Selected haiku
Haiku translations: a collaboration between Emiko Miyashita, Claudia Brefeld and Eva Moering
"Here the idea and background of this project can be found.
Selection and commentary by NISHIMURA Kazuko, HIA director
陽 に 浮 か ぶ 氷河 擦痕… 春 立 つ 日
hi ni ukabu hyôga sakkon haru tatsu hi
sunlit
the glacier furrows ...
the spring beginsロ ス ・ ブ ル ー ス ROSS, Bruce (USA)
The immediate feeling that a person believes a season has come depends on the respective climatic zone. It is great that the writer finds spring in the sunlit glacier furrows. The impressive time in which the glacier flows can also be felt. Although we cannot observe this scene in Japan, through this haiku we can understand the change in nature on a global scale. The use of simple words is also effective.
旅 果 て て 聴 く 閑 古 鳥… 独 り き り
at the end of the trip
listening to the cuckoo
all aloneカ ン ピ オ リ ・ マ ル コ CAMPIOLI, Marco (Italy)
The writer remembers his journey and the readers can recall a past experience or play with the imagination. A cuckoo in the distance sounds like background music along the memory. Maybe in the forest? Time alone is luxurious and not lonely. Orderly life in the city begins tomorrow and such a wonderfully quiet time can be lost.
風 船 の ま だ 見 え て ゐ て 泣 き や ま ず
feet no mada rent ite yakiyamazu
der Ballon
still to be seen
unable to stop screaming池田 松 蓮 IKEDA Shoren
“Still to be seen” means - in the sky you can still see the little rubber balloon that flew away. The one who won't stop crying must be the child who held the balloon lovingly but accidentally let go of it. Without explaining the subject or details of the incident, we can imagine such a story. It is certain that the writer has mastered the expression in haiku in her own way.
聖 夜 待 つ 百葉 箱 の リ ボ ン か な
seiya matsu hyakuyôbako no ribon kana
a weather hut
with loop waiting for
Christmas eve三好 万 記 子 MIYOSHI Makiko
When Christmas comes, the whole city is decorated. Nowadays you can see that not only the gifts but also an entire building is wrapped with a ribbon. The delightful thing about this haiku is the combination of band and weather hut. A weather shed is usually barely noticeable, but a red or green band would go well with the white box. Such a smart decoration can be found in the playground of a girls' high school. It's fun to let your imagination run wild.
軒 先 の だ い だ い 供 へ 初 参 り
nokisaki no daidai sonae hatsumairi
from the eaves
a bitter orange as an offering
first shrine visit久保 田 悦子 KUBOTA Etsuko
It is full of intimacy that the first time the writer visited the shrine, she brought an orange from her garden. Maybe to the shrine in your hometown neighborhood? Visits to the shrine can be made not just at the beginning of each year, but in many cases during the year. Daidai (a bitter orange) means succession in Japanese. This custom may have been passed on from ancestors to the writer and to children and grandchildren.
And here are five more haiku - selected by Emiko Miyashita
花 ど き の 小 筆 の 穂 先 や は ら か し
hanadoki no kofude no hosaki yawarakashi
Cherry blossom season
the summit
a little brush is so soft菊池 幸 恵 KIKUCHI Sachie
息 詰 め て 見 る 寒 鯉 も 息 詰 め て
iki tsumete miru kangoi mo iki tsumete
hold your breath
watch a winter carp
he does the same岩田 秀 夫 IWATA Hideo
馬 の 腹 蹴 り て 入 り ゆ く 冬 の 川
uma no hara kerite iriyuku fuyu no kawa
bump the horse's belly
we wade through
the winter river小 上 栄 女 OGAMI Shigejo
毛 糸 玉 孫 の か た ち に 媼 は 編 む
keitodama mago no katachi ni baba wa amu
A ball of wool
in the form of her grandson
the grandmother is knitting望月 よ し 生 MOCHIZUKI Yoshiwo
雨 の 香 の 残 る 小道 や 花 山椒
ame no ka no nokoru komichi ya hanazansho
the smell of rain residue
on the path
in the pepper flower内 村 恭子 UCHIMURA Kyoko
