.[1] It is the main river of the Kiso Three Rivers (along with Ibi and Nagara rivers) and forms a major part of the Nōbi Plain. The valley around the upper portion of the river forms the Kiso Valley.

Parts of the Kiso River are sometimes referred to as the Japan Rhine because of its similarities to the Rhine in Europe.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !





The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kisokaido - Kiso Kaidoo 木曽街道 Kiso Kaido -
by Hiroshige
- Reference -



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木曽の栃浮世の人のみやげかな
木曽の橡浮世の人の土産かな
Kiso no tochi ukiyo no hito no miyage kana

chestnuts from Kiso
as souvenirs for those
of the floating world . . .



quote
(Basho's) account of the journey along the Kiso Road is so cursory that we are hardly given a place-name to help us identify Basho's course, but this may be because he traveled very quickly, in order to reach Obasuteyama before the night of the full moon.

This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.

Matsuo Basho traveling along the
. Nakasendoo 中山道 The Nakasendo Road .


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The Hanging Bridge at Kiso 木曽の架け橋 / 木曽のかけはし Kiso no Kakehashi
長野県木曽郡上松町北上条 Nagano,






桟はしや命をからむ蔦かつら
桟や命をからむ蔦葛
kakehashi ya inochi o karamu tsuta katsura
(sanbashi ya)

this plank bridge -
the tsuta and katsura vines
coil their lives



This was an old fragile bridge in the times of Basho, at the Nakasendo, Agematsu juku 上松塾.
The Kakehashi from Kiso 木曽の桟(かけはし)
It was one of the most dangerous places on the old road, along with
Atsuta no watashi 太田のわたし river corssing at Atsuta
and
Usui Tooge 碓氷峠 Usui pass.


Hiroshige Ando 1797-1858
Agematsu 上松



. WKD - tsuta and katsura vines .



....................................................................................................................................................


桟やまづ思ひ出づ馬迎へ
kakehashi ya mazu omoi-izu uma mukae

this hanging bridge -
the first thing that comes to mind
is the meeting of the tribute horses




. WKD : koma mukae 駒迎え(こまむかえ)"picking up the horses" .
aki no komabiki 秋の駒牽  selecting horses in autumn
koma mukae 駒迎え(こまむかえ)"picking up the horses"
"going to meet the tribute horses"
..... koma mukai こまむかい
hikiwakezukai 引分使(ひきわけづかい)
mochizuki no koma 望月の駒 - horses in the full moon month
Kirihara no koma 霧原の駒 - horses in the misty plains of Kirihara, Nagano

kigo for mid-autumn

This is an old custom since the Heian period, on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month.
An official from the court comes to pick up the horses (mukae, mukai) at Kirihara, from the various horse breeding regions. He comes up to this bridge to meet the horses and has them handed over to bring to the court.

Kobayashi Issa also has some hokku about this custom, see the link above.

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更科紀行 Sarashina Kiko
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .





Sake with the name "Kiso no Kakehashi"


- Reference - Ito Yo -


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憂き人の旅にも習へ木曾の蠅
憂き人の旅にも習へ木曽の蝿
ukihito no tabi ni mo narae Kiso no hae

learn from the journey
of a sorrowing wayfarer:
flies of Kiso

Tr. Barnhill

Written in 元禄6年5月6日, Basho age 50.
This was a poem written for his disciple Kyoroku (Kyoriku) 許六, who left for his trip

ukihito 憂き人 refers to a person with elegant sentiments and feelings for poetry.
Traveling in the hot, sweltering summer is always unpleasant in Japan, with great humidity and plenty of moskitoes, flies and other insects. Even though, for a man of fuuga 風雅, it is an experience to write a poem.

On the same day, Basho also wrote for the same occasion:

旅人の心にも似よ椎の花
tabibito no kokoro ni mo niyo shii no hana

MORE about traveling with
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


. - Morikawa Kyoroku / Kyoriku 森川許六 - .


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思ひ出す木曾や四月の桜狩
omoidasu / Kiso ya shigatsu no / sakura-gari

思ひ立つ木曽や四月の桜狩り
omoitatsu Kiso ya shigatsu no sakuragari

I am ready for
Kiso - hunting for cherry blossoms
in the fourth month


Written in the third lunar month of 1687 貞亨2年3月, when he was in Owari 尾張 near Nagoya.

omoitatsu 思ひ立つ brings out his resolve to start the trip to Kiso soon.
omoidasu 思ひ出す would imply that Basho had seen them before and is remembering the spring in Kiso.
The cut marker YA is in the middle of line 2.


Nozarashi Kiko 野ざらし紀行
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


. Basho and the Cherry Blossoms .


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. WKD : Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .

木曽路行ていざ年寄らん秋ひとり
kiso-ji yukite iza toshi-yoran aki hitori

Following Kiso Road
I shall become aged
alone in autumn.

Tr. Sawa/ Shiffert


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Walking the Kiso Road - William Scott Wilson
- source : Japanese Literature - facebook -

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. Places visited by Matsuo Basho .


. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .

. - KIGO used by Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - .


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kireji - cut markers

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- kire 切れ and kireji 切字 - cut and cut markers - caesura -

Some sources state that all the 48 "letters (mora)" of the Japanese IROHA-alphabet can be used as kireji. Basho already said so when teaching his students (Kyoraisho 去来抄).

quote
Matsuo Basho and the Poetics of Scent

The hokku has changed repeatedly since the distant past, but there have been only three changes in the nature of the haikai link. In the distant past, poets valued word links (kotoba-zuke). In the more recent past, poets have stressed content links (kokoro-zuke). Today, it is best to link by transference (usuri), reverberation (hibiki), scent (nioi), or status (kurai).

Unlike, earlier renga and haikai handbooks, which address the question of which particular words or syllables can be used as cutting words, Basho discusses kireji in terms of function and effect.

In Kyoyaisho, Basho noted:

"First, the cutting word is inserted in order to cut the verse. If the verse is already cut, it is not necessary to employ a word to cut it. For those poets who cannot distinguish between a cut and non-cut poem, earlier poets established cutting words. If one uses one of these words in a hokku, seven or eight times out of ten the hokku will be cut. The remaining two or three, however, the hokku will not be cut even though it includes a cutting word. On the other hand, there are hokku that are cut even though they include no cutting words. "
(NKBZ 51:478-79)

For Basho, it was the cutting effect rather than the cutting word itself that ultimately mattered. A hokku could be cut without a kireji, and the use of a cutting word did not necessarily ensure that a hokku had been cut.

. . .the cutting word had the paradoxical function of both cutting and joining . . .
source : Haruo Shirane



quote
"A verse without a cutting word does not have the form of a hokku, or opening
verse. Instead, it takes the shape of an added verse.
Even if a cutting word is added to the hokku, it may still take the form of an added verse. These are verses that have not been truly cut."
- Matsuo Basho, Sanzooshi 三冊子 Sanzoshi



The use of a cut marker does not automatically imply a "juxtaposition" of two images/themes.
. WKD : kireji 切字 cut markers and kire 切れ the CUT .


under construction
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Basho often uses the cut marker KANA かな  / 哉  at the end of line 3.
That way the hokku is usually one sentence, with one theme.
Hokku of this kind do not have a juxtaposition.

There are too many to list them here.
Check out the ABC pages of this BLOG !


MORE
. - One sentence - one theme hokku by Basho - .

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- - - - - the cut marker YA

This cut marker is usually used at the end of line 1 or 2.


Basho also uses it in the middle of line 1.
But it does not always imply a "juxtaposition" of two images.

これや世の煤に染まらぬ古合子
. kore ya yo no susu ni somaranu furu gooshi / goosu / gabushi .


Basho also uses it more often in the middle of line 2. But it does not always imply a "juxtaposition" of two images.


秋に添うて行かばや末は小松川
. aki ni soute yukaba ya sue wa Komatsugawa .


土手の松花や木深き殿造り
. dote no matsu hana ya ko bukaki tono-zukuri .


古き名の角鹿や恋し秋の月
. furuki na no Tsunuga ya koishi aki no tsuki .


冬牡丹千鳥よ雪のほととぎす
. fuyu botan chidori yo yuki no hototogisu.


冬しらぬ宿やもミする音あられ
. fuyu shiranu yado ya momi suru oto arare .


初真桑四つにや断たん輪に切らん
hatsu makuwa yotsu ni ya tatan wa ni kiran
. hatsu makuwa yotsu no ya kiran wa ni kiran .


人も見ぬ春や鏡の裏の梅 
. hito mo minu haru ya kagami no ura no ume .


一時雨礫や降つて小石川 
. hito shigure tsubute ya futte Koishikawa .


ほととぎす鳴くや五尺の菖草
hototogisu / naku ya go shaku no / ayamegusa


いかめしき音や霰の檜木笠
. ikameshiki oto ya arare no hinoki-gasa .


熊坂がゆかりやいつの玉祭
. Kumasaka ga yukari ya itsu no tama matsuri .


見送りのうしろや寂し秋の風
. miokuri no ushiro ya sabishi aki no kaze .


思ひ立つ木曽や四月の桜狩り
. omoitatsu Kiso ya shigatsu no sakuragari .


桜狩り奇特や日々に五里六里
. sakuragari kidoku ya hibi ni go ri roku ri .

しばし間も待つやほととぎす千年 - しばし間も待つやほととぎ 数千年
. shibashi ma mo matsu ya hototogi su sennen .

しほらしき名や小松吹萩すゝき
. shiorashiki na ya komatsu fuku hagi susuki .


その形見ばや枯木の杖の長
. sono katachi miba ya kareki no tsue no take .

姥桜咲くや老後の思い出
. ubazakura saku ya roogo no omoi-ide .

梅白し昨日や鶴を盗まれし
. ume shiroshi kinoo ya tsuru o nusumareshi .

埋火も消ゆや涙の烹ゆる音
. uzumi-bi mo kiyu ya namida no niyuru oto .
my tears make a hissing sound


- - - - -

稲雀茶の木畠や逃げ処
. inasuzume cha no kibatake ya nigedokoro .
sparrows in the rice paddies

This hokku has the cut marker YA at the end of line 2,
but in fact line 1 is separate and lines 2 and 3 belong together.


- - - - -


いでや我よき布着たり蝉衣
.ide ya ware yoki nuno kitari semi-goromo .
This hokku has the cut marker YA in the middle of line 1.



又やたぐひ長良の川の鮎膾
. mata ya tagui Nagara no kawa no ayu namasu .
This hokku has the cut marker YA in the middle of line 1
(and 6 onji in line one).



- - - - - And here is another interesting example:

荻の穂や頭をつかむ羅生門
ogi no ho ya kashira o tsukamu Rashoomon

Written in autumn of 1691 in Kyoto, 元禄4年秋
Basho captures the spooky atmosphere around the haunted Rashomon gate quite well.

MORE about this legendary gate
and its demon with the arm hacked off . . .
. The Rashomon Gate in Kyoto 羅生門 .




This hokku has the cut marker (kireji) YA at the end of line 1,
but lines 1 and 2 belong together ...

ogi no ho GA kashira o tsukamu

Surely Basho could have worded this different to place the cut marker at the end of line 2.
but he did not.

So here the cut marker creates the effect of "cut the hokku and continue theme".

Here are some paraverses :

this tip of a reed -
it seems to grab my head
near Rashomon Gate

. no, there is no connection between line 2 and 3 in the Japanese

the plume of this reed
seems to grab my head -
Rashomon Gate

.
this ogi plume - whow -
now it grabs my head - whow
Rashomon Gate

Tr. Gabi Greve



the tip of a reed -
it grips the intellect
Rashomon Gate


... And I can see no real indication that a conjunction between the second and third images should be given in English. I can see no semanitc tie between the second and third metrical feet of the Japanese; 羅生門 stands alone, as far as I can see.
Tr. John Carley



this ear of a reed
caught on my head -
across Rashomon Gate
.
this tip of a reed
haunts my head -
Rashomon Gate


The ear of 荻 grows often as high as 1 and a half meters.
Tr. Hideo Suzuki


ogi no ho 荻の穂 plume of a reed, tip of a reed,
Miscanthus sacchariflorus

Basho uses OGI instead of susuki reed grass, since it has a punning effect with
oni - the demon of the Rashomon gate - remarks Robin Gill.


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. . . . .


reed plumes
I fear they might seize my head
at Rashomon

Tr. Jane Reichhold


.............................................................................


古池や
. furu ike YA kawazu tobikomu .

furu ike NI kawazu tobikomu

By using the cut marker YA at the end of line 1,
Basho cuts the poem but the theme continues --- the frog jumps into the old pond.




- - - - - YA used twice - - - - -

被き伏す蒲団や寒き夜やすごき
. kazuki fusu futon ya samuki yo ya sugoki .
This hokku has the cut marker YA in the middle of line 2,
and another YA in the middle of line 3.
Here the cut markers carries the emotion of "stress and continue".
It helps to emphasize the last word he uses:
sugoki, sugoi 凄い, which is a rather strong emotion: how dreadful!


- - - - -



source : itoyo/basho
白河の関 Shirakawa no Seki


田や麦や中にも夏のほととぎす
ta ya mugi ya naka ni mo natsu no hototogisu

rice fields and barley -
and among them also
summer's cuckoo

Tr. Barnhill

fields of rice and barley --
above all (among others, especially)
summer Hototogisu

Tr. Naotaka Uematsu


Written in 1689 on the 7th day of the 4th lunar month.
元禄2年4月7日 Oku no Hosomichi
- - - Station 10 - Shirakawa no Seki 白川の関 - - -
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

- - - - - ta YA mugi YA
the two YA in line one could be interpreted as two times the cut marker YA

the rice paddies - the barley fields -
or
ta ya mugi (YA) - fields and barley (cut marker)


The translation of hototogisu :
. - hototogisu 郭公 / ほととぎす -
.


The translation of mugi
. Barley, wheat (mugi) .

barley, "large mugi", oomugi, 大麦
Hordeum vulgare

wheat, "small mugi" komugi, 小麦
Triticum aestivum



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YA at the end of line 3

明日は粽難波の枯葉夢なれや
. asu wa chimaki Naniwa no kareha yume nare ya .   


山吹の露菜の花のかこち顔なるや
. yamabuki no tsuyu na no hana no kakochigao naru ya .


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- - - - - the cut marker YO

YO not only used as a cut marker in hokku/haiku, but it is also used in normal Japanese to express astonishment, whow, exclamation, surprize . . .
anaka san yo - Hey Mister Tanaka!

白菊よ白菊よ恥長髪よ長髪よ
. shira-giku yo shiragiku yo haji naga kami yo naga kami yo .  


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- - - - - the cut marker KA - - - - -
often equivalent to a question mark ?

- - - in the middle of line 2


郭公招くか麦のむら尾花
hototogisu / maneku ka mugi no / mura obana



松風の落葉か水の音涼し
. matsukaze no ochiba ka mizu no oto suzushi .

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Works by Helen Shigeko Isaacson
On YA and KANA, the „cutting particles" of haiku.
200 haiku of Basyoo in translation

Ya kana
One of the major barriers to an understanding of haiku in the West is that up till now, translators have avoided the entire subject of the untranslatable particles, ya and kana. In fact these are of the greatest importance, and it is impossible that anything sensible can ever be made out about haiku without studying them. Using as guidelines what old haizin 1 wrote about the particles, an attempt will be made in this chapter to illuc
cidate on this most difficult subject.

To try to explain a haiku without taking into account ya , kana and keri is like explaining a poem in any language and leaving out one or two words. Especially in a haiku, where there are only seventeen syllables, every syllable is of utmost importance.

Some translators have tried to render the effect of these particles by exclamation points, dashes, and so on, but as will be made clearer, it is not only their effect, but specifically their particular sounds, that must be represented.

All language is inseparable from sound, but there is no language more uniquely based on sound as the Japanese, as has been briefly explained in the introduction to this book. Furthermore, the haiku, the last and briefest form of Japanese literature to evolve, combines most completely the power of word and sound ...

- source : Helen Shigeko Isaacson -

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. WKD : kireji 切字 cut markers and kire 切れ the CUT .



. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .


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