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Monthly Archives: November 2009
BLOWING LEAVES
A hokku appropriate to late autumn, by the woman Sono-jo: A dog barking At the sound of the leaves; The windstorm. It is an odd fact in hokku that the simplest are often the best, and this is a very … Continue reading
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Tagged autumn, dog, haikai, haiku, hokku, hokku lessons, leaves, nature, poetry, seasons, spirituality, transience, wind, writing, zen
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HOKKU TO MAKE YOU COLD
An old winter hokku by Sōgi, who lived long before Bashō: In the freezing night, The ceaseless flapping Of duck wings. We can easily see its form. It is: Setting: In the freezing night. Subject: duck wings Action: the ceaseless … Continue reading
THE FARTHER ONE TRAVELS THE LESS ONE KNOWS
On setting out on a journey, Bashō wrote: Tabibito to waga na yobaren hatsushigure Traveler to my name shall-be first-winter-rain “Traveler” Shall be my name; The first rain of winter. If that last line looks … Continue reading
ENTERPRISES THAT REQUIRE NEW CLOTHES
The almost frantic desire of contemporary society to drop whatever is perceived as no longer fashionable in favor of whatever is new holds no attraction for writers of hokku, who see such chronic dissatisfaction as just another manifestation of the … Continue reading
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Tagged Blowing Zen, haikai, haiku, Henry David Thoreau, hokku, nature, poetry, seasons, selflessness, shakuhachi, spirituality, writing, zen
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LEARNING THROUGH TRANSLATION PROGRAMS
I see that some people read my site in Italian, in Spanish, in Czech, Russian, and other languages by using Internet software. I wish that I could write as fluently in all those languages as in English, but I cannot. … Continue reading
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Tagged haikai, hokku, languages, nature, poetry, translation, writing
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AUTUMN COMINGS AND GOINGS
Gyōdai wrote: Aki no yama tokorodokoro ni kemuri tatsu Autumn’s mountains here-there at smoke rises The autumn hills; Here and there Smoke rises. It is a pleasant verse, and reminds one of Appalachia, of seeing smoke … Continue reading
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Tagged autumn, Buson, Gyôdai, haikai, haiku, harmony, hokku, nature, poetry, seasons, Shôhaku, spirituality, transience, writing, zen
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FOG AND THINKING
Perhaps you remember my “Fall” hokku: The river – It flows out of and into The fog. Fog is very important to autumn hokku, and important to ink painting — one of the other contemplative arts — as well. Fog … Continue reading
DESCENDING GEESE, FALLING LEAVES
Some Japanese hokku seem to defy translation into English, even though their meaning is not difficult. An example is Kyoroku’s: Descending geese – Their cries pile on one another; The cold of night. As one group of geese comes down … Continue reading
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Tagged autumn, falling leaves, Gyôdai, haikai, haiku, harmony, hokku, Kyoroku, poetry, seasons, wild geese, writing, zen
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LEARNING FROM OLD HOKKU
Every good hokku is simultaneously a pleasure and a lesson. We enjoy the experience of it, but we can also learn how to write our own hokku from it. Take this verse by Bashō: In the original it is: Ochikochi … Continue reading
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Tagged autumn, Bashô, falling leaves, haikai, haiku, hokku, nature, poetry, seasons, waterfalls, wild geese
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SPILLING THE MOON
In the previous posting I mentioned that many of Shiki’s “haiku” would still be classifiable as hokku, though they often tend to be illustrations. But even among his illustrations some are better, some worse. Here is one of his verses: … Continue reading
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Tagged autumn, haikai, haiku, hokku, moon, poetry, seasons, spirituality, writing, zen
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WHAT DID SHIKI REALLY DO?
In previous postings I have written that the haiku did not exist until near the end of the 19th century, when it was “created” by a Japanese failed novelist, the journalist generally known today as Masaoka Shiki, or simply Shiki. … Continue reading
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Tagged haikai, haiku, hokku, seasons, Shiki, spirituality, writing, zen
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