The reader’s experience matters more than the writer’s. Poetry’s limitations are interesting when you consider them. I’m sure my experiences of winter are different from yours in New Zealand, so your kigo might fall flat, as will mine on you. “Bare tree,” for example, signifies winter.Įnglish kigo appear difficult because seasonal experiences lack universality. Kigo are phrases associated with a particular season. English punctuation is used to translate the contrasting effect. Kireji or “cutting word” are structural words in haiku. We would need a phrase to capture the same effect, possibly breaking the structure of the haiku. Our idea of rain, for example, is mostly singular while Japanese words for rain are based on strength, time of day, season, length, color, and other attributes. I’m not a haiku translator, but it appears it’s hard to balance complete meaning with artistry. But I’ve seen attempts to translate the feeling of the Japanese but it breaks the Haiku form. We tend to lose the double meanings of Japanese words, as you know. NJ, The Ecco Press.Įnglish has its limits when translating Japanese haiku. Winter Haiku Written by Issa Sangedastsu by Kawase Hasui Winter Haiku Written by Buson Kameyama, Yukibare by Ando Hiroshige Winter Haiku Written By Basho Girl In A Snowstorm. What do you see in the 6-word poem?Īs you read these poems, take a moment to notice what images you see and feelings you have.
I sense both solitude and companionship within the fleeting moment. Her master is enjoying a hotpot with the local farmers who are itching for news from outside their snowed-in village. What is her master doing? I picture the horse outside a ryokan, an inn. The horse has been waiting for her master for quite some time. Let’s look at this poem by Buson as an example: Imagine the picture the words paint and what they suggest. It’s tempting to read over haiku, but it works better to pause on each poem and savor it. The smallness of haiku belies the mix of images and feelings its few words suggest. Jisei, for example, are poems written before someone dies.
Buson feels observational and more even-tempered while Issa makes you grin. Basho’s work has a melancholy feel similar to the later concept of wabi-sabi. Through their haiku you get a sense of each author’s personality. Basho warns us to “prefer vegetable broth to duck soup.” That is, to prefer the literal, plain meaning over seeking something complicated. It’s tempting to read too much into a haiku. Most haiku seek to suggest a moment in time along with a feeling. It follows a 5-7-5 syllable rule with the 3 lines rarely rhyming. Haiku is a style of poetry that requires plain language and a season reference. This collection of haiku includes Basho, Buson, Issa, and a few others. As the heat of summer wears on, winter haiku gives us a chance to think on cold days and all the pleasures of winter.
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