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Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) |
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a cicada shell:
it sang itself
utterly away |
the cranes legs
have gotten shorter
in the spring rain |
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the old pond-
a frog jumps in
sound of water |
winter garden
the moon thinned to a thread
insects singing |
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calm and serene
the sound of a cicada
penetrates the rock |
midnight frost-
Id borrow
the scarecrows shirt |
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Yosa Buson (1716-1783) |
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coolness-
the sound of the bell
leaving the bell |
crossing
the summer river
sandals in my hand |
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a tethered horse
snow
in the stirrups |
green plum
it draws her eyebrows
together |
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in a drained field
how long and thin
the legs of the scarecrow |
evening wind
water laps
the herons legs |
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Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827)
Issa means "a cup of tea." |
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cricket
chirping
in a scarecrows belly |
squatting on the head
of a sleeping cow...
frog |
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it's all yours
butterfly, take a rest
on the mushroom |
sharing the sunset
with the pony...
a snail |
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having a tumble
with the acorn...
kitten |
the kitten dances
round and round...
falling leaves |
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swinging on the swing
clutching
cherry blossoms |
spring rain--
a child gives a dance lesson
to the cat |
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the sleeping puppy
gnaws
on the willow |
playing hide-and-seek
in the grass...
frog |
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the baby sparrow
cheep! cheep! cheep!
he cries |
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Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902)
Shiki is often credited with
single-handedly revitalizing the art form and coined the terms "haiku" (replacing "hokku")
and "tanka" (replacing "waka"). |
On how to sing
the frog school and the skylark school
are arguing. |
rowing through
out of the mist
the wide sea |
|
the tree cut,
dawn breaks early
at my little window |
stillness - -
fireflies are glowing over
deep water |
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one by one
letting the cool breeze through:
finger holes of the flute |
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Resources
Basho's haiku translations from Classic Haiku by Yuzuru Miura and The Essential Haiku by Robert Hass Buson's haiku translations from Classic Haiku by Yuzuru Miura and The Essential Haiku by Robert Hass Issa's haiku translations by David Lanoue. On www.haikuguy.com/issa/aboutissa.html,
Lanoue indicates that Issa died in 1828 in the Western calendar, but the Japanese year that it
coincides with was 1827. Shiki's translations from haiku.cc.ehime-u.ac.jp/~shiki/sm/sm.html |
