Illustration1

HAIKU

ANANTHOLOGYOFJAPANESEPOEMS

StephenAddiss,FumikoYamamoto,andAkiraYamamoto

SHAMBHALABoston&London

2011

FRONTISPIECE:Stream,TachibanaMorikuniSHAMBHALAPUBLICATIONS,INC.

HorticulturalHall

300MassachusettsAvenueBoston,Massachusetts02115www.shambhala.com

©2009byStephenAddiss,FumikoYamamoto,andAkiraYamamotoAllrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopying,recording,orbyanyinformationstorageandretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.

LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataHaiku:ananthologyofJapanesepoems/[editedby]StephenAddiss,FumikoYamamoto,andAkiraYamamoto.—1sted.p.cm.eISBN978-0-83482234-4ISBN978-1-59030-730-4(acid-freepaper)1.Haiku—TranslationsintoEnglish.I.Addiss,Stephen,1935–II.Yamamoto,FumikoY.III.Yamamoto,AkiraY.PL782.E3H2362009895.6′104108—dc222009010381

CONTENTS

Introduction

ThePulseofNatureHumanVoicesResonanceandReverberation

ThePoetsTheArtistsTheIllustrations

HINTRODUCTION

AIKU are now one of the best-known andmost practicedformsofpoetryintheworld.Simpleenoughtobetaught

to children, they can also reward a lifetime of study andpursuit. With their evocative explorations of life and nature,they can also exhibit a delightful sense of playfulness andhumor.Called haikai until the twentieth century, haiku are usually

defined as poems of 5-7-5 syllableswith seasonal references.ThisdefinitionisgenerallytrueofJapanesehaikubefore1900,but it is less true since then with the development ofexperimental free-verse haiku and thosewithout reference toseason: for example, the poemsof Santōka (1882–1940),whowaswellknownforhisterseandpowerfulfreeverse.Seasonalreference has also been less strict in senryū, a comiccounterpartofhaikuinwhichhumanaffairsbecomethefocus.Freedom from syllabic restrictions is especially true for

contemporaryhaikucomposedinotherlanguages.Thechangesarenotsurprising.English,forexample,hasadifferentrhythmfrom Japanese: English is “stress-timed” and Japanese“syllable-timed.”Thus, the samecontentcanbe said in fewersyllables inEnglish.Take, forexample,themostfamousofallhaiku,aversebyBashō(1644–94):Furuikeya

kawazutobikomu

mizunooto

Furumeans“old,” ikemeans“pondorponds,”andya is anexclamatoryparticle,somethinglike“ah.”Kawazuisa“frogorfrogs”; tobikomu, “jump in”;mizu, “water”; no, the genitive“of”; and oto, “sound or sounds” (Japanese does not usuallydistinguishsingularfromplural).Ifusingthesingular,aliteraltranslationwouldbe:Oldpond—afrogjumpsin

thesoundofwater

Onlythethirdoftheselinesmatchesthe5-7-5formula,andthe other lines would require “padding” to fit the usualdefinition:[Thereisan]oldpond—[suddenly]afrog jumpsinthesoundofwaterThis kind of “padding” tends to destroy the rhythm,

simplicity,andclarityofhaiku,sotranslationsof5-7-5–syllableJapanesepoemsaregenerallyrenderedwithfewersyllablesinEnglish. Translators also have to choose whether to usesingularsorplurals(suchasfrogorfrogs,pondorponds,andsound or sounds), while in Japanese these distinctions arenicelyindeterminate.WehaveattemptedtoofferEnglishtranslationasclosetothe

Japaneseoriginalaspossible,line-by-line.SometimesaparallelEnglish translation succeeds in conveying the sense of theoriginal.ThishaikubyIssaprovidesanexample:Japanese

kasumu hi no (mist day of) uwasa-suru yara(gossip-domaybe) nobe no uma (field of horse)CloseTranslation

Mistyday—theymightbegossiping,

horsesinthefield

Sometimes the attempt at a parallel translation results inawkwardEnglish,andafreertranslationisnecessary,aswiththishaikubyBuson:Japanese

yoru no ran (night of orchid) ka ni kakurete ya(scent in hide wonder) hana shiroshi (flowerbe=white)CloseTranslation

Eveningorchid—isithiddeninitsscent?

thewhiteofitsflower

FreerTranslation

Eveningorchid—

thewhiteofitsflower

hiddeninitsscent

Othertimesaparalleltranslationdoesn’thavetheimpactthatcanbedelivered ina freer translation, as in thishaikubyananonymouspoet:Japanese

mayoi-go no (lost-child of) ono ga taiko de(one’s=own drum with) tazunerare(be=searched=for)CloseTranslation

Thelostchild

withhisowndrum

issearchedfor

FreerTranslation

Searchingfor

thelostchild

withhisowndrum

Thus, the challenge for translators is to try to follow theJapanese word and line order without resulting in awkwardEnglish.While admirable, sometimes adhering to the originalversesmaymakeforweakerpoemsinEnglish.Sometimesthelanguages are too different to make a close match withouthurtingtheflowandeventhemeaning.However,whenclosertranslationssucceed,theyarepowerfullysatisfying.The fact that the spirit of the haiku can be effectively

renderedinEnglishtranslationindicatesthatthe5-7-5syllabiccount captures the outward rhythmic form of traditionalJapanese haiku but does not necessarily define them. Thestrength of haiku is their ability to suggest and evoke ratherthanmerelytodescribe.Withorwithoutthe5-7-5formulaandseasonalreferences,readersareinvitedtoplacethemselvesina poetic mode and to explore nature as their imaginationspermit.ReturningtoBashō’sfrog,whatdoesthepoemactuallysay?

Onthesurface,notverymuch—oneormorefrogsjumpingintoone ormore ponds andmaking one ormore sounds. Yet thispoemhasfascinatedpeopleformorethanthreehundredyears,andthereasonwhyremainssomethingofamystery.Isitthatitcombines old (the pond) and new (the jumping)? A long timespan and immediacy? Sight and sound? Serenity and thesurprise of breaking it? Our ability to harmonize with thenature?Allofthesemayevokeanexperiencethatwecanshareinourownimaginations.Whatevermeaningsitbringsforthinreaders,thishaikuhas

notonlybeenappreciatedbutalsovariouslymodeledafterandsometimes even parodied in Japan, the latter suggesting thatreadersshouldnottakeittooseriously.Togiveafewexamples,the Chinese-style poet-painter Kameda Bōsai (1752–1826)wrote:Oldpond—afterthattime

nofrogjumpsin

while the Zen master Sengai Gibon (1750–1837) added newversions:Oldpond—somethinghasPLOP

justjumpedin

Oldpond—Bashōjumpsin

thesoundofwater

Bashōhasbecomesofamousforhishaikuthatthiseighteenth-centurysenryū mocks the now self-consciousmaster himself:MasterBashō,

ateveryplop

stopswalking

Inthemodernworld,newtransformationsofthispoemkeepappearingevenacrosstheocean, includingthishaikuwithanenvironmental undertone by StephenAddiss:Old pond pavedover

intoaparkinglot—

onefrogstillsinging

Perhaps one reasonwhy haiku have become internationallypopular in recent decades comes from our sensitivity to oursurroundings, even to the development of towns and cities,oftentothedetrimentof thenaturalworld:poetshavepowertokeeponsingingtheconnectiontonatureintheirnewmilieu.

HaikuinJapan

Although haiku is now a worldwide phenomenon, its rootsstretchfarbackintoJapan’shistory.Theformitselfbeganwithpoetssharingthecompositionof“linkedverse”intheformofaseriesoffive-linewaka(5-7-5-7-7syllables),amucholderformofpoem.Wakapoets,workinginsequence,notedthatthe5-7-5–syllable sections couldoften standalone.Separate coupletsof 7-7 syllableswere less appealing to the Japanese taste forasymmetry,butfromthe5-7-5links,haikuwereborn.It is generally considered that Bashō was the poet who

brought haiku into full flowering, deepening and enriching itandalsoutilizinghaikuinaccountsofhistravelssuchasOkuno hosomichi (Narrow Road to the Interior). Bashō’s pupilsthencontinuedhistraditionofinfusingseeminglysimplehaikuwith evocative undertones, while continuing a sense of playthatkepthaikufrombecomingtheleastbitponderous.Thenexttwoofthe“threegreatmasters”wereBuson(1716–

83), a major painter as well as poet who developed haiku-painting (haiga) to its height, and Issa (1763–1827), whoseprofoundempathywithalllivingbeingswasamajorfeatureofhis poetry. With the abrupt advent of Western civilization toJapaninthelatenineteenthcentury,haikuseemedtobefacingan uncertain future, but it was revived by Masaoka Shiki(1867–1902)andhis followers,and ithascontinuedunabateduntilthepresentday.Despite some historical changes over the centuries, certain

features of Japanese life and thought have maintainedthemselves as integral features of the haiku spirit. For

example,thenativereligionofShintōreveresdeitiesinnature,bothacauseandaneffectoftheJapaneseloveoftrees,rocks,mountains, valleys, waterfalls, flowers, moss, animals, birds,insects, and so many more elements of the natural world.Significantly,haikuincludehumannatureasanorganicpartinall of nature, as in the following poems about dragonflies byShirao (1738–91) and the aforementioned Santōka,respectively:Thecomingofautumn

isdetermined

byareddragonfly

Dragonflyonarock—

absorbedin

adaydream

Ineachcase, theobservationofan insect leadstoadeeperconsideration of our own perceptions, although neither poemhasa“moral”oranobviousmessage.Wemaywellaskwhoisjudging, and who is daydreaming? In this sense, it could besaidthateveryhaikuisatleastpartiallyabouthumanbeings,ifonly the onewho originally composed it and the one readingand experiencing it now. Perhaps all fine poems areexpressions of experience rather than merely “things,” andhaiku,aboveall,elicitourownparticipationasreaders,almostas though the poet had disappeared and left us to determineourownexperience.TherehasbeensomecontroversyabouttheinfluenceofZen

in haiku. Certainly some poets (such as Bashō) studied Zen,and a fewwere actually Zenmasters (such asSengai).Manyother Japanesepoets,however, followedotherBuddhist sects,Shintō, or were completely secular, so we should be carefulaboutclaimingtoomuchdirect influenceofZen.Inabroadersense,however,JapanesecultureandtheartsduringthepastsevencenturieshavebeensuffusedwithZeninfluence,rangingfrom the tea ceremony and flower arranging to Noh theater,ink painting, and shakuhachi (bamboo flute) music. Inparticular, Zen’s insistence on the enlightenment of theordinary world at the present moment, right here and rightnow,hasbothmirroredandinfluencedthehaikuspirit.AsIssawrote:Wheretherearepeople

thereareflies,and

thereareBuddhas

TheZeninfluenceinhaikumayneedmoreexamination,butithastouchedJapaneseculturesodeeplythatitcanneverbeentirelyabsent.WhatZen,otherBuddhistsects,andShintōallhaveincommonwithhaikuistheharmonybetweennatureandhumans.

RegardingThisVolumeThethreeauthor-editorsofthepresentvolumehavepreviouslypublishedaseriesoffivebooks:AHaikuMenagerie(Weatherhill,1992),AHaikuGarden(Weatherhill,1996),HaikuPeople(Weatherhill,1998),HaikuLandscapes(Weatherhill,2002),andHaikuHumor(Weatherhill,2007).Thehaikuinthisnewbookareexcerptedfromthosebooks,withsomemodificationsintranslation,alongwithnewlyaddedverses.Thisanthologyincludesarepresentativenumberofpoemsbyeachofthethreegreatmasters(Bashō,Buson,andIssa),agenerousgroupofhaikubyobservantandcreativepoetsrangingintimefromtheearlyfifteenththroughthelatertwentiethcenturies,andasprinklingofanonymouscomicalsenryū.

The poems are grouped into three categories: The Pulse ofNature, Human Voices, and Resonance and Reverberation.Eachcategorymovesalongatimeline,notlinearlybutrathercyclically,reflectingnaturalliferhythms.These poems are expressions not only of Japanese

sensibilities but of age-old human responses to the worldaroundus.Wewishallofour readers the joyofexperiencingthiskaleidoscopeofall livingcreaturesandtheirmultifacetedinteractionswithenvelopingnatureasexpressedbythefinestJapanesehaikuandsenryūpoets.

ThePulseofNature

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Opening their hearts ice and water becomefriendsagain

—TEISHITSU

Thespringsun

showsitspowerbetweensnowfalls—SHIGEYORINotinahurry

toblossom—plumtreeatmygate—ISSAWhiteplumblossomsreturntothewitheredtree—moonlitnight

—BUSON

Thewarblerwipes itsmuddy feet on plumblossoms—ISSAWitheachfallingpetaltheygrowolder—plumbranches

—BUSON

Driedgrasses—and just a few heatwaves rising an inch or two—BASHŌ

Overflowingwithlovethecatascoquettishasacourtesan

—SAIMARO

Bothpartnerssportwhiskers—

cats’love—RAIZAN

Springsunineverypoolofwater—lingering

—ISSA Is the dawn, too, still embracedbyhazymoon?

—CHŌSUIIntheshimmeringhazethecatmumblessomethinginitssleep

—ISSA Spring rain— just enough towettinyshellsonthetinybeach—BUSON

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Thenurseryman

leftbehind

abutterfly—RYŌTAAgainandagain

stitchingtherowsofbarley—abutterfly—SORA A pheasant’s tail very gentlybrushestheviolets

—SHŪSHIKI-JO

Overtheviolets

asmallbreeze

passesby—ONTEI Each time the wind blows thebutterflysitsanewonthewillow

—BASHŌ

Springchill—abovethericepaddiesrootlessclouds—HEKIGODŌ

Daybreak—thewhitefishwhitenonlyoneinch

—BASHŌ

Domesticducksstretch their necks hoping to see the world —KŌJIThewarblerdroppedhishat—acamellia

—BASHŌ

Crazed by flowers surprised by the moon— abutterfly

—CHORA White camellias— only thesoundoftheirfallingmoonlitnight

—RANKŌ

Squeakinginresponsetobabysparrows—anestofmice

—BASHŌ

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Out from thedarknessback into thedarkness—affairsofthecat—ISSAJoyfulatnight

tranquilduringtheday—springrain—CHORAAcamelliafalls

spillingoutyesterday’srain—BUSON

A hedge of thorns— how skillfully the dogwriggledunderit!

—ISSA Misty day— they might begossiping horses in the field —ISSA Anold well— falling into its darkness acamellia

—BUSON

Trampling on clouds, inhaling the mist, theskylarksoars—SHIKICrouching,

studyingtheclouds—afrog—CHIYO-JO

On the temple bell perching and sleeping— abutterfly

—BUSON

Couldtheybesutras?inthetemplewellfrogschant

—KANSETSU

Recitedonandon, thepoemsof the frogshavetoomanysyllables—EIJIBracinghisfeet

andofferingupasong—thefrog—SŌKAN

FromthenostriloftheGreatBuddhacomesaswallow

—ISSA

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On thebrushwoodgate inplaceofa lock—onesnail

—ISSASunlight

passesthroughabutterflyasleep—RANKŌ

Withthepowerofnon-attachmentfloatingonthewater—afrog

—JŌSŌ

Highlighting the blossoms, clouded by blossoms—themoon

—CHORAFlowerpetals

set the mountain in motion— cherry blossoms —HŌITSU

Onthesurfaceofpetal-coveredwater—frogs’eyes

—FŌSEI The retreating shapes of thepassingspring—wisteria

—KANA-JO

Springpasses—thelastreluctantcherryblossoms—BUSON

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Shallowrivertwistingwestandtwistingeast—youngleaves

—BUSON

Forsythia—andradiantspring’smelancholy

—MANTARŌ

Indaytime“darkentheday”atnight“brightenthenight”

frogschant—BUSON

Crossingtheseaintoanetofmist—thesettingsun—BUSON

Mistygrasses—waterwithoutvoicesinthedusk

—BUSON

Springpassing—lookingatthesea,ababycrow

—SHOKYŌ

Thecuckoowith a single song has established summer—RYŌTAThevoiceofthecuckooslants

overthewater—BASHŌ

The cuckoo calls— and the waters of the lakecloudoveralittle—JŌSŌ

Thecuckoo—fliesandinsects,listenwell!

—ISSA Summer rains— leaves of theplumthecolorofcoldwind—SAIMARO

Early summer rains— lunging at the blue seamuddywaters

—BUSON

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Early summer rains— even nameless rivers arefearsome

—BUSON

Summercool—inthegreenricefieldsasinglepine

—SHIKIOnlyFuji

remainsunburied—youngleaves—BUSON

On the hydrangeas the weight of the morningsun,theeveningsun—OTSUYŪ

Mountainant—

seensoclearlyonthewhitepeony—BUSON

Alone,silently—thebambooshootbecomesabamboo—SANTŌKAThewarbleramidthebambooshootssingsofoldage—BASHŌ

Atriangle—isthelizard’sheadgettingalittlelonger?

—KYOSHIInmydwelling

friendlywiththemice—fireflies—ISSA How interesting— runningerrandsrightandleftfireflies

—KAIGAPursued,

ithidesinthemoon—thefirefly—SANO RYŌTA Burning so easily,extinguishingsoeasily—thefirefly

—CHINE-JO

Themorningbreezeripplesthefurofthecaterpillar—BUSON

Illustration8

As the lake breeze cools his bottom the cicadacries —ISSA As lightning flashes he strokes hishead—thetoad

—ISSA The snake flees— but the eyesthatpeeredatme remain in theweeds—KYOSHI Rustling, rustling, the lotusleaves sway—a tortoise in the pond—ONITSURATodaytoo

mosquitolarvae—andtomorrowagain—ISSAAsfliesretreatmosquitoesstarttheirbattlecry—ANONYMOUS

Dashing into one another whispering, parting—ants

—ANONYMOUS

Inhalingcloudsexhalingclouds—mountaintoppines—ANONYMOUS

Illustration9

Acrossapillarofmosquitoeshangsthebridgeofdreams

—KIKAKU

Eventheclamskeeptheirmouthsshutinthisheat

—BASHŌ

Motionlessinacreviceofanoldwall—apregnantspider—SHIKIHeatinwaves—inthestones

angry reverberations —KYŌTAI Sudden shower—andrisingfromtheheat,thebroken-downhorse—KITŌ

Lightning!fleeingupthewall,thelegsofaspider—KICHŌ

Suddenshower—clutching thebladesofgrassa flockof sparrows—BUSON

Downapaulownia tree the rain comes tricklingacrossacicada’sbelly—BAISHITSU

Thetreefrog

ridingtheplantainleafsways—KIKAKU

“It’smuchtoolongaday,”

openingitsmouthacrow—ISSAThefish

notknowing they’re inabucketcoolby thegate—ISSAAsuddenshower

drumsdownuponthe heads of the carp —SHIKI Lightning—yesterdaytotheeasttodaytothewest—KIKAKU

Eveninasinglebladeofgrassthecoolbreeze

findsahome—ISSA The trout leaps up— and belowhim in a stream clouds float by —ONITSURA How quiet— at the bottom ofthe lake peaks of clouds —ISSA At thesound of the sea the sunflowers opentheir black eyes —YŪJI Octopus pot—evanescentdreamsofthesummermoon—BASHŌ

Short summer night— flowing through reedsbubblesfromcrabs—BUSON

Stillness—seepingintotherocksthecicada’svoice—BASHŌ

Howbeautifullythe cowhas slimmeddown in the summer fields—BONCHŌ

In themorning dew soiled and cooled— dirt onthemelon—BASHŌ

Illustration10

Summercoolness—lanternout,

the sound of water —SHIKI Summer rains—secretly one eveningmoon in the pines—RYŌTAThebat’s

secrethome—

atatteredhat—BUSON

Eveningglories—thecatchewingtheflowerhasitsmindelsewhere—BUSON

Among the ears of barley are you hiding yourtail?

oldfox—TESSHI The coming of autumndetermined

byareddragonfly—SHIRAO

Thestarshavealreadyopenedtheirautumneyes—KŌYŌ

Earlyautumn—the evening showerbecomes a night of rain—TAIGIAutumnbegins—oceanandfieldsallonegreen

—BASHŌ

Earlyautumn—peering through willows the morning sun —SEIBIMorningglories—blowntothegroundbloomastheyare—ISSAAsdewdripsgently, gently, the dove murmurs its chant —ISSAGrasses and trees all waiting for the moon— dewyevening

—SŌGI

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Whitedewonbramblesandthorns—onedropeach

—BUSON

Onbladesofgrass frolic and roll on—pearlsofdew

—RANSETSU

Dewcooling—

thingswithshapesallalive—KIJŌ

Itsfacelookslikeahorse—thegrasshopper—ANONYMOUS

Dragonflyonarockabsorbedin

adaydream—SANTŌKAThedragonfly

cannotcometorestonthebladesofgrass—BASHŌ

Kittensplaying hide-and-seek in the bush clover —ISSADragonfliesquiettheirmaddarting—crescentmoon

—KIKAKU

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Thebatcirclingthemoonwouldnotleaveit—KYŌTAIGivemebackmydream!a crow has wakened me to misty moonlight —ONITSURADyeinghisbodyautumn—

thedragonfly—BAKUSUI Distant mountains reflectinginitseyes—adragonfly

—ISSA A floating sandal— an object ofscorntotheplovers

—ANONYMOUS

Thepinewindcirclingaroundtheeaves—autumndeepens

—BASHŌ

Coolbreezefillingtheemptysky—pinevoices

—ONITSURA To the mountain quietudethequiet

rain—SANTŌKATheolddog

is leading the way— visiting family graves —ISSATyphoonsended,theratswimsacrossflowingwaters

—BUSON

Callingthreetimes, thennomoretobeheard—thedeerintherain—BUSON

Running across the shelf hoisting achrysanthemum—atemplemouse

—TAKAMASA On a withered branchlingers the evanescent memory of acicada’svoice—KAGAISingingasitgoes,an insect floats down the stream on abroken bough —ISSA “The eyes of thehawksarenowdimmed,”

quailssing—BASHŌ

Agrasshopperchirpsinthesleeveofthescarecrow—CHIGETSU

Thefieldshavewithered—noneedforthecranetostretchoutitsneck—SHIKŌ

Thefirstgooseseekingitsownskyinthedusk

—SHIRŌ

Whentheyfall,justastheyfall—gardengrasses

—RYŌKAN

Mountains darken— robbing the scarlet frommapleleaves—BUSON

Themoonspeedson—thetreetopsstillholdingrain—BASHŌ

Arock

againstthemoonsitsbig—SEISENSUIThebrightmoon—out fromthesleeveofthescarecrow—ISSAFallenleaves

fall on each other— rain beats on the rain—KYŌTAIBlown from thewest collecting in the east— fallingleaves

—BUSON

Theoldpond’sfrogalsogrowingold—fallenleaves

—BUSON

Sweepingandthennotsweepingthefallenleaves—TAIGIVerysquarelysettingitsbuttocksdown—thepumpkin

—SŌSEKITheautumnwind

takestheshapeofpampasgrass—KIGIN

To passing autumn the pampas grass wavesgoodbyegoodbye—SHIRAO

Autumnrains—aspiderencasedinaclumpoffallengrass—SEKITEIEveningfog—myhorsehaslearnedtheholesonthebridge—ISSAThesoundof the raindrops also grown older—SANTŌKA In theharvest moonlight standing nonchalantly— thescarecrow

—ISSAItshatfallenoffandembarrassed—thescarecrow

—BUSON

Arinseofvermilionpouredfromthesettingsun,andthenautumndusk

—TAIGIThebitterpersimmonsspendingtheirautumnquietly

—RITŌ

Gardengateslammingandthwacking—autumnwind

—HARITSU

Justlikepeoplethemonkeyclaspsitshands—autumnwind

—SHADŌ

Oneedgehangingoverthemountain—theMilkyWay

—SHIKI The moon in the water turnssomersaultsandflowsaway

—SANORYŌTAWhiterthan

thestonesofStoneMountain—theautumnwind—BASHŌ

Theautumnwindattheslidingdoor—apiercingvoice—BASHŌ

Thehugesettingsun—littleremainsofitspower—KYOSHI All in calmness— the earthwithhalf-openedeyesmovesintowinter—DAKOTSU

Newgardenstonessettlingdown—firstwinterrain—SHADŌ

Redberries—justonehasfallenfrostygarden

—SHIKI Without a companion,abandonedinthefieldswintermoon

—ROSEKI Camphor-tree roots silentlysoakintheearlywinterrain—BUSON

Howamusing,itmaychangeintosnow—thewinterrain—BASHŌ

Crescentmoonwarpedcoldness

keenandclear—ISSAFirstsnow—justenoughtobendthenarcissusleaves—BASHŌ

On themandarinduck’swingsadustof snow—suchstillness!

—SHIKI Cold moon— the gatelesstemple’sendlesssky

—BUSON

Unable towrap it anddropping themoon— thewinterrain—TOKOKU

Howwarm—the shadows of withered trees stretching out theirarms—TEI-JO

There’snothinghedoesn’tknow—thecatonthestove—FŪSEIOnamandarin duck its beauty is exhausted— wintergrove

—BUSON

Theseagrowsdarkthevoiceoftheduckfaintlywhitens—BASHŌ

Coldmoon—amongthewitheredtreesthreestalksofbamboo—BUSON

Its saddle taken off how cold it looks— thehorse’srump—HEKIGODŌ

Snowfallsonsnow—

andremainssilent—SANTŌKAWolvesarekeeninginharmony—snowyevening

—JŌSŌ

If it had no voice the heron might disappear—thismorning’ssnow—CHIYO-JO

Dawn—thestormisburiedinsnow

—SHIRŌ

Withered by winter one-colored world— thesoundofwind—BASHŌ

Thewintermoontrailingitswhiteglowleavesthemountain—DAKOTSU

The salted sea bream’s teeth are also chilly—fish-marketshelf—BASHŌ

Bleakly,bleaklythe sun enters into the rocks— a withered field —BUSON

Blisteringwind—splinteredbyrocksthevoiceofthewater—BUSON

Today is also ending— at the bottom of thesnowstormagiganticsun

—ARŌ

Wintryblasts—blown off into the ocean the evening sun —SŌSEKISadstorieswhispered to the jellyfish by the sea slug —SHŌHAFrozentogether,whataretheydreaming?

seaslugs—SEISEIIntheeyesofthehawkoverthewithered fields sits thewinter storm—JŌSŌ

Comingtotheseathewinterwindhasnoplacetoreturn

—SEISHI In theabandonedboatdashingandsliding—hail

—SHIKIFlowingdown

icecrushes

ice—GOMEIThewinterstorm

hidesinthebambooandbecomessilent—BASHŌ

Dearly,dearlyembracingthesun—thefallengardenleaves—RITŌ

Each plum blossom brings a single blossom’swarmth

—BASHŌ

Thewarblersingsupside-downhisfirstnote

—KIKAKU

HumanVoices

Illustration13

Thetinychild—shownevenafloweropensitsmouth—SEIFU-JO

Fleabites—whilecountingthem,shenursesherbaby

—ISSAShieldinganinfantfromthewind—ascarecrow

—ISSA Garden butterfly— as the babycrawls, it flies crawls—flies— —ISSA Achild on my back I picked a brackenshoot and let him hold it —KYŌTAI Hermothereats

the bitter parts— mountain persimmons —ISSA Theharvestmoon—“Getitforme!”

criesthechild—ISSA“It’sthisbig!”formingapeonywithherarms—achild

—ISSATodaytoo!

today too! kites caught by the nettle tree —ISSASpringrains—achildteachesthecatadance

—ISSA Worse than tears— the smile oftheabandonedchild—ANONYMOUS

The season’s first melon clutched in its armssleeps the child —ISSA Blazing sun— whosebarefootchildisrunningfree?

—KŌYŌ

Attheticketwindowourchildbecomesoneyearyounger—SEIUN

Theyoungestchildvisitingfamilygravescarriesthebroom—BUSON

Firstlove—comingclosetoalanternface-to-face

—TAIGI Secret night rendezvous— amosquitowas swatted and died quietly—ANONYMOUS

Heavenknows,earth knows, every neighbor knows—parents don’tknow—SHISHŌSHISharingoneumbrella—thepersonmoreinlovegetswet

—KEISANJIN

Catchingupandlookingather—nothingspecial—ANONYMOUS

Hearingfootstepssplittingintwotheshadow—ANONYMOUS

Wavingumbrellas“goodbye”...“goodbye”...

gossamerhaze—ISSAHavingchildren,

youunderstand—

buttoolate—ANONYMOUS

Illustration14

Pearblossoms—awomanreadsaletterbymoonlight

—BUSON

Harvesting radishes, he points the way with aradish

—ISSAWorkers—theylaugh

inasinglecolor—HAKUSHISellingladles,heshowshowtoscoopupnothingatall

—ANONYMOUS

ChantingtheLotusSutra—onlyhislips

arebusy—ANONYMOUS

Withbothhandsthrustupmightily—myyawn

—ANONYMOUS

Troutfishing—

morefishermen

thantrout—KENJIN

Verysecretly

themedicinepeddlerissick—ANONYMOUS

The convalescent— indulging in his mother’scarehasbecomeahabit—ANONYMOUS

Losing,he straightens in his seat and loses again —ANONYMOUS

Having given my opinion I return home to mywife’sopinion—YACHŌ

Pridinghimself

onscoldinghisbeautifulwife—ANONYMOUS

Illustration15

“Everywoman...”hestartstosay,thenlooksaround—ANONYMOUS

“Afteryoudiethey’llbevaluable”

hetellsthepainter—ANONYMOUS

Skeletonscoveredwithadornment—flowerviewing

—ONITSURAWantingtobelogicalhetriessohard—thedrunkard

—MEITEI“Let’spullthemall”

saysthedentistgenerously—ANONYMOUS

“I’dneverloseinasumomatch”—pillowtalk

—BUSON

Notalentsalsonosins—

winter seclusion —ISSA Winter seclusion— frommywifeandchildrenItooplayhide-and-seek—BUSON

NewYear’scardswith women’s handwriting get looked at first —BIRIKEN

Shelowershereloquentlapontohissilentlap—ANONYMOUS

The kimono for flower-viewing— disrobing, I’mentwinedinamyriadofsashes—HISA-JO

Withoutawordthe guest, the host, white chrysanthemums—RYŌTAOutfromthegate,Itoobecomeatraveler—autumndusk

—BUSON

Walkingalongtheriverwithnobridgetocross—the day is long—SHIKI Coldmoon— feeling thepebblesundermyshoes

—BUSON

Asingleguestvisitsasinglehost—autumnevening

—BUSON

“Coming,coming,”butsomeonestillknocks—snowygate

—KYORAI

Illustration16

Mygorival—howvexing

andhowdear—ANONYMOUS

Gettingold—IsliponawatermelonrindasIdance

—SŌCHŌ

MynoserunningIplayasolitarygo-game—nightchill

—BUSON

Justaskingthemtofight,hesavedtonsofmoneyanddied

—HAKUCHŌ

Flesh getting thin— these are thick bones —HŌSAIFeelingmybones

onthequilting—frostynight—BUSON

Charcoalfire—myyearsdwindledownjustlikethat

—ISSAFormeleaving

foryoustaying

twoautumns—SHIKIOwningnothing—suchpeace,

suchcoolness!—ISSALefttoliveon

lefttoliveonandon—thiscold—ISSALoneliness

alsohasitspleasure—autumndusk—BUSON

Autumn of my years— the moon is perfect andyet——ISSAWalkingthedog

youmeet

lotsofdogs—SŌSHITakinganap

Ihidewithinmyself—winterseclusion—BUSON

Allofasuddenmyfirstfallentooth—autumnwind

—SANPŪ

Winterrain—I’mnotdeadyet—SANTŌKAAwholefamily

allgray-hairedwithcanesvisitsgraves—BASHŌ

Thisautumnnochildinmylap—moon-viewing

—ONITSURAAremyyouthfuldreamsstillunfinished?

thismorning’sfrost—ANONYMOUS

The auspiciousness is just about medium— myspring

—ISSA OnNew Year’s Day themorningintowncomesirregularly—ANONYMOUS

Firstwinterkimono—mayyouquicklygrowtoanaughtyage

—ISSA Snowhasmelted— the village isfullofchildren

—ISSA

ResonanceandReverberation

Illustration17

“Don’tdarebreakit!”but he broke off and gave me a branch of gardenplum—TAIGISpringriver—atinywoodenclogfloatsby

—HARITSU

Springrain—blown onto the bush a discarded letter —ISSA Ashametopickitashametoleaveit—theviolet

—NAO-JO

Evenwhenchaseditpretendsnottohurry—thebutterfly

—GARAKU

Onesneeze—andIlostsightoftheskylark

—YAYŪ

Tiredheart—mountains and ocean too much beauty —SANTŌKALeadhimslowly!thehorseiscarryingthespringmoon—WATSUJIN

Comeout!youcanalmosttouchthespringmoon—TEI-JO

Springmoon—ifItouchit,itwoulddrip

—ISSASpringrain—Igavemyyawn

tothedogatthegate—ISSAWhileIponder

asnail

passesmeby—ANONYMOUS

Frogsgrowsilent—noblehumansarepassingby—RAKUKYO

Early summer rain—a letter fromhomearriveswet

—HARITSU

Suddenshower—

ridingnakedonanakedhorse—SANTŌKARocksandtrees

glisteninmyeyes—suchheat—KYORAI The stone-carver cools hischiselintheclearstream—BUSON

Ahoestandingwithnoonearound—theheat!

—SHIKI

Illustration18

Becomingacowwouldbefine—morningnapsandtheeveningcool—SHIKŌ

Aftermysneezeallisquiet—

summermountains—YASUIOnly themoonand Iremainonthebridgecoolingoff

—KIKUSHAOneperson

andoneflyin the large room —ISSA The fly on the porchwhilerubbingitshands—swat!

—ISSAEachtime

Iswatafly,Ichant“NamuAmidaButsu”—ISSA Mosquito larvae, dancing aBuddhist chant in the water by thegrave—ISSABeinghit

the gong spits out a noontime mosquito —SŌSEKISharing the samebloodbutwe’renot related— thehatefulmosquito!

—JŌSŌ

Thefluteplayerbittenbyamosquitoontheedgeofhislips—KYORIKU

Swarmsofmosquitoes—butwithoutthem,it’salittlelonely—ISSADuringtheday

theBuddhasheltersbehindmosquitoes—ISSA

Illustration19

Thebeggarwearsheavenandearthassummerclothes—KIKAKU

Wheretherearepeoplethereareflies,andthereare Buddhas —ISSA They live long— the flies,fleas, andmosquitoes in this poor village—ISSATwo old bent backs sitting close, wrapped in ashowerofcicadasongs—ANONYMOUS

Inmyhanditsfleetinglightvanishes—thefirefly

—KYORAIHowdelightful

walkingondewygrasses—strawsandals—HARITSU

Killing the spider then so lonesome— eveningcold

—SHIKI Seeing that I’m old even themosquito whispers closer to my ear —ISSAAnautumnmosquitodeterminedtodiebitesme

—SHIKI Before the white mumshesitatingforawhile—thescissors

—BUSON

Trulytheautumnhascome—Iwasconvincedbymysneeze

—BUSON

Plantingmybuttocksonahugetaroleaf—moon-viewing

—HARITSU

Whatever they wear they become beautifulmoon-viewing

—CHIYO-JO

Illustration20

Takingmealongmyshadowcomeshomefrommoon-viewing—SODŌ

Evengrandmagoesoutdrinking—moonlitnight

—ISSA Wild geese muttering, muttering—aretheyspreadingrumorsaboutme?

—ISSA Don’t cry, wild geese, it’s thesame everywhere— this floating world—ISSA A man raking— the leaves keepcallinghimback—ANONYMOUS

Dusk—whiletheearthandItalkleavesfall

—ISSAWhenIshowmydelighttheyfalldownfaster—acorns

—FŪSEIColdly,coldly

thesunslips intomysleeve—autumnmountains—ISSA Autumn wind— in my heart, how manymountainsandrivers—KYOSHIDeepinthemountains— falling into my heart autumn streams —SHINKEIMorethanlastyearitislonely—theautumndusk—BUSON

Onmyshoulderisitlongingforacompanion?

areddragonfly—SŌSEKILoveinmyoldage—asItrytoforget,lateautumnrain—BUSON

WhenIfinallydie—weeds

fallingrain—SANTŌKAFromthenose

oftheBuddhainthefields—icicles—ISSAVisitors

kindlycreateapaththroughthesnowatmygate—ISSATheblackdogbecomesalantern—snowyroad

—ANONYMOUS

Wintersun—frozenonhorsebackismyshadow

—BASHŌ

Piercingcold—Idroppedmybroomunder thepines—TAIGIColderthansnowonmywhitehair—thewintermoon—JŌSŌ

A hundredmiles of frost— in a boat, I own themoon

—BUSON

Peaceful,peacefulchilly,chillysnow,snow

—SANTŌKATomycat

aNewYear’scardfromitsvet—YORIE

The child on my lap begins to point at plumblossoms

—ISSA Plum blossoms— “Steal this onehere!”

pointsthemoon—ISSAUnderthetreesinto the salad, into the soup— cherry blossoms —BASHŌ

THEPOETS

ARŌ.SeeUSUDAARŌ.BAISHITSU (1769–1852). Baishitsuwas born inKanazawa to afamilyofswordexperts.HemovedtoKyoto,visitedEdo(Tokyo)for twelve years, and then settled again in Kyoto, where hebecameoneofthemajorhaikuteachersofhisera.BAKUSUI(1718–83).ApoetfromKanazawaduringthemiddleoftheEdoPeriod,BakusuistudiedunderOtsuyū.BASHŌ (1644–94).Widelyadmiredas thegreatestofallhaikumasters, Bashō, when young, left samurai life when his lordpassed away and devoted himself to poetry.Hemade severaljourneys, which he celebrated in combinations of prose andhaikucalledhaibun,andhisdeephumanityanddepthofspiritinfluencedJapaneseliteratureprofoundly.BIRIKEN(datesanddetailsunknown).BONCHŌ (died1714).Byprofession a doctor,Bonchō edited afamousbookofhaikupoemswithKyorai,andalsowrotemanyfreshandoriginalhaikuofhisown.Hewasalso interested inEuropeanstudies,andwasimprisonedfortradingillegallywithDutchmerchants.BŌSAI.SeeKAMEDABŌSAI.BUSON(1716–83).Aroundtheageofseventeen,BusonwenttoEdo (Tokyo) and studied painting and haiku. After his haikuteacher’s death in 1742,Busonwandered around the easternprovinces for more than ten years, later settling in Kyoto.Buson is now considered one of the greatest artists in theliterati style,andsecondonly toBashō in thehaiku tradition.Buson’s verses aswell ashispaintings show thewarmthandbrillianceofhisvisionofhumanityandthenaturalworld.

CHIGETSU(1634?–1708?).Chigetsu,thewifeofafreightagent,studiedhaikuwithBashō,andbecameoneofthefourfamouswomen poets of her era. After the death of her husband in1686, she became a nun. She lived in Ōtsu with her son,Otokuni,whoalsostudiedwithBashōandbecameafinehaikupoet.CHINE-JO (?–1688?).Chine-jowastheyoungersisterofKyorai,whowas one of the ten leading pupils ofBashō. In her earlytwenties,Chine-joandKyorai traveled together to Ise.Duringthis trip,Chine-jowrotehaikupoemsthatwereconsideredasgoodasorevenbetterthanthosebyherelderbrother.CHIYO-JO(1703–75).Beginningtowritehaikuonherownattheageoffifteen,Chiyo-jolaterstudiedwithShikōandeventuallybecameanun.Herhaikustyleachievedgreatpopularitywithitsdirectexpressionandwittymasteryoflanguage.CHORA(1719–80).BorninShima(present-dayMiePrefecture),Chora later moved to Ise. He associated with poets such asBuson.CHŌSUI (1701–69). A poet in the middle of the Edo Period,Chōsuiwasborn thesonofa localgovernor inChiba,andhelaterbecameamonk.OneofhishaikudiscipleswasShirao.DAKOTSU.SeeIIDADAKOTSU.EIJI(datesanddetailsunknown).FUKUDAHARITSU(1865–1944).BorninthesmalltownofShingūin Wakayama Prefecture, Fukuda Haritsu became a pupil ofShikiinTokyo,thenmovedtoKyotowhereheledthelifeofascholar-poet using the name Kodōjin (Old Taoist). He wrotehaiku,waka,andChinese-stylepoetry,andpaintedbothhaigaandliteratilandscapes.FŪSEI.SeeTOMIYASUFŪSEI.GARAKU(datesanddetailsunknown).GIBON.SeeSENGAIGIBON.

GOMEI(1731–1803).ApoetinAkitaPrefecture,GomeistudiedBashō’shaikuonhisown.HAKUCHŌ(datesanddetailsunknown).HAKUSHI (dates unknown). A writer of humorous verse fromEdo(Tokyo).HARASEKITEI(1886–1951).BorninShimanePrefecture,Sekiteistudied under Takahama Kyoshi. He was active in the haikujournalHototogisuandhewasalsoskilledinhaigapainting.HARITSU.SeeFUKUDAHARITSU.HEKIGODŌ.SeeKAWAHIGASHIHEKIGODŌ.HISA-JO.SeeSUGITAHISA-JO.HŌITSU (1761–1828).Born inEdo (Tokyo) to theSakai family,lordofHimejifiefdom,Hōitsuexcelledasahaikupoetandalsoapainterinthedecorativetradition.HŌSAI.SeeOZAKIHŌSAI.IIDA DAKOTSU (1885–1962). Born in Yamanashi Prefecture,Dakotsu studied at Waseda University. He was one of therepresentativepoetsofthehaikujournalHototogisu.ISSA (1763–1827). A poet whose life was filled with personaltragedy, Issa became the most compassionate of all haikumasters, with a special feeling for children and commonpeople.JŌSŌ(1662–1704).Duetopoorhealth,Jōsōgaveuphissamuraiposition at the age of twenty-six and became a monk. Hestudied haiku with Bashō, and after the death of his masterlivedaquietandsolitarylife.KAGAI(died1778,detailsunknown).KAIGA(1652–1718).ApupilofBashō,KaigawasaclosefriendofthepoetKikaku.KAMEDA BŌSAI (1752–1826). One of the leading ConfucianscholarsandChinese-stylepoet-calligraphersofhisday,Bōsai

onlyrarelywrotehaiku.Heinscribedhisverseabout“theoldpond”overaportraitofBashō.KANA-JO (dates unknown). A Kyoto poet, Kana-jowas Kyorai’swifeandhadtwodaughters.KANSETSU(datesanddetailsunknown).KAWAHIGASHI HEKIGODŌ (1873–1937). Born in Matsuyama,EhimePrefecture,HekigodōstudiedwithShiki.Healsowroteliterarycriticismandnovels.KEISANJIN(datesanddetailsunknown).KENJIN(datesanddetailsunknown).KICHŌ (datesunknown).KichōwasbestknownasacriticandevaluatorofpoetrycompetitionsduringtheEdoPeriod.KIGIN(1624–1705).BorninShigaPrefecture,Kiginwasknownas a scholar of classics. He served the bakufu government.KiginlearnedhaikuwithTeitoku,whosepupilsincludedBashō.KIJŌ.SeeMURAKAMIKIJŌ.KIKAKU (1661–1707). One of the ten leading pupils of Bashō,Kikaku was also an expert in Chinese-style poetry,Confucianism, medicine, calligraphy, and painting. His poeticstyleisknownforitswitandhumor.KIKUSHA (1753–1826). Born in Yamaguchi, Kikusha devotedherself to the arts, including painting, calligraphy, waka,Chinese-style verse, and haiku. After her husband died whenshewastwenty-fouryearsold,shebecameanun.KINOSHITAYŪJI (1914–65). Born inHiroshima Prefecture, Yūjitook over his father’s pharmacy store. As a poet, he wasrecognizedbyKubotaMantarō,apopularliteraryfigureofthetime.KITŌ (1741–89).Learninghaikufirst fromhis fatherand laterfrom Buson, Kitō also greatly admired the poems of Kikaku.Kitōwrote haikuwith direct and unsentimental observations.Helovedsake,andlikeseveralotherhaikupoetshebecamea

monkinhisfinalyears.KŌJI(datesanddetailsunknown).KŌYŌ.SeeOZAKIKŌYŌ.KUBOTAMANTARŌ (1889–1963).MantarōwasborninAsakusa,Tokyo. After graduating from Keiō University, he becamefamous as a writer, dramatist, and also a stage producer.Mantarō’spoemsarecharacterizedbytheirlyricalquality.KUBOYORIE(1884–1967).BorninMatsuyama,YoriemetShikiand Sōseki when she was young and became interested inhaiku.KYORAI(1651–1704).BorninNagasaki,KyoraimovedtoKyotoat the age of eight and became known for his excellence inmartial arts, astronomy, andgeneral learning.HemetKikakuin1684andjoinedhimtobecomeoneofthetenleadingpupilsofBashō.Hecombinedinhisownversethequalitiesofmartialstrengthandpoeticgentleness.Kyorai’swritingsaboutpoeticsbecameinfluentialforlaterhaikumasters.KYORIKU(1656–1715).AsamuraiintheHikoneregion(present-day Shiga Prefecture), Kyoriku excelled in the lance, sword,andhorsebackriding.HewasalsoagoodpainterintheKanōstyle.HestudiedhaikuwithBashō.KYOSHI.SeeTAKAHAMAKYOSHI.KYŌTAI (1732–92).Anative ofNagoya,Kyōtai tried to elevatehaikufromthevulgarityofhisdayandreturntotheexcellenceofBashō.HealsofollowedtheleadofBusonincreatingpoemscombining strength of imagery with keen observation of theworldaroundhim.MANTARŌ.SeeKUBOTAMANTARŌ.MASAOKA SHIKI (1867–1902). Despite the brevity of his life,Shikibecamethemostinfluentialhaikupoetandtheoristofthelate nineteenth century. He insisted that haiku poets shouldcultivate the keen observation (shasei) of nature. HeestablishedthefamoushaikujournalHototogisu.

MATSUSESEISEI(1869–1937).ApoetfromOsaka,SeiseiwasafollowerofShikiandwrotehaikuintraditionalstyle,opposingradicalchangeintheworldofpoetry.In1902,hebecamethehaikueditorofTheAsahinewspaper.MEITEI.SeeTSUKAKOSHIMEITEI.MIZUOCHIROSEKI(1872–1919).BorninOsaka,MizuochiRosekistudiedhaikuwithShiki.HewasconsideredtobetheleaderoftheOsakahaikugroupofthetime.MURAKAMIKIJŌ (1865–1938).Bornas theeldest sonofa low-rankingsamuraiinTottori,Kijōsufferedfromconstantpoverty.HewasanearlyrepresentativeofthehaikujournalHototogisu.NAKAMURATEI-JO(1900–1988).BorninKumamoto,Tei-jojoinedthe haiku journal Hototogisu. She promoted women’s haikuwritingthroughmassmedia.NAO-JO(datesanddetailsunknown).NATSUMESŌSEKI(1867–1916).Themostfamousnovelistofhistime, Sōseki studied in England and later taught Englishliterature in Japan. Less known as a haiku poet, heneverthelesswrotemanyfineverses.OGIWARA SEISENSUI (1884–1976). Born in Tokyo, Seisensuigraduated from Tokyo University, majoring in linguistics. Headvocated free-style haiku. Taneda Santōka was one of hisfollowers.HewrotewidelyonIssaandBashō.OKADAYACHŌ(1882–1960).BorninTsuyamaCity,Yachōstartedcomposingsenryūinhisearlytwenties.Heengagedinfarmingandwas a gentle person known for senryū with topics takenfromhisdailylife.ONITSURA (1661–1738).At theageofeight,Onitsurabegantolearn haiku. At thirteen, he became a pupil of MatsueShigeyori, and he also received instructions from KitamuraKigin and Nishiyama Sōin. In 1865, Onitsura stated that hecametorealizethatsinceritywasthemostimportantqualityinpoetry. Thus, his haiku poems were written in a simple and

straightforwardstyle.ONTEI.SeeSHINOHARAONTEI.OTSUYŪ (1675–1739). Also known as Bakurin, Otsuyū was apriest at Ise. He studied with Bashō when Bashō visited hisarea.Healsopaintedhaiga.OZAKI HŌSAI (1885–1926). Spending his life working attemples,OzakiHōsaiwrotehaikunotedfortheirfreeformanddirectlanguage.OZAKIKŌYŌ (1867–1903).KnownprimarilyforhisnovelssuchasGoldenDemon,written incolloquial style,Kōyōwasalsoafinehaikupoetduringhisshortlife.RAIZAN(1654–1716).AmerchantinOsaka,Raizanstartedwithcomical andwitty haiku but later changed to amore seriousstyleclosetoBashō’s.RAKUKYO(datesanddetailsunknown).RANKŌ (1726–98). Born in Kanazawa, Ronkō later moved toKyoto, where he practiced medicine. He promoted Bashō’shaikustylebycompilingthemaster’swritings.RANSETSU (1654–1707). Ransetsu studied painting withHanabusa Itchō, a famous painter, and haiku under Bashō.Ransetsu also studied Zen Buddhism, and its influence isdiscernibleinhislaterhaiku.HewasoneofthediscipleswhomMasterBashōhighlyappreciated,and isknown forhisgentleandsophisticatedpoeticstyle.RITŌ (1681–1755).AnEdopoet,Ritōwasoneof thepupilsofRansetsu.OneofhisfollowerswasRyōta.ROSEKI.SeeMIZUOCHIROSEKI.RYŌKAN (1758–1831). Born in Echigo, present-day NiigataPrefecture,RyōkanbecameaZenmonk.Hespenthislife,fullof interesting episodes (some of which are legendary), inpovertyasanitinerantmonk.Hispoemsarefullofawonderfulfreespirit.Ryōkanalsoexcelledinwakapoetry,Chinesepoetry,

andcalligraphy.RYŌTA (1718–87). When young, Ryōta moved to Edo (Tokyo)and studied with Ritō, Ransetsu’s pupil. He then became ahaiku teacher and was reported to have many pupils underhim.SAIMARO (1656–1738). Born to a samurai household, SaimarostudiedhaikuwithIharaSaikaku,thefamousfictionwriterandhaikupoetof the time.SaimaroalsokeptanassociationwithBashō.Later inhis life,heenjoyedconsiderablepower in theOsakahaikuworld.SANORYŌTA (1890–1954). Born in Niigata Prefecture, Ryōtawasknownforhisfreshexpressionsofnature.SANPŪ (1647–1732). A pupil and patron of Bashō, SanpūprovidedthemasterwithhisfamouscottageBashō-an(BananaPlantHermitage).SANTŌKA.SeeTANEDASANTŌKA.SEIBI(1749–1816).Bornintoawealthyfamily,SeibiassociatedwithShiraoandKyōtai.HewasknownasoneofthethreegreathaikupoetsofhisdayalongwithMichihikoandSōchō.HewasIssa’sbenefactor.SEIFU-JO (1731–1814). Born in Musashi Province, Seifu-jostudiedwithChōsuiandShirao.Herhaikustyleisoftenhighlysubjectiveandpersonal.SEISEI.SeeMATSUSESEISEI.SEISENSUI.SeeOGIWARASEISENSUI.SEISHI.SeeYAMAGUCHISEISHI.SEIUN(datesanddetailsunknown).SEKITEI.SeeHARASEKITEI.SENGAIGIBON(1750–1837).AZenmasterfromKyushu,Sengaibecame beloved for his paintings, which often show hisdelightfulsenseofhumor.

SHADŌ (died 1737?). A poet and doctor in Ōmi (present-dayShigaPrefecture)area,ShadōstudiedhaikuunderBashōandparticipated in Bashō’s haiku-composing gatherings. Hepublished one of Bashō’s well-known anthologies, Hisago(Gourd).SHIGEYORI (1602–80).Born inMatsue,Shigeyori livedmostofhis life in Kyoto. He studied haiku with Teitoku. He latercompiled Bashō’s haiku, and had fine haiku pupils such asOnitsura.SHIKI.SeeMASAOKASHIKI.SHIKŌ (1665–1731). After serving as a Zenmonk atDaichi-ji,Shikōbecameadoctor,latermeetingandbecomingadiscipleofBashō.Whentoldhemightberebornasananimalifhedidnot lead a pure life, Shikō observed that itmightwell be animprovement.SHINKEI(1406–75).Alinked-verse(renga)poet,Shinkeiwasaninfluential figure for the next generation of the linked-versepoets,suchasSōgi.SHINOHARAONTEI (1872–1926).BorninKumamotoPrefecture,Onteiworked foranewspaper company inTokyoand studiedhaikuunderShikiandKyoshi.SHIRAO (1738–91). Born in Shinano (present-day NaganoPrefecture) and studying haiku in Edo (Tokyo), Shirao latertraveledtomanyareasandvigorouslytaughthaiku.Hewroteseveral manuscripts on haiku theory that emphasizednaturalnessofexpression.SHIRŌ(1742–1812).BorninNagoya,Shirōpracticedmedicine.HestudiedhaikuwithKyōtaiandwasalsoknownforhisskillinplayingthebiwa(lute).SHISHŌSHI (1866–1928). Born in Tokyo, Shishōshi was veryactiveinpromotingsenryūandmentoredmanypoets.SHŌHA(died1771).ShōhastudiedChinesepoemswithHattoriNankaku. A beloved haiku pupil of Buson, Shōha died before

histeacher,andBusonthereuponwroteaprefaceforShōha’scollectedhaikuthatbecamevery famous.Shōha’sownpoemsshowhiskeenvisualsense.SHOKYŪ (1741–81). Born in Echigo (present-day NiigataPrefecture), Shokyū took the tonsure after her husband’sdeath.Shealsotraveledwidely.SHŪSHIKI-JO(1669–1725?).Shūshiki-jostudiedwithKikaku,andshemarried thehaikupoetKangyoku,alsoapupil ofKikaku.Shūshiki-jo’s poems became famous for their gentle andhumaneobservationsofeverydaylife.SŌCHŌ (1761–1814). The son of the famous calligrapherYamamotoRyōsai,SōchōbecameasuccessfulartistandhaikupoetinEdo(Tokyo).SODŌ(1642–1716).BorninKai,SodōmovedtoEdo(Tokyo)andbecameassociatedwithBashō.SŌGI (1421–1502). A highly respected linked-verse (renga)master and literary theorist, Sōgi excelled in calligraphy. Hewasalsoverywell learnedinclassicalpoetry,andhelecturedtomany nobles and high officials, including a shogun. Sōgi’slinked-verse collectionMinase SanginHyakuin (OneHundredVersesbyThreePoetsatMinase),whichhecomposedwithtwoothermasters,representsahighpointoflinkedverse.SŌKAN(1458?–1546?).Fromasamuraifamily,SōkanservedtheshogunAshikaga Yoshihisa. After his father’s death, however,Sōkan became a monk and lived the rest of his life in ahermitage,wherehedevelopedanewformofsimplifiedlinked-verse (renga) poetry. In time he became considered theinventorofhaiku.SORA(1649–1710).Givinguphislifeasasamurai,SorawenttoEdo (Tokyo) and studied Shintō and waka with KikkawaKoretaru. Later, Sora became a pupil of Bashō and oftentraveledwithhisteacheronhaikujourneys.SŌSEKI.SeeNATSUMESŌSEKI.

SŌSHI(datesanddetailsunknown).SUGITAHISA-JO(1890–1946).ApoetinthecoterieofTakahamaKyoshi,SugitaHisa-jomarriedapainter.Herhaikustylehasarichromanticflavor.TAIGI (1709–71). Born in Edo (Tokyo), Taigi moved to theentertainment district of Kyoto, where he became associatedwithBuson.Heisknownforhishaikuonhumanaffairs.TAKAHAMAKYOSHI(1874–1959).KyoshiwasoneofthemastersofthehaikutraditioninthelateMeiji,Taishō,andearlyShōwaperiods. The name Kyoshi was given him by Masaoka Shiki.Kyoshi inherited Shiki’s haiku magazine Hototogisu andcontinued Shiki’s literary circle, where writers and poetsreviewedtheirownworks.Kyoshialsowrotenovelsandessays,butwasmostcelebratedforhispoems,whichweretraditionalinstylebutfreshinspirit.TAKAMASA (late seventeenth to early eighteenth century). AfolloweroftheKyotoDanrinschoolofhaiku,TakamasalivedinKyotoandbefriendedpupilsofTeitoku.Hewrotehaikupoemsdescribing natural scenes in an unpretentious, free, andsometimeswildstyle.TANEDASANTŌKA (1882–1940). Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture,he attended Waseda University but never graduated. Hestudied haiku under Seisensui. After the bankruptcy of hishousehold,hedivorcedhiswifeandbecameamonk.Hespenthislifeasatravelingmonkcomposingfree-stylehaiku.TEI-JO.SeeNAKAMURATEI-JO.TEISHITSU (1610–73). Running a paper business in Kyoto,Teishitsu studied haiku under Teitoku. He was also a skilledmusician,playingthebiwa(lute)andflute.TESSHI(died1707).TesshitraveledwidelyintheKansai,Kantō,and northern areas of Japan. The book by Tesshi entitledHanamigurumaisacollectionofgossipabouthaikupoets,whoappearinthebookascourtesans.

TOKOKU (?–1690).Aricemerchant inNagoya,TokokubecameBashō’s pupil when the latter came to the area. He traveledwithBashō,andhisdeathwasdeeplylamentedbyhismaster.TOMIYASUFŪSEI(1885–1979).FōseitraveledinEuropeandtheUnited States, then returned to Japan to study under Kyoshi.Eventually he became one of the leading haiku poets of thetwentiethcentury.TSUKAKOSHIMEITEI (1894–1965).ApoetborninTokyo,Meiteiworkedfornewspapercompanies,oneofwhichwasinTaiwan.He created a Taiwan senryū circle before returning to JapanafterWorldWarII.USUDA ARŌ (1879–1951). Born in Nagano Prefecture, ArōlearnedhaikuunderTakahamaKyoshi.WATSUJIN(1758–1836).ApoetintheKyōtaitradition,WatsujinwasasamuraifromSendaiwhowrotehaikuunderavarietyofartnames.YACHŌ.SeeOKADAYACHŌ.YAMAGUCHISEISHI(1901–94).BorninKyoto,hewasamemberof the haiku journalHototogisu. He introduced new ideas tohaikuthroughhispoems.YASUI (1658–1743). A merchant from Nagoya, Yasui wrotemany haiku following the Bashō tradition. Later in his life,Yasuishiftedhisinteresttowakaandtheteaceremony.YAYŪ(1702–83).YayūwasaretaineroftheOwarifamily,oneofthe three branch families of the Tokugawa clan. After heretired, Yayū spent his life creating haiku and paintings. Hewasalsoknownforhishaibun(poeticwriting).YORIE.SeeKUBOYORIE.YŪJI.SeeKINOSHITAYŪJI.

THEARTISTS

HAKUIN EKAKU (1685–1768). Considered the most importantZenmasterofthepastfivehundredyears,Hakuinwasalsotheleading Zen painter, creating a large number of works withpower,humor,andZenintensity.IKETAIGA(1723–76).OneofthegreatliteratipaintersofJapan,Taiga was unusual in that he displayed his art fully at ayouthfulage,creatingdelightfultransformationsofthescholar-artistlandscapepaintingtradition.KIBAITEI(1734–1810).Oneofthemajorpupilsofpoet-painterBuson,Baitei (alsoknownasKyūrō) lived inShigaPrefectureandcreatedbothlandscapesandhumorousfigurestudies.MARUYAMAŌKYO (1733–95).Bycreatingastylethatcombinednaturalism with influences from China and the West, ŌkyobecamefounderofthepopularMaruyamaschoolofpainting.MATSUYAJICHŌSAI(active1781–88,died1803?).AlsoknownasNichōsai, hewas a sake brewer and antique dealer inOsakawho dabbled in poetry, painting, and singing. His humorouspaintingshaveacaricaturestylealltheirown.SESSONSHŪKEI(1504?–1589?).Oneofthemajorink-paintersofthe latemedieval period in Japan, Sesson was known for hisstrongcompositionsandboldbrushwork.TACHIBANAMORIKUNI (1679–1748). Born in Osaka, Morikunistudied theofficial styleof theKanōschool,butwasexpelledbecause in one of his books he published designs that wereconsideredsecretsintheKanōtradition.YAMAGUCHI SOKEN (1759–1818). A pupil of the naturalisticmasterŌkyo, Sokenwas especially gifted in his depictions offiguresubjects.

THEILLUSTRATIONS

1.TACHIBANAMORIKUNI(1679–1748),StreamfromEhonShakantei(1720)

2.KIBAITEI(1734–1810),CrowfromKyūrōGafu(1795)

3.KIBAITEI(1734–1810),DeerfromKyūrōGafu(1795)

4.KIBAITEI(1734–1810),LeaffromKyūrōGafu(1795)

5.KIBAITEI(1734–1810),IrisfromKyūrōGafu(1795)

6.KIBAITEI(1734–1810),PinefromKyūrōGafu(1795)

7.HAKUINEKAKU(1685–1768),GourdfromHakuinOshōShigasanshū(1759)

8.HAKUINEKAKU(1685–1768),ShrimpfromHakuinOshōShigasanshū(1759)

9.MARUYAMAŌKYO(1733–95),PlumBranchfromŌkyoGafu(1850)

10.YMAGUCHISOKEN(1759–1818),BudsfromSokenGafuSōkanoBu(1806)

11.YAMAGUCHISOKEN(1759–1818),CranesfromSokenGafuSōkanoBu(1806)

12.YAMAGUCHISOKEN(1759–1818),RiceFieldsfromSokenGafuSōkanoBu(1806)

13.ANONYMOUS,DrunkardfromToba-eŌginoMato(1720)

14.MATSUYAJICHŌSAI(?–1803?;active1781–88),MusicfromGahonKochōzuGahi(1805)

15.YAMAGUCHISOKEN(1759–1818),PlantingfromYamatoJinbutsuGafuKōhen(1804)

16.YAMAGUCHISOKEN(1759–1818),WoodcutterfromYamatoJinbutsuGafuKōhen(1804)

17.ANONYMOUS,Fox-MonkfromToba-eŌginoMato(1720)

18.SESSONSHŪKEI(1504?–1589?),CrowfromKingyokuGafu(1771)

19.IKETAIGA(1723–76),BoatingfromTaiga/IFukyōGafu(1803)

20.IKETAIGA(1723–76),WillowsfromMeikaGafu(1814)

H

ExcerptfromColdMountainPoemsbyHanShan,editedandtranslatedbyJ.P.Seaton

eISBN978-0-8348-2187-3

Introduction

ANSHANANDSHIHTEhavebeenthemostpopulariconsofMahayanaBuddhism,andZenBuddhisminparticular,for

more than a thousand years. Their poetry traveled to Japannearly as quickly as Zen itself, and there, as in China, itinspiredapopularand long-lasting traditionofpaintings,andof rubbings from stone-carved images of their figures. Likethoseimages,thepoetryofHanShanandShihTehassurvived

everywhere into thepresent century.Theyarepoets to laughwith, to make friends with, and to recognize, easily, asbodhisattvas,Buddhistsaintswhosepurposeinlife,andinlifeafter life, is to help each of us to reach nirvana, the releasefromthesufferingofeternalreincarnation.Quitealoadfortwolaughingmadmendressed inrags tocarry?But it isone theybearlightlyandmorethanwillingly.In1958,onlyadecadeafterD.T.Suzuki introducedZento

enthusiastic crowds of American artists and intellectuals in aseriesof lecturesatColumbiaUniversity,GarySnyder,oneofthemostinfluentialpoetsoftheBeatGeneration,publishedthefirst translationsofHanShan’spoems intoAmericanEnglish.TheBeat’sgreatnovelistJackKerouacembodiedHanShaninacharacterbasedonSnyderhimselfand furtherembedded theimage of Han Shan in young Americans’ hearts and souls,quoting Snyder’s translation of Han Shan in his hugelysuccessfulnovelTheDharmaBums.ShihTe,alwaysasidekick,hastaggedalongthroughthecenturies.WangFan-chih, thethirdZenpoet inthisselection,created

his mordant and sometimes truly funny poetry a couple ofcenturiesafterHanShan, in theoutsider tradition founded inChina by the mountain sage. Then, as the T’ang dynastycollapsedaroundthem,WangFan-chih’scompleteworks,alongwith a batch of unrelated work labeled with his name, werehidden carefully in a monastic library around the year 1000.Theyrestedthereuntilthebeginningofthetwentiethcentury,almostasiftheywerewaitingforanotherageofurbanghettosand seemingly hopeless poverty, of collapsing empires andvisions of apocalyptic change. As these approach,Wang Fan-chih is ready to join his fellow Zen masters in the titanicstruggletosaveusallfromsuffering.

Intheirpoemsandinthepicturesthataresomuchapartoftheirtradition,weseeHanShanandShihTe:alwaysthepair,ragged,yes,butalwayslaughingtoo—sometimeswithpurejoy—maybebecausetheyknowsomethingwonderful?Sometimespointedly laughing at themselves, and, more daringly,

sometimes pointedly laughing at the readers’ follies, that’smine,andyourstoo.Theywrotetheirpoemsontrees,onrocks,on the walls of farmers’ homes, and on the walls of themonasteries they sometimes visited, taking menial work, asthey did in the kitchen at Kuo-ch’ing Temple, a famouspilgrimagesite in theT’ien-t’aimountains insoutheastChina.Buttheydidn’tobservethemonasticdiscipline,andtheywerenever dependable servants, being drawn to hike off toward acave on Cold Mountain’s side, their true home. There,according to the traditional story, finally cornered by templeofficials,HanShanwentintothecaveatColdCliffandpulleditshutbehindhim,leavinghisadmirerstocollectandhanddownmorethan350poemsbythetwopoets.Infact,thoughI’llfollowtheconventionoftreatingthemas

two individuals,HanShanandShihTearepseudonymsgivento several poets who wrote poetry and lived the lives ofmountain mystics during the two or three centuries (sixththrough eigth) when Zen itself was breaking free of theinstitutionalizedBuddhistchurchesofT’angdynastyChinaandestablishing itself as themostChineseofBuddhisms.Zendidthis by emphasizing meditation over scriptural study (“Zen”literally means “meditation”) and, maybe even moreimportantly,byincorporatingthewisdomandthehumorofthegreatTaoistsagesLaoTzuandChuangTzu.HanShanbecameone of Zen’s foremost popular representatives, its central,independent, laymansaint.Thoughheusedthesimplesttime-honored verse forms, he spoke in a voice with an almostcompletelynewtone.Hispoetrybecamethevoiceofordinarypeople,liberatingthecommonsenseofthepeople,andthoughitwaslargelyignoredbycriticsandbibliographers,itremainspopularamongpoetsandpoetrylovers.ThebranchofBuddhismthatcametoChinafromIndiawas

Mahayana, and all Mahayana Buddhist institutions aremissionary institutions, in accordance with the vision of thehistorical Buddha, Gautama Shakyamuni. I believe that thehighmonksandabbotsofCh’an, asZenwascalled inChina,sawthepoetryofHanShanandShihTeforoneofthethingsit

certainly was, an outstanding tool for teaching the basicprinciplesofBuddhism.Isuspecttheyintentionallybroughttheinstitutional power of their church to the cause of creating abook,acollectionofthepoemsofthetwopoets,addingtoitafew poems of generic Buddhist doctrine and dogma. Thiscollection, with the force of Ch’an and of its ally Pure LandBuddhismbehind it inevery succeedingdynasty, survived thevicissitudes of time to provide a continuing source of solaceandinspirationintothepresentera.ThetalltaleofHanShanandShihTedisappearingintothe

cave is certainly a beguiling one. We are told that severalhundredyearsafterHanShan first startedwritinghispoemson trees and rocks, an imperial Confucian official named Lu-ch’iuYin(whomhistoryhasprovidedwithtwolifetimes,orsetsofdatesanyway,andmaybeevenonerealofficialoffice,thoughnotanywhereneartheT’ien-t’aiRange)camealongandwrotean account of his own short encounterwith the two, by thentransmogrifiedintothebodhisattvasManjusri(knownasWen-shuinChinese)andSamantabhadra(knownasP’u-hsien).Thisis the story which has come down to us, in a couple of verysimilarversions,formorethanathousandyears.Lu-ch’iu Yin’smemoir is a neat little essay that appears to

tellusjustabouteverythingweneedtoknowaboutbothHanShanandShihTe.Therearetwoverysimilar,popularversions.TheshorterversioncomesfromtheintroductiontoHanShan’spoemsintheCh’üanT’angShih, thegreatcollectionofT’angdynasty poems. There are several available in English,includingGarySnyder’sfrom1958.Thefollowingismine:

NobodyknowswhereMasterHanShancamefrom.Helivedat Cold Cliff, in the T’ien-t’ai mountains in T’ang-hsingCounty,sometimescoming in tovisitKuo-ch’ingTemple.Heworeafancybirch-barkhat,araggedcottoncoat,andworn-out sandals. Sometimes he’d sing, or chant verses in thetempleporches.Othertimeshe’dsitoutatfarmers’houses,singingandwhistling.Nooneeverreallygottoknowhim.Lu-ch’iu Yin had received a government appointment in

Tan-ch’iu,andwhenhewas justabout todebarkto takeuphis post, he happened to run into Feng Kan, who told himhe’d just come from the T’ien-t’ai area. Lu-ch’iu Yin askedhimiftherewereanysagestherewithwhomhemightstudy.“There’s Han Shan, who is an incarnation ofWen-shu, andShih Te, who is an incarnation of P’u-hsien. They tend thefiresofthekitchensinthegranaryatKuo-ch’ingTemple.”Thethirddayafterhe’dtakenuphisposition,Lu-ch’iuYin

wentinpersontothetempleand,seeingthetwomen,bowedinappropriatefashion.Thetwoburstoutlaughingandsaid,“Oh that Feng Kan, what a tongue-flapping blabbermouth!Amitabha![NotetheBuddha’snametakeninvainasa lightoath.]Wecan’timaginewhatyou’dbebowingtousfor!”Andwiththattheywentstraightoutofthetemple,backtoColdCliff.MasterHanShandisappearedintoacave,andthenthecaveclosedupbehindhim.Ithadbeenhishabittoinscribehis poems on bamboo and trees and rocks and cliff faces.Those,alongwiththeoneshewroteonthewallsoffarmers’homes,insideandout,cameto307.Theyarecollectedhereinonevolume.

There are more than just several problems with this tale,historically speaking. To begin with, the quasi-narrator, theofficialLu-ch’iuYin,isapersonwhodoesn’texistinanyofthedynastichistories.FengKan,theZenmasterandauthorityfortheauthenticityofHanShanandShihTe,hasexistenceissuestoo.Theonlyevidenceheeverwas is thisstory,andacouplelikeit inwhichhe’sacharacter.Heisknowntohistorysolelyas themanwho toldLu-ch’iuYin that twoBuddhistholymenlivednearthecountyofficewherehewasabouttotakeuphispost. Feng Kan is enshrined in the modern biographicaldictionaryofBuddhistmonksasa“tonguewagger”inlanguagethatwasclearlytakenfromthisstory.Toputitmildly,FengKanis the nearly perfect example of an almost living, breathingfictionalcharacter.IfweacceptthatbothLu-ch’iuYinandFengKanarebogus—

though excellent scholars who are brilliant men of goodwill

havepursuedtheirshadowsinmanyinterestingdirections—wecan surmise that they are certainly in the introduction for areason. In history, historical characters sort of have to beincluded,but in fiction, thecharactersarecreatedas toolsofthenarrative.ThetraditionalintroductiontothepoetryofHanShanandShihTe ispropaganda.There isenoughrealpoetryattributedtothenameHanShantosubstantiatetheexistenceofahistoricalperson(ormorelikely,persons)wecancallHanShan.Theintroduction,withitsfictionalaccountofHanShan,tellsthereadersthatHanShanwasareligiousseeker,amancalled to the life of the religious hermit, and, finally, aboddhisattva,apersonwhohasachievedsupernaturalpowersratherlikeasaintinRomanCatholicism,capableofintercedingonbehalfofsufferinghumanity.Whatcanwesurmiseabouttherealpoet,orpoets?Weare

toldthat“helivedatColdCliff.”ThesearchforanideaofwhattherealHanShanwaslikecanbeginthere.ColdCliff,orHanYen, is a real place, a cliff in the T’ien-t’ai mountains insoutheastChinawherehermitseekershadlivedformillennia.Theearliestof thesewereTaoists.Then,asBuddhismarrivedfrom the west after the year 100 or so, both Taoists andBuddhists sat there. They found and occupied places wherethey could weather the winter cold, maybe foraging a littlefirewood against the worst of it. They dug roots and driedherbs for medicine and for food.Maybe they even planted afew soybeans, though the Taoists generally excluded grainsfromtheirdiets.Andfinally,andthatwasthepurposeofitall,theysat inmeditation.Everytimetheword“sit”appears inapoembyHanShanorShihTe,itmeanstosit,cross-leggedonthe ground or on a simple strawmat, inmeditation. For theTaoist,itisthe“sittingforgetting”thatisintendedtofreehimofthememoryofwords,thememorywhichseparateshimfromtheTao,which, according toLaoTzu, cannotbedescribed inwords. For the Buddhist, “sitting” refers to the deep mindmeditation that is the eighth and final step in the Buddha’sEightfold Path, the prescription for getting free of samsara,freeofillusion,freeofsuffering.InSanskrit,theIndianliterary

languagethatisthebasisofMahayanaBuddhism,thissortofmeditationiscalleddhyana,pronouncedch’an inChineseandzen inJapanese.Emphasisonsittingmeditationasthesourceof ultimate enlightenment is one feature of both Taoism andBuddhismthatthepoemsofHanShan,ShihTe,andWangFan-chihallshare.The Lu-ch’iu Yin introduction also tells us that Han Shan

livedintentionallyontheedgesofsocietyandthat,likealotofpeople who live on its edges (religious seekers, artists of allkinds,even literary translators),HanShanhadwhatamountstoadayjob.Thepoemsshowusamanwho’dratherbesittingor re-creating his insights and inspirations in poetry to sharewith friends, or, like a bodhisattva, with all sentient beings.But, being a human in a body, Han Shan came from time totime to Kuo-ch’ing Temple to pick up a little work. If you’regoing to spend time in the hills prospecting for somethingworthmorethangold,youneedagrubstake.Youneedtobuyafewsupplies,saltandoil,onions,afewpoundsofrice.Thoughstoriestellofhermitslivingondewandsunlight,theyalsotellofhermitswhopull their caves shutbehind them.Thosewhotriedthedewandsunlightdietmostlikelydidn’tthrive.Soouroutsider Han Shan came, when he ran out of grub, to amonastery.Onthewayinandthewayout,exceptwhenbeingpursued by gawking monks and pilgrims and meddlingauthorities, he visitedwith the local farmers.We’ll see in thepoemsthathehadafamiliarandsympatheticrelationshipwithfarmers and farming. He left poems in repayment for theirshelterandgifts.So,despitetheexaggerations,thetalltalegivesusapretty

realisticpictureofahermit-poet.Mypersonalguessaboutthereal origin of theHan Shan poetry is this: The poetry of themanyhermitswholivedonHanShan(ColdMountain)andHanYen(ColdCliff),tworeallocationsintheT’ien-t’aiRange,wasbecoming famous well before anyone thought to pull all thepoems together. The T’ien-t’ai Range was home to manytemples and places of pilgrimage, and even today, or againtoday, cliffs in the area are adorned with poems both brush

writtenandstoneincised.Someofthebestofthelatterarethesources of the rubbings mentioned above. It’s quite possiblethatShanHanShih (HanShan’sPoems) originallymeant thepoemswrittenordisplayedatHanShan,ratherthanpoemsbya poet named Han Shan. I doubt anyone will pin Han Shandownanyfurtherthanhehasbeenatthispoint,eitherthroughgoodscholarship(thescholarsagreethatthereareatleasttwoHanShans)orthrougheducatedguessinglikemine.ButthereisalittlemoretobesaidaboutthepoetryofHanShanasithascomedowntous.Amongthesepoemsaremanythatappeartocomefromthe

bestpoetryofmountainhermitsofTaoist,Buddhist,andmaybeeven free-agent mystics, with a sprinkling of more orthodoxBuddhistwork and some poems on themes appropriate to allthreeChinese religions.For, as theChinesehave liked to sayformillennia, “The threeWaysareone.”Among theworksofHanShan,alongwiththemountainpoems,areafewveryfinepoemsoftraditionalConfucianruralretirementandafewthataremodeledonthebestoftheTaoistepicureanpoems.Thereare also a few poems that fairly unconvincingly claimfamiliarity with or achievement in the culturalaccomplishmentsoftheConfucian,evenofmilitarymen.Addafew bits of moral exhortation, some of which are very funnyandclearlyintendedtobeso,andsomeofwhicharenot,andyou have theHanShan collection, 307 poems in theChinesecollectionand311intheJapanese.If there was something like a conspiracy to package these

poems and present them as the work of a bodhisattva, Igratefullyacceptthegift.Ifthefractalandchaoticworkingsofhumanhistory (orpureaccident, ifyouprefer)havebeentheonlysourceofthisgreatcollectionofpoetry,Igratefullyacceptthat miracle as well. My own selection was guided, frankly,almostentirelybymyowntaste.Thatis,ItranslatedthepoemsIlikethebest,ofHanShanaswellasofShihTeandWangFan-chih. I did try to show examples of every type of poem thatdidn’t bore me or go beyond my personal knowledge ofBuddhist philosophy. There aren’t many of the last category,

not because I’m an expert, but because, essentially, “deep”philosophy, of which there is much in other schools ofBuddhism, just isn’t a Zen thing, and it certainly is not HanShan’sthing.HanShan’snamemeans“ColdMountain,”andmanyofhis

poems really are aboutmountains. Some simply describe thebeauty of mountain scenery, with just a hint of perhapsundiscoverable allegory. There are also poems about thehardshipof living in themountains,beingalmostalwayscoldand almost never not hungry. These are convincing in theirrealism,andatthesametimetheysuggesttherealdifficultyofthelifeofthespiritualseeker:Allegorylivesbetweenthelines.Thentherearethearrogantchallengesthrowninthefacesofother climbers: “If your heart were like mine, you’d be herealready,”anexampleoftheroughrhetoricofthema-jentajen(curse people, smack people) style. These will remind you ofcertain koans—contemporary,most likely, tomanyof theHanShanpoems—thatbecametheteachingandlearningdevicesofsomeschoolsofmodernZen.Thatroughstyle,apparentinHanShan’sresponsetotheofficialLu-ch’iuYinandthemonkFengKaninthestory,isanimportantfeatureofmanyofthepoemsofall threepoets in thiscollection,but itbegins inHanShanand is certainlymost obvious there.Finally, at the tip ofHanShan’speak, there is the perfectmystical vision. You’ll knowthesepoemswhenyoureadthem,eveninmyEnglish,Ideeplyhope. Iassureyou thatsomeof themwould takeyourbreathaway if you could read theoriginalChinese.And, contrary topopularwisdom,itisnevertoolatetolearn.What the best poems share—whether they’re about a

farmer’s life, a poor man’s struggles, or a sharp rebuke foranyone who strays from the path of Buddhistmorality—whatthey really share is an attempt at sharpening the readers’awareness of their surroundings and at elevating their view:moral, ethical, political, and spiritual. The best poems are,themselves,mountains forus toclimb,maybe to liveon forawhile,certainlytowatchfromatleastonemorningasthesunburnsthemistaway.

ThestoryofShihTeissimpler,bothintheclassicaltaleandin the poems themselves. In the story, when Han Shan goesinto the cave and it closes behind him, Shih Te simplydisappears—maybe not from the face of the earth itself likeHanShan,butfromthelittlenarrative.Hedoesn’tgowithHanShan; he’s just gone. (In his own Ch’üan T’ang Shihintroduction,hedoesdisappearalittlemoreapparently.)Inthelonger version of the story, Feng Kan does a little shamanichealing, and Shih Te makes an appearance as a ten-year-oldorphaned street urchin, who is discovered along the way toKuo-ch’ing Temple by Feng Kan. He grows to maturity as akitchen worker there. The reference to Shih Te is at leastslightly at oddswith his description asHan Shan’smountainpartner, but I hope I have already established that thisnarrative is designed as propaganda, and consistency isn’t anecessarypartofthatprocess.IbelievethatinfactShihTeisthepseudonymofagroupof

later poets. A little voice tellsme thatmany disciples ofHanShan, or admirers of his style,might have, out of respect forthemaster,writtenanonymouspoemsand left them, likeHanShan, on trees and on rocks among the T’ien-t’ai ridges andcrags. Maybe they just added them to the manuscript as itpassedthroughtheirhands,copyingorhavingitcopiedtopassontopoetry-lovingfriends.DuringtheentireT’angdynasty,allwritten works were created, copied, and circulated inmanuscript, in handwriting. Printing wasn’t put into generaluse until after the year 1000. The reputation of Tu Fu, forexample,fornearlyathousandyearsconsideredthegreatestofthegreatamongChinesepoets, tooka coupleof centuries tofully blossom. Han Shan’s fame, like Tu Fu’s, spread not somuchbywordofmouthasbywordofhand.After“HanShan”began toberecognizedas thenameofa

person, I’m supposing that the same sort of admirers whowouldpreviouslyhavesimplyaddedapoemwhilecopyingthemanuscript to pass on, now wrote poems using the morehumblepseudonymofShihTe(whichsimplymeanssomethinglike “the Orphan”). I think that these later poetsmight have

identified themselves not as the master himself, but as hisspiritual adopted children. Only one Shih Te poem mentionsHanShandirectly, butmany are clearly imitations of specificHanShanpoems.Quiteafew,likethelaterpoemsintheHanShan collection, fall into the category I’d call propagandisticfiller. The Shih Te poets don’t appear to have included anymystics, but several of the poems are as funny and asimaginativeasanythingofHanShan’s,and I thinkyou’ll findthemfuntoread.Bytheusualcount,thereareonlyforty-nineextant poems by Shih Te, and I’ve chosen to translate justtwenty.After theT’angmanywell-knownpoetswrotepoems in the

mannerofHanShan, signing themwith theirownnamesbutattributingtheinspirationtoHanShan.Idon’tknowofanyonewho so honored the humble orphan poet except two Zenmasters,thefamousandpowerfulCh’anabbotCh’uShihoftheYuan dynasty and an anonymous Ming master who calledhimselfforthispurposeShihShu(“RocksandTrees”).Bothofthese poets wrote lockstep harmony poems (poems writtenusingthesamewordsintherhymingpositionsinthepoemsashadHanShan)withapoemforeverysingleoneofHanShan’scollectedpoems.TheyalsowroteaharmonypoemforeachofShihTe’s,andevenforthetwoextantpoemsbyFengKan.

ThepoemsattributedtoWangFan-chihhaveahistorythatisdifferentfromthoseofthetwomountainmasters.Thesepoemswere popular among urban folk of the late T’ang, a periodwhen the dynasty was gasping itself away in paroxysms offamine,pestilence,andwar.Fewerthanadozenofhispoemssurvive, having been cited bymainstream poets in their owncollections of favorites. LikeHan Shan and Shih Te, thementhemselves,themajorityofWangFan-chih’spoemsweresealedaway in a cave, in this case in the caverns of the greatBuddhist-Taoistmonastic libraryatTun-huang,on theeasternend of the Silk Road, around the year 1000, when Chineseforceswereclearlylosingcontroloftheregion.Thecavernwasonlyreopenedintheearlyyearsofthetwentiethcentury,and

Wang Fan-chih’s poems weren’t looked at closely byWesternersuntilafter1950.The complete translation of the more than three scrolls

attributed to Wang Fan-chih, into clear and unpretentiousscholarly French by the great Sinologist Paul Demiéville,reveals that everything from radical political statements toBuddhistelementaryschoolcopybookmoralityverseshadbeenstuck together under theWangFan-chih label.Nomore thanten poems by Wang Fan-chih have ever previously beentranslated intoEnglish.WhenI first lookedat theoriginalsofthesepoems,Iwassurprised.Thispoet is, likeHanShanandShih Te, one who has been constructed from a group ofanonymouspoets,inWangFan-chih’scaseclearlymainlypoetsofthe lateT’ang.There isa lotof trash intheWangFan-chihcollection,but therearemaybe fiftyorsixtypoems thatwerereally exciting to discover. Digging through the collection forthegoodonesmademeappreciateHanShan’seditorsforthefirst time. Wang Fan-chih’s themes include the familiarBuddhist-Taoisteclecticmix,andIdon’tdoubt thatHanShanandShihTewouldhaveunderstoodandappreciatedthepoet’smotives,orhispoems.Somefewarebrilliant,eventhoughthepoets whom this pseudonym gathers together were certainlypoorlyeducated.Someofthebestpoems,indeed,appeartobealmost what we’d call graffiti, and I can see guerilla artistssplashing these short and combative poems on walls in thedeadofnight.WhileHanShanandShihTesometimestelltalesofpoverty

andsufferingaswell,WangFan-chih’s lifewaslivedinatimeof true cultural fugue, andmanyofhispoems reflect terriblehuman suffering, felt or observed, that goes far beyondanything we see in the work of the earlier poets. They hadchosensomething likevoluntarypoverty in themostbeautifulofsurroundings.WangFan-chihdwellswithratsinthemidstofpestilenceandstarvation.WangFan-chih’snamemeanssimply,“Mr.Wang,aBuddhist

layman.”Whilehemayseemcynical,andhecancertainlybecruellywitty,hismotiveisalwaysaBuddhist’s,namelytosave

sentient beings from suffering. His poems concentrate onprovingthefirstoftheBuddha’sFourNobleTruths,that“lifeissuffering,” and so the poetry is oftenmorbid, evenmacabre.He’s always ready to puncture hypocritical public displays ofpiety, andhe’s always ready topoint at theabsolutematerialtruth of death and the pointlessness of pride or of theaccumulationofmaterialpossessions.Heseemsanangryman,even a political rebel, and it is harder to see his displays ofangerasrhetorical—madetomakeamoralpoint—thanitisforsimilar outbursts in the poetry of Han Shan or Shih Te.Acceptance of the first of the Four Noble Truths is theabsolutely necessary first step in the Buddha’s Way, a wayprovidingeightstepsthatarechosensolelyforthepurposeofreleasinghumankindfromthatsuffering.Mr.Wangishappytorubhis readers’ faces in themud, andnot afraid to add in ameasureofshitandpisstotherecipe inhisefforttogetself-satisfied, greedy folks like us to see his point. His voicesometimesseems likeanOldTestamentprophet’s, thoughhissolution to the suffering caused by the impermanence andinjustice of human life in theworld involves no deity. But hecanalsodisplaythesalvinghumorofasaint,mockinghisowngrinding poverty as he prepares for a guest by scrapingtogethera“chair”fromthedirtofanearthenfloor.I originally planned to add only a few of Wang Fan-chih’s

poems to thisbook, tohelp tobroadenmost readers’ viewofwhatBuddhismwasintheT’angandshowwhatitisorcanbein an urbanized world. The book has ended up withmore ofWangFan-chih’spoemsthanShihTe’sbecause,whileShihTeoffersavaluableandenjoyablerepriseofHanShan’sideas,itseems tome the lay BuddhistWang Fan-chih’s poetry showsthat the tradition of the outsider, the free agent and the freespirit, initiated by Han Shan and Shih Te, was alive andscuffling in the cruel streets of a failing society. It seemsparticularlyripeforreincarnationinthiscentury.

Beneaththemorningmistonthemountainsideorthedustofthemundaneactivitiesofcitystreets,thesepoetshavehidden

someofthewaytheyhavefound,someofthetruthofthelight.Theymayappear tohavehidden these things simplybecausewordscandonomorethangiveaglimmerof the lightof thespirit;butpoets think, I think, thatapoemcandomore than“merewords”can.Awell-madepoemmaygiveusaidwhenweareready,orif,ifwearewillingtostudy,ifwewillwork,ifwemoveontomeditate.Withtheaidof thewell-madepoem,wemay,finally,discoverthelightonthemountain,in,through,orbehindtheobscuringmist,orrising,far,faroff,abovethedustof the city streets, so that the sun and the moon of theirenlightenment may become the light of our own revelations.Thepoemsof these threepoetsare, ifwechoose to let thembe,nomore,andnoless,thanfingerspointing.TheWaywillbewhatisrevealed,andthebeautyofwhatisrevealedmayhelpto draw us, as seekers, on through arduous meditation, onthrough the arduous and sometimes dangerous mountainclimb.ButasShihTesays,

Mypoemsarepoems,evenifsomepeoplecallthemsermons.Well,poemsandsermonsdoshareonething;whenyoureadthemyougottobecareful.Keepatit.Getintodetail.Don’tjustclaimthey’reeasy.Ifyouweretoliveyourlifelikethat,alotoffunnythingsmighthappen.

IRanges,ridges,dauntingcliffs,Ichosethisplacewithdivination’said.

Theroad’sforthebirds,nomantracksthere.Andwhatistheyard?Whitecloudsclothedarkstone.Ilivedhereyears,watchingspringswithTheGreatChangebecomewinter.

Here’sawordfortherichfolkswithcauldronsandbells:Fame’sempty,nogood,that’sforsure.

IIColdMountainRoad’sajoke,nocarttrack,nohorsetrail.Creekslikeveins,butstillit’shardtomarkthetwists.Fieldsandfieldsofcragsforcrops,it’shardtosayhowmany.

Tearsofdewuponathousandkindsofgrasses;thewindsingsbestinonekindofpine.

AndnowI’velostmywayagain:Bodyaskingshadow,“Whichwayfromhere?”

IIIIfyou’relookingforapeacefulplace,ColdMountain’salwaysarefuge.

Alittlebreeze,breathoftheshadedpines,andifyoulistenclose,themusic’sevenbetter.

Underthepinesagrayingman,soft,soothingly,readingaloudfromLaoTzu.

IVMymind’stheautumnmoon,shiningintheblue-greenpool,reflectingglistening,clearandpure...There’snothingtocompareitto,whatelsecanIsay?

VInthecity,themoth-browedgirl,herjadependantsliketinywindchimeschiming.

Sheisplayingwithaparrotintheflowers;sheisplayingonherp’i-p’ainthemoonlight.

Hersongswillechoforthreemonths;alittledancewilldrawtenthousandwatchers.

Nothinglastsaslongasthis:beautifulfaceofthehibiscus,can’tbearthefrost’scaress.

VIIalwayswantedtogotoEastCliff,moreyearsthanIcanremember,

untiltodayIjustgrabbedavineandstartedup.Halfwayupwindandaheavymistclosedin,andthenarrowpathtuggedatmyshirt:itwashardtogeton.Theslickerymudunderthemossontherocks

gaveway,andIcouldn’tkeepgoing.SohereIstay,underthiscinnamontree,whitecloudsformypillow,

I’lljusttakeanap.

VIIIsitbeneaththecliff,quietandalone.

Roundmooninthemiddleofthesky’sabirdablaze:allthingsareseenmereshadowsinitsbrilliance,thatsinglewheelofperfectlight...

Alone,itsspiritnaturallycomesclear.Swallowedinemptinessinthiscaveofdarkestmystery,becauseofthefingerpointing,Isawthemoon.

Thatmoonbecamethepivotofmyheart.

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