H
A I K U S P
I R I T
Winter
A Hidden
Pond-Anthology of
Modern
Haiku,
Kadokawa Shoten
1997
Translated by T Koko Kato and David
Burleigh
ISBN:
4-04-883453-3
IMPORTANT
A crane steps forward
into that brightness called
the start of winter
Kagiwada Yuko (1931~)
Winter setting in -
the sound of a writing brush
touching the paper
Kamikura Utsuwa (1927~)
With this master
I grow older all my life -
silverleaf in bloom
Kondo Ikko (1912~1996)
Tea bushes in bloom -
and the sky darkening
behind my shoulders
Kusama Tokihido (1920~)
One comes forth,
and then another comes -
the path through fallen leaves
Imai Tsurujo (1897~1993)
In flickering glimpses
through trees on the shoreline -
a calm winter sea
Sekimori Katsuo (1932~)
Hoot of an owl -
the rays of moonlight shimmer
on a hidden pond
Toyonaga Minoru (1931~)
When the wind ceases
the sky perfectly transparent -
winter ploughing
Kato Suiman (1930)
The fluffy lightness
of my woollen sweater I make
into a fortress
Shimizu Kinuko (1929~)
A mountain watchman
playing jazz inside his hut -
before the snowfall
Udo Toru (1920~)
On the dried-up bed
behind the wall of a dam
the old stream still flows
Murakami Toen (1914~)
Winter sunlight
casting the dyke's shadow
into the next paddy
Kurata Kobun (1940~)
Sitting by the fire -
another self is walking
into the north wind
Matsuzaki Tetsunosuke (1918~)
The sky deepening
beyond the branches of a tree -
utterly leafless
Kato Koko (1931~)
A winter wasp
with nowhere to die
goes stumbling on
Murakami Kijo (1865~1938)
Buying a magic lamp
with a winter fly
living inside it
Arima Akito (1930)
All the clarity
of a pine tree being felled
on afrozen mountain
Kodama Teruyo (1925~)
Inside my closed eyes
the white soul of each snowflake
just passes away
Akao Ei (1930~)
In this beautiful
thing called air, flake upon flake
the snow dances down
Hanatani Kazuko (1922~)
The coughing over
not a sound to disturb
the whole Zen temple
Satokawa Suisho (1927~)
A white swan
reflecting back the sunlight
with its whole body
Ohashi Atsuko (1924~)
Lonelier even
than a winter tree, a man
begins to walk
Nakamura Akiko (1927~)
The sound of a branch
broken from a winter tree
shows it living still
Kono Nankei (1913~1995)
New Year and Old Year
passing left and right around
the moon in heave
Izawa Masae (1921~)
Midwinter thunder
making the window pane tremble
in the deep of night
Kato Shuson (1905~1993)
Midwinter cold
spreading blue silk across
the morning sky
Arima Kazuko (1910~)
Midwinter fishing -
the waves glittering silver
round the anchored boats
Tsuji Michio (1935~)
Sitting down I take
the chair that is farthest from
blossoms of red plum
Shiina Fumiko (1908~)
A single acorn
on the winter desk of a boy
bound for priesthood
Nakayama Junko (1927~)
The plummeting sun
leaves the waves rippling after
and also the reeds
Saito Miki (1923~)
Migrating birds leave
shining ripples on a pond
deep in the mountains
Sekimori Katsuo (1932~)
Into direct sunlight
the vanguard of the ducks
begins to swim
Matsumoto Midori (1928~)
Stone quietly sits -
waiting for spring to come or
just bearing the cold
Nakajima Hideko (1936 ~)