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Monthly Archives: December 2009
A WORD BEFORE THE WINTER SOLSTICE
Tomorrow is the Winter Solstice, in old tradition the time of the rebirth of the sun, the beginning of inner and outer change. For almost fifteen years I have been teaching hokku on the Internet, trying to dig the muck … Continue reading
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WINDY SNOW
We have seen that hokku avoids the use of the words “I,” “me,” and “my” unless it is awkward to do so. That means there is no emphasis on the “I” as ego, but that does not mean those words … Continue reading
POPPING COALS AND PAINTED PINES
I have already said that Issa’s hokku reflect a scarred and sad childhood. That is why he tended to project his emotions onto other creatures and things: Asabare ni pachipachi sumi no kigen kana Morning-clear at pop-pop charcoal … Continue reading
RED ON WHITE, CROW ON SNOW
We all know that Shiki was the individual who began the revisionism that has proved so disastrous for hokku — so damaging, in fact, that in the 20th century most people did not even realize that Bashō and all the … Continue reading
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Tagged Bashô, crow, haikai, haiku, Henry David Thoreau, hokku, nature, poetry, seasons, Shiki, snow, winter, writing
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NO SKY, NO EARTH
Hashin wrote a winter hokku that has always been a favorite: Ten mo chi mo nashi ni yuki no furishikiri Sky too earth too are-not at snow ‘s falling-ceaselessly No sky, no earth; The ceaseless … Continue reading
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Tagged Chiyo-ni, Hashin, Jōsō, mutual reflection, R. H. Blyth, sleet, snow, soko nukete, winter
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FALLING SNOW
Hokku with a psychological element often appear among those of Issa, who wrote near the beginning of the 19th century. Issa was a psychologically-scarred individual who tended to interpret much of what he saw in terms of the sorrow he … Continue reading
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KEEPING THE SEASON WELL
Winter, as I have written earlier, is the most austere season of the year. Because of that, it is a time when contrasts have great significance — warmth amid cold, food amid hunger, shelter amid none, movement amid stillness, light … Continue reading
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Tagged Dickens, Great Yule, hokku, Scrooge, winter, Yule, Yuletide
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ALONE AND COLD
In the last posting, we saw a hokku into which Bashō put too much overt emotion, which spoiled it. How should emotion be expressed in hokku? Indirectly, as in this verse by Issa: Hitōri to chōmen ni tsuku … Continue reading
BASHŌ GOES TOO FAR
As I have said before, only a fraction of the hokku of Bashō are worthwhile, roughly about a fifth of them or less. This verse is not one of his best: Ro no koe nami o utte harawata koru … Continue reading
FREEZING FINGERS
December has begun, and with it has come a deeper cold in my region. The next few nights are expected to be at or below freezing. Taigi wrote a hokku expressive of such growing cold: Tsumetasa ni hōki sutekeri … Continue reading
