Thirteen Haiku By Yosa Buson - Upaya Zen Center

Thirteen Haiku by Yosa Buson (1716 to ka ni hitori areba zo tsuki o tomoSince it turns outI’m all by myselfI make friends with the harvest moonWith nothing to do,And all alone by myself —I’ll make friends with the moon.Even morebecause of being alonethe moon is a friend.Even more sobecause of being alonethe moon is a friend.well now,if I am to be aloneI'll take the moon as a friendW.S. Merwin and Takako Lento, CollectedHaiku of Yosa Buson (2013) #526, p. 142Leon M. Zolbrod, Reluctant Genius: TheLife and Work of Buson, a Japanese Masterof Haiku and Painting—Tenth Installment,Modern Haiku 26:3 (fall 1995), 52Yuki Sawa and Edith Marcombe Shiffert,eds., Haiku Master Buson (1978), 112Yuki Sawa and Edith Marcombe Shiffert,eds., Haiku Master Buson (2007), 124Cheryl A. Crowley, Haikai Poet Yosa Busonand the Bashō Revival (2006), 113D’autant plus que je suis seul la lune est une amieGilles Fabre, “75 Haikus de Buson,” HaikuSpirit Web site身の闇の頭巾も通る月見かなmi no yami no zukin mo tōru tsukimi kanaSomeone goes by wearing a hoodin his own darknessnot seeing the harvest moonMerwin and Lento #528, p. 142

木枯や鐘に小石を吹あてるkogarashi ya kane ni koishi wo fukiateruThe winter windflings pebblesat the temple bellMerwin and Lento #763, p. 204こがらしや岩に裂行水の聲kogarashi ya iwa ni sake yuku mizu no koeIn the wild winter windthe voice of the water cracksfalling across the rocksThe winter storm,The voice of the rushing water,Torn by the rocks.Winter storm!The roar of the watersTearing at the rocks.Merwin and Lento #764, p. 204R.H. Blyth, Haiku 4: Autumn–Winter(1952), 267Ichikawa Sanki et al., eds. Haikai and Haiku(1958) #45Winter wind: the voice of water tearing through the rocksHiroaki Sato and Burton Watson, eds. andtrans., From the Country of Eight Islands(1981), 346winter windtearing rocks apartthe water’s voiceRoaring winter wind —The sound of a cataractGrating on the rocks.John Peters, in1995), 23Frogpond 18:4 (winterLeon M. Zolbrod, Reluctant Genius: TheLife and Work of Buson, a Japanese Masterof Haiku and Painting—Modern Haiku 33:1(winter–spring 2002), 72

Cold wintry wind —Breaking over rocksThe voice of water.Takafumi Saito and William R. Nelson,trans., 1020 Haiku in Translation (2006)#956, 249A nipping wind!Tearing into the rock,the voice of the water.Yuki Sawa and Edith Marcombe Shiffert,eds., Haiku Master Buson (1978), 138;(2007), 164 ; (2007), 164Blistering wind —splintered by rocksthe voice of the waterStephen Addiss, Fumiko Yamamoto, andAkira Yamamoto, ed. and trans., Haiku: AnAnthology of Japanese Poems (2009), 89Ah! vent froid d’hiver —clameur de l’eau se brisantcontre les rochersJoan Titus-Carmel, 66 haïku de Buson(2004)tempête d’hiver; la voix de l’eau qui jaillit déchirée par les rochersDaniel Py, Haicourtoujours hi no misomi meguri ya tera no shimoBean paste is being ground in a mortarthirty-three turnsthere is frost on the temple groundsThe millstone has turnedThirty-three times in its course —Frost on the temple.the millgrinds miso thirty-three timesfrost at the templeMerwin and Lento #765, p. 204Leon M. Zolbrod, Reluctant Genius: TheLife and Work of Buson, a Japanese Masterof Haiku and Painting—Third Installment,Modern Haiku 24:1 (winter-spring 1993), 41Cheryl A. Crowley, Haikai Poet Yosa Busonand the Bashō Revival (2006), 61

初雪や消ればぞ又草の露hatsuyuki ya kiyureba zo mata kusa no tsuyuThe first snow fallsthen it meltsinto dew on the grassMerwin and Lento #767, p. 205It’s the first snowfall —When it melts again we’ll seeDewdrops on the grass.Leon M. Zolbrod, Reluctant Genius: TheLife and Work of Buson, a Japanese Masterof Haiku and Painting—Second Installment,Modern Haiku 23:3 (fall 1992)初雪の底を叩ば竹の月hatsuyuki no soko wo tatakeba take no tsukiThe first light snowthen when the bowl of the sky is emptythe moon hanging in the bamboosMerwin and Lento #768, p. 205The first snow;Sounding it out,The moon over the bamboos.R.H. Blyth, A History of Haiku 2 (1964), 39The first snowEmptying itself to its last flake —The moon above bamboo.when the first snowstrikes the lowest culms —bamboo in moonlightA bamboo moonIs caressing the roundOf early snowTakafumi Saito and William R. Nelson,trans., 1020 Haiku in Translation (2006)#951, 248Stephen Addiss, The Art of Haiku (2012),218translator? “Haiku of Yosa Buson,”Terebess Asia Online Web site; acc.1/1/2013

雪折やよし野ゝ夢のさめる時yukiore ya Yoshino no yume no sameru tokiA branch snaps under snowwaking me from a dream of the cherriesflowering on YoshinoMerwin and Lento #775, p. 207去年より又さびしひぞ秋の暮kyonen yori mata sabishii zo aki no kureThis autumn eveningI feel even more lonelythan last yearStill more than last year,It makes me feel sad and lonely —The end of autumn.Merwin and Lento #553, p. 149Leon M. Zolbrod, Reluctant Genius: TheLife and Work of Buson, a Japanese MasterofHaikuandPainting—FifteenthInstallment, Modern Haiku 28:3 (autumn1997), 70A FEELING OF AGINGCompared to last year,this has even more loneliness —autumn evening.Yuki Sawa and Edith Marcombe Shiffert,eds., Haiku Master Buson (1978), 107lonelier than last year end of an autumn dayGilles Fabre, “75 Haikus de Buson,” HaikuSpirit Web siteStill lonelierThan last year;Autumn evening.R.H. Blyth, A History of Haiku 1 (1963),283More than last year, I now feel solitude; this autumn twilight.Saga Hiroo (after Yuki Sawa and Edith M.Shiffert), Simply Haiku [Web] 2:4(July/August 2004)

Une solitudeplus grande que l’an dernier —la fin de l’automneMore than last yearit is lonelythe autumn duskJoan Titus-Carmel, 66 haïku de Buson(2004)Stephen Addiss, Fumiko Yamamoto, andAkira Yamamoto, ed. and trans., Haiku: AnAnthology of Japanese Poems (2009), 158Even lonelier I feelThan the year before —Sunset in autumn.Takafumi Saito and William R. Nelson,trans., 1020 Haiku in Translation (2006)#628, 166AN OLD MAN’S THOUGHTSLonelier still than last year, you know, this autumn eveningHiroaki Sato and Burton Watson, eds. andtrans., From the Country of Eight Islands(1981), i haha no koto nomi omou aki no kureOnly memories of Father and Mothercome to my mindin late autumnFather and mother —My thoughts keep turning to them,At the end of autumn.Merwin and Lento #554, p. 149Leon M. Zolbrod, Reluctant Genius: TheLife and Work of Buson, a Japanese MasterofHaikuandPainting—FifteenthInstallment, Modern Haiku 28:3 (autumn1997), 70AN AUTUMN EVENINGIt is an autumn evening;I think of nothing but my parents.Asatarō Miyamori, ed., An Anthology ofHaiku, Ancient and Modern (1932) #428

c’est le soir, l’automne, je ne pense qu’à mes parentsDaniel Py, Haicourtoujours Web siteOf Mother, Fathercan think of nothing butThe end of autumnEdward McFadden, “Yosa Buson—HaikuMaster,” Kyoto Journal 47 (Aug. 30, 2001)In the evening, autumn;I think onlyOf my parentsIt is evening, autumn;I think onlyOf my parents.It is evening, in autumn,All I can think ofIs my parentsR.H. Blyth, Haiku 1: Eastern Culture (1949),224R.H. Blyth, Haiku 3: Summer–Autumn(1951), 350Charles Trumbull, “Meaning in Haiku”[essay], Frogpond 35:3 (autumn 2012),95—translation from the French version byRichard Howard that was published inRoland Barthes, Empire of Signs (1982), 69人の世に尻を居へたるふくべ哉hito no yo ni shin wo suetaru fukube kanaIn the human worldthe gourd has founda place for itselfMerwin and Lento #569, p. �ureshisa no mi ni amaritaru mukago kanaHappiness beyondanything I deserveyam bulblets overflowing the basketMerwin and Lento #666, p. 178

入道のよゝとまいりぬ納豆汁riyūdō no yoyo to mairinu natto-jiruThe monk is happilyeating his fillof fermented bean miso soupMerwin and Lento #778, p. 208

1997), 70 A FEELING OF AGING Compared to last year, this has even more loneliness — autumn evening. Yuki Sawa and Edith Marcombe Shiffert, eds., Haiku Master Buson (1978), 107 lonelier than last year end of an autumn day Gilles Fabre, “75 Haikus de Buson,” Haiku Spirit Web site Still lonelier Than last year; Autumn evening. R.H. Blyth .