Haiku: An Anthology of Japanese Poems
Transcript of Haiku: An Anthology of Japanese Poems
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.â1sted.p.cm.eISBN978-0-83482234-4ISBN978-1-59030-730-4(acid-freepaper)1.HaikuâTranslationsintoEnglish.I.Addiss,Stephen,1935âII.Yamamoto,FumikoY.III.Yamamoto,AkiraY.PL782.E3H2362009895.6âČ104108âdc222009010381
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 SantĆka (1882â1940),whowaswellknownforhisterseandpowerfulfreeverse.Seasonalreference has also been less strict in senryĆ«, a comiccounterpartofhaikuinwhichhumanaffairsbecomethefocus.Freedom from syllabic restrictions is especially true for
contemporaryhaikucomposedinotherlanguages.Thechangesarenotsurprising.English,forexample,hasadifferentrhythmfrom Japanese: English is âstress-timedâ and Japaneseâsyllable-timed.âThus, the samecontentcanbe said in fewersyllables inEnglish.Take, forexample,themostfamousofallhaiku,aversebyBashĆ(1644â94):Furuikeya
kawazutobikomu
mizunooto
Furumeansâold,â ikemeansâpondorponds,âandya is anexclamatoryparticle,somethinglikeâah.âKawazuisaâfrogorfrogsâ; tobikomu, âjump inâ;mizu, âwaterâ; no, the genitiveâofâ; and oto, âsound or soundsâ (Japanese does not usuallydistinguishsingularfromplural).Ifusingthesingular,aliteraltranslationwouldbe:Oldpondâafrogjumpsin
thesoundofwater
Onlythethirdoftheselinesmatchesthe5-7-5formula,andthe other lines would require âpaddingâ to fit the usualdefinition:[Thereisan]oldpondâ[suddenly]afrog jumpsinthesoundofwaterThis kind of âpaddingâ tends to destroy the rhythm,
simplicity,andclarityofhaiku,sotranslationsof5-7-5âsyllableJapanesepoemsaregenerallyrenderedwithfewersyllablesinEnglish. 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
Mistydayâtheymightbegossiping,
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
Eveningorchidâisithiddeninitsscent?
thewhiteofitsflower
FreerTranslation
Eveningorchidâ
thewhiteofitsflower
hiddeninitsscent
Othertimesaparalleltranslationdoesnâthavetheimpactthatcanbedelivered ina freer translation, as in thishaikubyananonymouspoet:Japanese
mayoi-go no (lost-child of) ono ga taiko de(oneâs=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.ReturningtoBashĆâsfrog,whatdoesthepoemactuallysay?
Onthesurface,notverymuchâoneormorefrogsjumpingintoone 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 BĆsai (1752â1826)wrote:Oldpondâafterthattime
nofrogjumpsin
while the Zen master Sengai Gibon (1750â1837) added newversions:OldpondâsomethinghasPLOP
justjumpedin
OldpondâBashĆjumpsin
thesoundofwater
BashĆhasbecomesofamousforhishaikuthatthiseighteenth-centurysenryĆ« mocks the now self-consciousmaster himself:MasterBashĆ,
ateveryplop
stopswalking
Inthemodernworld,newtransformationsofthispoemkeepappearingevenacrosstheocean, includingthishaikuwithanenvironmental undertone by StephenAddiss:Old pond pavedover
intoaparkinglotâ
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 rootsstretchfarbackintoJapanâshistory.Theformitselfbeganwithpoetssharingthecompositionofâlinkedverseâintheformofaseriesoffive-linewaka(5-7-5-7-7syllables),amucholderformofpoem.Wakapoets,workinginsequence,notedthatthe5-7-5âsyllable sections couldoften standalone.Separate coupletsof 7-7 syllableswere less appealing to the Japanese taste forasymmetry,butfromthe5-7-5links,haikuwereborn.It is generally considered that BashĆ was the poet who
brought haiku into full flowering, deepening and enriching itandalsoutilizinghaikuinaccountsofhistravelssuchasOkuno hosomichi (Narrow Road to the Interior). BashĆâs pupilsthencontinuedhistraditionofinfusingseeminglysimplehaikuwith evocative undertones, while continuing a sense of playthatkepthaikufrombecomingtheleastbitponderous.ThenexttwooftheâthreegreatmastersâwereBuson(1716â
83), a major painter as well as poet who developed haiku-painting (haiga) to its height, and Issa (1763â1827), whoseprofoundempathywithalllivingbeingswasamajorfeatureofhis poetry. With the abrupt advent of Western civilization toJapaninthelatenineteenthcentury,haikuseemedtobefacingan uncertain future, but it was revived by Masaoka Shiki(1867â1902)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,thenativereligionofShintĆreveresdeitiesinnature,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 (1738â91) and the aforementioned SantĆka,respectively:Thecomingofautumn
isdetermined
byareddragonfly
Dragonflyonarockâ
absorbedin
adaydream
Ineachcase, theobservationofan insect leadstoadeeperconsideration of our own perceptions, although neither poemhasaâmoralâoranobviousmessage.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 âthings,â andhaiku,aboveall,elicitourownparticipationasreaders,almostas though the poet had disappeared and left us to determineourownexperience.TherehasbeensomecontroversyabouttheinfluenceofZen
in haiku. Certainly some poets (such as BashĆ) studied Zen,and a fewwere actually Zenmasters (such asSengai).Manyother Japanesepoets,however, followedotherBuddhist sects,ShintĆ, 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, Zenâs 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,andShintĆallhaveincommonwithhaikuistheharmonybetweennatureandhumans.
RegardingThisVolumeThethreeauthor-editorsofthepresentvolumehavepreviouslypublishedaseriesoffivebooks:AHaikuMenagerie(Weatherhill,1992),AHaikuGarden(Weatherhill,1996),HaikuPeople(Weatherhill,1998),HaikuLandscapes(Weatherhill,2002),andHaikuHumor(Weatherhill,2007).Thehaikuinthisnewbookareexcerptedfromthosebooks,withsomemodificationsintranslation,alongwithnewlyaddedverses.Thisanthologyincludesarepresentativenumberofpoemsbyeachofthethreegreatmasters(BashĆ,Buson,andIssa),agenerousgroupofhaikubyobservantandcreativepoetsrangingintimefromtheearlyfifteenththroughthelatertwentiethcenturies,andasprinklingofanonymouscomicalsenryĆ«.
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 livingcreaturesandtheirmultifacetedinteractionswithenvelopingnatureasexpressedbythefinestJapanesehaikuandsenryƫpoets.
ThePulseofNature
Illustration2
Opening their hearts ice and water becomefriendsagain
âTEISHITSU
Thespringsun
showsitspowerbetweensnowfallsâSHIGEYORINotinahurry
toblossomâplumtreeatmygateâISSAWhiteplumblossomsreturntothewitheredtreeâmoonlitnight
âBUSON
Thewarblerwipes itsmuddy feet on plumblossomsâISSAWitheachfallingpetaltheygrowolderâplumbranches
âBUSON
Driedgrassesâand just a few heatwaves rising an inch or twoâBASHĆ
Overflowingwithlovethecatascoquettishasacourtesan
âSAIMARO
Bothpartnerssportwhiskersâ
catsâloveâRAIZAN
Springsunineverypoolofwaterâlingering
âISSA Is the dawn, too, still embracedbyhazymoon?
âCHĆSUIIntheshimmeringhazethecatmumblessomethinginitssleep
âISSA Spring rainâ just enough towettinyshellsonthetinybeachâBUSON
Illustration3
Thenurseryman
leftbehind
abutterflyâRYĆTAAgainandagain
stitchingtherowsofbarleyâabutterflyâSORA A pheasantâs tail very gentlybrushestheviolets
âSHĆȘSHIKI-JO
Overtheviolets
asmallbreeze
passesbyâONTEI Each time the wind blows thebutterflysitsanewonthewillow
âBASHĆ
SpringchillâabovethericepaddiesrootlesscloudsâHEKIGODĆ
Daybreakâthewhitefishwhitenonlyoneinch
âBASHĆ
Domesticducksstretch their necks hoping to see the world âKĆJIThewarblerdroppedhishatâacamellia
âBASHĆ
Crazed by flowers surprised by the moonâ abutterfly
âCHORA White camelliasâ only thesoundoftheirfallingmoonlitnight
âRANKĆ
Squeakinginresponsetobabysparrowsâanestofmice
âBASHĆ
Illustration4
Out from thedarknessback into thedarknessâaffairsofthecatâISSAJoyfulatnight
tranquilduringthedayâspringrainâCHORAAcamelliafalls
spillingoutyesterdayâsrainâBUSON
A hedge of thornsâ how skillfully the dogwriggledunderit!
âISSA Misty dayâ they might begossiping horses in the field âISSA Anold wellâ falling into its darkness acamellia
âBUSON
Trampling on clouds, inhaling the mist, theskylarksoarsâSHIKICrouching,
studyingthecloudsâafrogâCHIYO-JO
On the temple bell perching and sleepingâ abutterfly
âBUSON
Couldtheybesutras?inthetemplewellfrogschant
âKANSETSU
Recitedonandon, thepoemsof the frogshavetoomanysyllablesâEIJIBracinghisfeet
andofferingupasongâthefrogâSĆKAN
FromthenostriloftheGreatBuddhacomesaswallow
âISSA
Illustration5
On thebrushwoodgate inplaceofa lockâonesnail
âISSASunlight
passesthroughabutterflyasleepâRANKĆ
Withthepowerofnon-attachmentfloatingonthewaterâafrog
âJĆSĆ
Highlighting the blossoms, clouded by blossomsâthemoon
âCHORAFlowerpetals
set the mountain in motionâ cherry blossoms âHĆITSU
Onthesurfaceofpetal-coveredwaterâfrogsâeyes
âFĆSEI The retreating shapes of thepassingspringâwisteria
âKANA-JO
SpringpassesâthelastreluctantcherryblossomsâBUSON
Illustration6
Shallowrivertwistingwestandtwistingeastâyoungleaves
âBUSON
Forsythiaâandradiantspringâsmelancholy
âMANTARĆ
Indaytimeâdarkenthedayâatnightâbrightenthenightâ
frogschantâBUSON
CrossingtheseaintoanetofmistâthesettingsunâBUSON
Mistygrassesâwaterwithoutvoicesinthedusk
âBUSON
Springpassingâlookingatthesea,ababycrow
âSHOKYĆ
Thecuckoowith a single song has established summerâRYĆTAThevoiceofthecuckooslants
overthewaterâBASHĆ
The cuckoo callsâ and the waters of the lakecloudoveralittleâJĆSĆ
Thecuckooâfliesandinsects,listenwell!
âISSA Summer rainsâ leaves of theplumthecolorofcoldwindâSAIMARO
Early summer rainsâ lunging at the blue seamuddywaters
âBUSON
Illustration7
Early summer rainsâ even nameless rivers arefearsome
âBUSON
Summercoolâinthegreenricefieldsasinglepine
âSHIKIOnlyFuji
remainsunburiedâyoungleavesâBUSON
On the hydrangeas the weight of the morningsun,theeveningsunâOTSUYĆȘ
Mountainantâ
seensoclearlyonthewhitepeonyâBUSON
Alone,silentlyâthebambooshootbecomesabambooâSANTĆKAThewarbleramidthebambooshootssingsofoldageâBASHĆ
Atriangleâisthelizardâsheadgettingalittlelonger?
âKYOSHIInmydwelling
friendlywiththemiceâfirefliesâISSA How interestingâ runningerrandsrightandleftfireflies
âKAIGAPursued,
ithidesinthemoonâthefireflyâSANO RYĆTA Burning so easily,extinguishingsoeasilyâthefirefly
âCHINE-JO
ThemorningbreezeripplesthefurofthecaterpillarâBUSON
Illustration8
As the lake breeze cools his bottom the cicadacries âISSA As lightning flashes he strokes hisheadâthetoad
âISSA The snake fleesâ but the eyesthatpeeredatme remain in theweedsâKYOSHI Rustling, rustling, the lotusleaves swayâa tortoise in the pondâONITSURATodaytoo
mosquitolarvaeâandtomorrowagainâISSAAsfliesretreatmosquitoesstarttheirbattlecryâANONYMOUS
Dashing into one another whispering, partingâants
âANONYMOUS
InhalingcloudsexhalingcloudsâmountaintoppinesâANONYMOUS
Illustration9
Acrossapillarofmosquitoeshangsthebridgeofdreams
âKIKAKU
Eventheclamskeeptheirmouthsshutinthisheat
âBASHĆ
MotionlessinacreviceofanoldwallâapregnantspiderâSHIKIHeatinwavesâinthestones
angry reverberations âKYĆTAI Sudden showerâandrisingfromtheheat,thebroken-downhorseâKITĆ
Lightning!fleeingupthewall,thelegsofaspiderâKICHĆ
Suddenshowerâclutching thebladesofgrassa flockof sparrowsâBUSON
Downapaulownia tree the rain comes tricklingacrossacicadaâsbellyâBAISHITSU
Thetreefrog
ridingtheplantainleafswaysâKIKAKU
âItâsmuchtoolongaday,â
openingitsmouthacrowâISSAThefish
notknowing theyâre inabucketcoolby thegateâISSAAsuddenshower
drumsdownuponthe heads of the carp âSHIKI LightningâyesterdaytotheeasttodaytothewestâKIKAKU
Eveninasinglebladeofgrassthecoolbreeze
findsahomeâISSA The trout leaps upâ and belowhim in a stream clouds float by âONITSURA How quietâ at the bottom ofthe lake peaks of clouds âISSA At thesound of the sea the sunflowers opentheir black eyes âYĆȘJI Octopus potâevanescentdreamsofthesummermoonâBASHĆ
Short summer nightâ flowing through reedsbubblesfromcrabsâBUSON
StillnessâseepingintotherocksthecicadaâsvoiceâBASHĆ
Howbeautifullythe cowhas slimmeddown in the summer fieldsâBONCHĆ
In themorning dew soiled and cooledâ dirt onthemelonâBASHĆ
Illustration10
Summercoolnessâlanternout,
the sound of water âSHIKI Summer rainsâsecretly one eveningmoon in the pinesâRYĆTAThebatâs
secrethomeâ
atatteredhatâBUSON
EveninggloriesâthecatchewingtheflowerhasitsmindelsewhereâBUSON
Among the ears of barley are you hiding yourtail?
oldfoxâTESSHI The coming of autumndetermined
byareddragonflyâSHIRAO
ThestarshavealreadyopenedtheirautumneyesâKĆYĆ
Earlyautumnâthe evening showerbecomes a night of rainâTAIGIAutumnbeginsâoceanandfieldsallonegreen
âBASHĆ
Earlyautumnâpeering through willows the morning sun âSEIBIMorninggloriesâblowntothegroundbloomastheyareâISSAAsdewdripsgently, gently, the dove murmurs its chant âISSAGrasses and trees all waiting for the moonâ dewyevening
âSĆGI
Illustration11
Whitedewonbramblesandthornsâonedropeach
âBUSON
Onbladesofgrass frolic and roll onâpearlsofdew
âRANSETSU
Dewcoolingâ
thingswithshapesallaliveâKIJĆ
ItsfacelookslikeahorseâthegrasshopperâANONYMOUS
Dragonflyonarockabsorbedin
adaydreamâSANTĆKAThedragonfly
cannotcometorestonthebladesofgrassâBASHĆ
Kittensplaying hide-and-seek in the bush clover âISSADragonfliesquiettheirmaddartingâcrescentmoon
âKIKAKU
Illustration12
ThebatcirclingthemoonwouldnotleaveitâKYĆTAIGivemebackmydream!a crow has wakened me to misty moonlight âONITSURADyeinghisbodyautumnâ
thedragonflyâBAKUSUI Distant mountains reflectinginitseyesâadragonfly
âISSA A floating sandalâ an object ofscorntotheplovers
âANONYMOUS
Thepinewindcirclingaroundtheeavesâautumndeepens
âBASHĆ
Coolbreezefillingtheemptyskyâpinevoices
âONITSURA To the mountain quietudethequiet
rainâSANTĆKATheolddog
is leading the wayâ visiting family graves âISSATyphoonsended,theratswimsacrossflowingwaters
âBUSON
Callingthreetimes, thennomoretobeheardâthedeerintherainâBUSON
Running across the shelf hoisting achrysanthemumâatemplemouse
âTAKAMASA On a withered branchlingers the evanescent memory of acicadaâsvoiceâKAGAISingingasitgoes,an insect floats down the stream on abroken bough âISSA âThe eyes of thehawksarenowdimmed,â
quailssingâBASHĆ
AgrasshopperchirpsinthesleeveofthescarecrowâCHIGETSU
ThefieldshavewitheredânoneedforthecranetostretchoutitsneckâSHIKĆ
Thefirstgooseseekingitsownskyinthedusk
âSHIRĆ
Whentheyfall,justastheyfallâgardengrasses
âRYĆKAN
Mountains darkenâ robbing the scarlet frommapleleavesâBUSON
ThemoonspeedsonâthetreetopsstillholdingrainâBASHĆ
Arock
againstthemoonsitsbigâSEISENSUIThebrightmoonâout fromthesleeveofthescarecrowâISSAFallenleaves
fall on each otherâ rain beats on the rainâKYĆTAIBlown from thewest collecting in the eastâ fallingleaves
âBUSON
Theoldpondâsfrogalsogrowingoldâfallenleaves
âBUSON
SweepingandthennotsweepingthefallenleavesâTAIGIVerysquarelysettingitsbuttocksdownâthepumpkin
âSĆSEKITheautumnwind
takestheshapeofpampasgrassâKIGIN
To passing autumn the pampas grass wavesgoodbyegoodbyeâSHIRAO
AutumnrainsâaspiderencasedinaclumpoffallengrassâSEKITEIEveningfogâmyhorsehaslearnedtheholesonthebridgeâISSAThesoundof the raindrops also grown olderâSANTĆKA In theharvest moonlight standing nonchalantlyâ thescarecrow
âISSAItshatfallenoffandembarrassedâthescarecrow
âBUSON
Arinseofvermilionpouredfromthesettingsun,andthenautumndusk
âTAIGIThebitterpersimmonsspendingtheirautumnquietly
âRITĆ
Gardengateslammingandthwackingâautumnwind
âHARITSU
Justlikepeoplethemonkeyclaspsitshandsâautumnwind
âSHADĆ
OneedgehangingoverthemountainâtheMilkyWay
âSHIKI The moon in the water turnssomersaultsandflowsaway
âSANORYĆTAWhiterthan
thestonesofStoneMountainâtheautumnwindâBASHĆ
TheautumnwindattheslidingdoorâapiercingvoiceâBASHĆ
ThehugesettingsunâlittleremainsofitspowerâKYOSHI All in calmnessâ the earthwithhalf-openedeyesmovesintowinterâDAKOTSU
NewgardenstonessettlingdownâfirstwinterrainâSHADĆ
Redberriesâjustonehasfallenfrostygarden
âSHIKI Without a companion,abandonedinthefieldswintermoon
âROSEKI Camphor-tree roots silentlysoakintheearlywinterrainâBUSON
Howamusing,itmaychangeintosnowâthewinterrainâBASHĆ
Crescentmoonwarpedcoldness
keenandclearâISSAFirstsnowâjustenoughtobendthenarcissusleavesâBASHĆ
On themandarinduckâswingsadustof snowâsuchstillness!
âSHIKI Cold moonâ the gatelesstempleâsendlesssky
âBUSON
Unable towrap it anddropping themoonâ thewinterrainâTOKOKU
Howwarmâthe shadows of withered trees stretching out theirarmsâTEI-JO
ThereâsnothinghedoesnâtknowâthecatonthestoveâFĆȘSEIOnamandarin duck its beauty is exhaustedâ wintergrove
âBUSON
TheseagrowsdarkthevoiceoftheduckfaintlywhitensâBASHĆ
ColdmoonâamongthewitheredtreesthreestalksofbambooâBUSON
Its saddle taken off how cold it looksâ thehorseâsrumpâHEKIGODĆ
Snowfallsonsnowâ
andremainssilentâSANTĆKAWolvesarekeeninginharmonyâsnowyevening
âJĆSĆ
If it had no voice the heron might disappearâthismorningâssnowâCHIYO-JO
Dawnâthestormisburiedinsnow
âSHIRĆ
Withered by winter one-colored worldâ thesoundofwindâBASHĆ
ThewintermoontrailingitswhiteglowleavesthemountainâDAKOTSU
The salted sea breamâs teeth are also chillyâfish-marketshelfâBASHĆ
Bleakly,bleaklythe sun enters into the rocksâ a withered field âBUSON
BlisteringwindâsplinteredbyrocksthevoiceofthewaterâBUSON
Today is also endingâ at the bottom of thesnowstormagiganticsun
âARĆ
Wintryblastsâblown off into the ocean the evening sun âSĆSEKISadstorieswhispered to the jellyfish by the sea slug âSHĆHAFrozentogether,whataretheydreaming?
seaslugsâSEISEIIntheeyesofthehawkoverthewithered fields sits thewinter stormâJĆSĆ
Comingtotheseathewinterwindhasnoplacetoreturn
âSEISHI In theabandonedboatdashingandslidingâhail
âSHIKIFlowingdown
icecrushes
iceâGOMEIThewinterstorm
hidesinthebambooandbecomessilentâBASHĆ
Dearly,dearlyembracingthesunâthefallengardenleavesâRITĆ
Each plum blossom brings a single blossomâswarmth
âBASHĆ
Thewarblersingsupside-downhisfirstnote
âKIKAKU
HumanVoices
Illustration13
ThetinychildâshownevenafloweropensitsmouthâSEIFU-JO
Fleabitesâwhilecountingthem,shenursesherbaby
âISSAShieldinganinfantfromthewindâascarecrow
âISSA Garden butterflyâ as the babycrawls, it flies crawlsâfliesâ âISSA Achild on my back I picked a brackenshoot and let him hold it âKYĆTAI Hermothereats
the bitter partsâ mountain persimmons âISSA TheharvestmoonââGetitforme!â
criesthechildâISSAâItâsthisbig!âformingapeonywithherarmsâachild
âISSATodaytoo!
today too! kites caught by the nettle tree âISSASpringrainsâachildteachesthecatadance
âISSA Worse than tearsâ the smile oftheabandonedchildâANONYMOUS
The seasonâs first melon clutched in its armssleeps the child âISSA Blazing sunâ whosebarefootchildisrunningfree?
âKĆYĆ
AttheticketwindowourchildbecomesoneyearyoungerâSEIUN
TheyoungestchildvisitingfamilygravescarriesthebroomâBUSON
Firstloveâcomingclosetoalanternface-to-face
âTAIGI Secret night rendezvousâ amosquitowas swatted and died quietlyâANONYMOUS
Heavenknows,earth knows, every neighbor knowsâparents donâtknowâSHISHĆSHISharingoneumbrellaâthepersonmoreinlovegetswet
âKEISANJIN
CatchingupandlookingatherânothingspecialâANONYMOUS
HearingfootstepssplittingintwotheshadowâANONYMOUS
Wavingumbrellasâgoodbyeâ...âgoodbyeâ...
gossamerhazeâISSAHavingchildren,
youunderstandâ
buttoolateâANONYMOUS
Illustration14
Pearblossomsâawomanreadsaletterbymoonlight
âBUSON
Harvesting radishes, he points the way with aradish
âISSAWorkersâtheylaugh
inasinglecolorâHAKUSHISellingladles,heshowshowtoscoopupnothingatall
âANONYMOUS
ChantingtheLotusSutraâonlyhislips
arebusyâANONYMOUS
Withbothhandsthrustupmightilyâmyyawn
âANONYMOUS
Troutfishingâ
morefishermen
thantroutâKENJIN
Verysecretly
themedicinepeddlerissickâANONYMOUS
The convalescentâ indulging in his motherâscarehasbecomeahabitâANONYMOUS
Losing,he straightens in his seat and loses again âANONYMOUS
Having given my opinion I return home to mywifeâsopinionâYACHĆ
Pridinghimself
onscoldinghisbeautifulwifeâANONYMOUS
Illustration15
âEverywoman...âhestartstosay,thenlooksaroundâANONYMOUS
âAfteryoudietheyâllbevaluableâ
hetellsthepainterâANONYMOUS
Skeletonscoveredwithadornmentâflowerviewing
âONITSURAWantingtobelogicalhetriessohardâthedrunkard
âMEITEIâLetâspullthemallâ
saysthedentistgenerouslyâANONYMOUS
âIâdneverloseinasumomatchââpillowtalk
âBUSON
Notalentsalsonosinsâ
winter seclusion âISSA Winter seclusionâ frommywifeandchildrenItooplayhide-and-seekâBUSON
NewYearâscardswith womenâs handwriting get looked at first âBIRIKEN
ShelowershereloquentlapontohissilentlapâANONYMOUS
The kimono for flower-viewingâ disrobing, IâmentwinedinamyriadofsashesâHISA-JO
Withoutawordthe guest, the host, white chrysanthemumsâRYĆTAOutfromthegate,Itoobecomeatravelerâautumndusk
âBUSON
Walkingalongtheriverwithnobridgetocrossâthe day is longâSHIKI Coldmoonâ feeling thepebblesundermyshoes
âBUSON
Asingleguestvisitsasinglehostâautumnevening
âBUSON
âComing,coming,âbutsomeonestillknocksâsnowygate
âKYORAI
Illustration16
Mygorivalâhowvexing
andhowdearâANONYMOUS
GettingoldâIsliponawatermelonrindasIdance
âSĆCHĆ
MynoserunningIplayasolitarygo-gameânightchill
âBUSON
Justaskingthemtofight,hesavedtonsofmoneyanddied
âHAKUCHĆ
Flesh getting thinâ these are thick bones âHĆSAIFeelingmybones
onthequiltingâfrostynightâBUSON
Charcoalfireâmyyearsdwindledownjustlikethat
âISSAFormeleaving
foryoustaying
twoautumnsâSHIKIOwningnothingâsuchpeace,
suchcoolness!âISSALefttoliveon
lefttoliveonandonâthiscoldâISSALoneliness
alsohasitspleasureâautumnduskâBUSON
Autumn of my yearsâ the moon is perfect andyetââISSAWalkingthedog
youmeet
lotsofdogsâSĆSHITakinganap
IhidewithinmyselfâwinterseclusionâBUSON
Allofasuddenmyfirstfallentoothâautumnwind
âSANPĆȘ
WinterrainâIâmnotdeadyetâSANTĆKAAwholefamily
allgray-hairedwithcanesvisitsgravesâBASHĆ
Thisautumnnochildinmylapâmoon-viewing
âONITSURAAremyyouthfuldreamsstillunfinished?
thismorningâsfrostâANONYMOUS
The auspiciousness is just about mediumâ myspring
âISSA OnNew Yearâs Day themorningintowncomesirregularlyâANONYMOUS
Firstwinterkimonoâmayyouquicklygrowtoanaughtyage
âISSA Snowhasmeltedâ the village isfullofchildren
âISSA
ResonanceandReverberation
Illustration17
âDonâtdarebreakit!âbut he broke off and gave me a branch of gardenplumâTAIGISpringriverâatinywoodenclogfloatsby
âHARITSU
Springrainâblown onto the bush a discarded letter âISSA Ashametopickitashametoleaveitâtheviolet
âNAO-JO
Evenwhenchaseditpretendsnottohurryâthebutterfly
âGARAKU
OnesneezeâandIlostsightoftheskylark
âYAYĆȘ
Tiredheartâmountains and ocean too much beauty âSANTĆKALeadhimslowly!thehorseiscarryingthespringmoonâWATSUJIN
Comeout!youcanalmosttouchthespringmoonâTEI-JO
SpringmoonâifItouchit,itwoulddrip
âISSASpringrainâIgavemyyawn
tothedogatthegateâISSAWhileIponder
asnail
passesmebyâANONYMOUS
FrogsgrowsilentânoblehumansarepassingbyâRAKUKYO
Early summer rainâa letter fromhomearriveswet
âHARITSU
Suddenshowerâ
ridingnakedonanakedhorseâSANTĆKARocksandtrees
glisteninmyeyesâsuchheatâKYORAI The stone-carver cools hischiselintheclearstreamâBUSON
Ahoestandingwithnoonearoundâtheheat!
âSHIKI
Illustration18
BecomingacowwouldbefineâmorningnapsandtheeveningcoolâSHIKĆ
Aftermysneezeallisquietâ
summermountainsâYASUIOnly themoonand Iremainonthebridgecoolingoff
âKIKUSHAOneperson
andoneflyin the large room âISSA The fly on the porchwhilerubbingitshandsâswat!
âISSAEachtime
Iswatafly,IchantâNamuAmidaButsuââISSA Mosquito larvae, dancing aBuddhist chant in the water by thegraveâISSABeinghit
the gong spits out a noontime mosquito âSĆSEKISharing the samebloodbutweârenot relatedâ thehatefulmosquito!
âJĆSĆ
ThefluteplayerbittenbyamosquitoontheedgeofhislipsâKYORIKU
Swarmsofmosquitoesâbutwithoutthem,itâsalittlelonelyâISSADuringtheday
theBuddhasheltersbehindmosquitoesâISSA
Illustration19
ThebeggarwearsheavenandearthassummerclothesâKIKAKU
Wheretherearepeoplethereareflies,andthereare Buddhas âISSA They live longâ the flies,fleas, andmosquitoes in this poor villageâISSATwo old bent backs sitting close, wrapped in ashowerofcicadasongsâANONYMOUS
Inmyhanditsfleetinglightvanishesâthefirefly
âKYORAIHowdelightful
walkingondewygrassesâstrawsandalsâHARITSU
Killing the spider then so lonesomeâ eveningcold
âSHIKI Seeing that Iâm old even themosquito whispers closer to my ear âISSAAnautumnmosquitodeterminedtodiebitesme
âSHIKI Before the white mumshesitatingforawhileâthescissors
âBUSON
TrulytheautumnhascomeâIwasconvincedbymysneeze
âBUSON
Plantingmybuttocksonahugetaroleafâmoon-viewing
âHARITSU
Whatever they wear they become beautifulmoon-viewing
âCHIYO-JO
Illustration20
Takingmealongmyshadowcomeshomefrommoon-viewingâSODĆ
Evengrandmagoesoutdrinkingâmoonlitnight
âISSA Wild geese muttering, mutteringâaretheyspreadingrumorsaboutme?
âISSA Donât cry, wild geese, itâs thesame everywhereâ this floating worldâISSA A man rakingâ the leaves keepcallinghimbackâANONYMOUS
DuskâwhiletheearthandItalkleavesfall
âISSAWhenIshowmydelighttheyfalldownfasterâacorns
âFĆȘSEIColdly,coldly
thesunslips intomysleeveâautumnmountainsâISSA Autumn windâ in my heart, how manymountainsandriversâKYOSHIDeepinthemountainsâ falling into my heart autumn streams âSHINKEIMorethanlastyearitislonelyâtheautumnduskâBUSON
Onmyshoulderisitlongingforacompanion?
areddragonflyâSĆSEKILoveinmyoldageâasItrytoforget,lateautumnrainâBUSON
WhenIfinallydieâweeds
fallingrainâSANTĆKAFromthenose
oftheBuddhainthefieldsâiciclesâISSAVisitors
kindlycreateapaththroughthesnowatmygateâISSATheblackdogbecomesalanternâsnowyroad
âANONYMOUS
Wintersunâfrozenonhorsebackismyshadow
âBASHĆ
PiercingcoldâIdroppedmybroomunder thepinesâTAIGIColderthansnowonmywhitehairâthewintermoonâJĆSĆ
A hundredmiles of frostâ in a boat, I own themoon
âBUSON
Peaceful,peacefulchilly,chillysnow,snow
âSANTĆKATomycat
aNewYearâscardfromitsvetâYORIE
The child on my lap begins to point at plumblossoms
âISSA Plum blossomsâ âSteal this onehere!â
pointsthemoonâISSAUnderthetreesinto the salad, into the soupâ cherry blossoms âBASHĆ
THEPOETS
ARĆ.SeeUSUDAARĆ.BAISHITSU (1769â1852). Baishitsuwas born inKanazawa to afamilyofswordexperts.HemovedtoKyoto,visitedEdo(Tokyo)for twelve years, and then settled again in Kyoto, where hebecameoneofthemajorhaikuteachersofhisera.BAKUSUI(1718â83).ApoetfromKanazawaduringthemiddleoftheEdoPeriod,BakusuistudiedunderOtsuyĆ«.BASHĆ (1644â94).Widelyadmiredas thegreatestofallhaikumasters, BashĆ, 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).BONCHĆ (died1714).Byprofession a doctor,BonchĆ edited afamousbookofhaikupoemswithKyorai,andalsowrotemanyfreshandoriginalhaikuofhisown.Hewasalso interested inEuropeanstudies,andwasimprisonedfortradingillegallywithDutchmerchants.BĆSAI.SeeKAMEDABĆSAI.BUSON(1716â83).Aroundtheageofseventeen,BusonwenttoEdo (Tokyo) and studied painting and haiku. After his haikuteacherâs 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 toBashĆ in thehaiku tradition.Busonâs verses aswell ashispaintings show thewarmthandbrillianceofhisvisionofhumanityandthenaturalworld.
CHIGETSU(1634?â1708?).Chigetsu,thewifeofafreightagent,studiedhaikuwithBashĆ,andbecameoneofthefourfamouswomen poets of her era. After the death of her husband in1686, she became a nun. She lived in Ćtsu with her son,Otokuni,whoalsostudiedwithBashĆandbecameafinehaikupoet.CHINE-JO (?â1688?).Chine-jowastheyoungersisterofKyorai,whowas one of the ten leading pupils ofBashĆ. In her earlytwenties,Chine-joandKyorai traveled together to Ise.Duringthis trip,Chine-jowrotehaikupoemsthatwereconsideredasgoodasorevenbetterthanthosebyherelderbrother.CHIYO-JO(1703â75).Beginningtowritehaikuonherownattheageoffifteen,Chiyo-jolaterstudiedwithShikĆandeventuallybecameanun.Herhaikustyleachievedgreatpopularitywithitsdirectexpressionandwittymasteryoflanguage.CHORA(1719â80).BorninShima(present-dayMiePrefecture),Chora later moved to Ise. He associated with poets such asBuson.CHĆSUI (1701â69). A poet in the middle of the Edo Period,ChĆsuiwasborn thesonofa localgovernor inChiba,andhelaterbecameamonk.OneofhishaikudiscipleswasShirao.DAKOTSU.SeeIIDADAKOTSU.EIJI(datesanddetailsunknown).FUKUDAHARITSU(1865â1944).BorninthesmalltownofShingĆ«in Wakayama Prefecture, Fukuda Haritsu became a pupil ofShikiinTokyo,thenmovedtoKyotowhereheledthelifeofascholar-poet using the name KodĆjin (Old Taoist). He wrotehaiku,waka,andChinese-stylepoetry,andpaintedbothhaigaandliteratilandscapes.FĆȘSEI.SeeTOMIYASUFĆȘSEI.GARAKU(datesanddetailsunknown).GIBON.SeeSENGAIGIBON.
GOMEI(1731â1803).ApoetinAkitaPrefecture,GomeistudiedBashĆâshaikuonhisown.HAKUCHĆ(datesanddetailsunknown).HAKUSHI (dates unknown). A writer of humorous verse fromEdo(Tokyo).HARASEKITEI(1886â1951).BorninShimanePrefecture,Sekiteistudied under Takahama Kyoshi. He was active in the haikujournalHototogisuandhewasalsoskilledinhaigapainting.HARITSU.SeeFUKUDAHARITSU.HEKIGODĆ.SeeKAWAHIGASHIHEKIGODĆ.HISA-JO.SeeSUGITAHISA-JO.HĆITSU (1761â1828).Born inEdo (Tokyo) to theSakai family,lordofHimejifiefdom,HĆitsuexcelledasahaikupoetandalsoapainterinthedecorativetradition.HĆSAI.SeeOZAKIHĆSAI.IIDA DAKOTSU (1885â1962). Born in Yamanashi Prefecture,Dakotsu studied at Waseda University. He was one of therepresentativepoetsofthehaikujournalHototogisu.ISSA (1763â1827). A poet whose life was filled with personaltragedy, Issa became the most compassionate of all haikumasters, with a special feeling for children and commonpeople.JĆSĆ(1662â1704).Duetopoorhealth,JĆsĆgaveuphissamuraiposition at the age of twenty-six and became a monk. Hestudied haiku with BashĆ, and after the death of his masterlivedaquietandsolitarylife.KAGAI(died1778,detailsunknown).KAIGA(1652â1718).ApupilofBashĆ,KaigawasaclosefriendofthepoetKikaku.KAMEDA BĆSAI (1752â1826). One of the leading ConfucianscholarsandChinese-stylepoet-calligraphersofhisday,BĆsai
onlyrarelywrotehaiku.HeinscribedhisverseaboutâtheoldpondâoveraportraitofBashĆ.KANA-JO (dates unknown). A Kyoto poet, Kana-jowas Kyoraiâswifeandhadtwodaughters.KANSETSU(datesanddetailsunknown).KAWAHIGASHI HEKIGODĆ (1873â1937). Born in Matsuyama,EhimePrefecture,HekigodĆstudiedwithShiki.Healsowroteliterarycriticismandnovels.KEISANJIN(datesanddetailsunknown).KENJIN(datesanddetailsunknown).KICHĆ (datesunknown).KichĆwasbestknownasacriticandevaluatorofpoetrycompetitionsduringtheEdoPeriod.KIGIN(1624â1705).BorninShigaPrefecture,Kiginwasknownas a scholar of classics. He served the bakufu government.KiginlearnedhaikuwithTeitoku,whosepupilsincludedBashĆ.KIJĆ.SeeMURAKAMIKIJĆ.KIKAKU (1661â1707). One of the ten leading pupils of BashĆ,Kikaku was also an expert in Chinese-style poetry,Confucianism, medicine, calligraphy, and painting. His poeticstyleisknownforitswitandhumor.KIKUSHA (1753â1826). Born in Yamaguchi, Kikusha devotedherself to the arts, including painting, calligraphy, waka,Chinese-style verse, and haiku. After her husband died whenshewastwenty-fouryearsold,shebecameanun.KINOSHITAYĆȘJI (1914â65). Born inHiroshima Prefecture, YĆ«jitook over his fatherâs pharmacy store. As a poet, he wasrecognizedbyKubotaMantarĆ,apopularliteraryfigureofthetime.KITĆ (1741â89).Learninghaikufirst fromhis fatherand laterfrom Buson, KitĆ also greatly admired the poems of Kikaku.KitĆwrote haikuwith direct and unsentimental observations.Helovedsake,andlikeseveralotherhaikupoetshebecamea
monkinhisfinalyears.KĆJI(datesanddetailsunknown).KĆYĆ.SeeOZAKIKĆYĆ.KUBOTAMANTARĆ (1889â1963).MantarĆwasborninAsakusa,Tokyo. After graduating from KeiĆ University, he becamefamous as a writer, dramatist, and also a stage producer.MantarĆâspoemsarecharacterizedbytheirlyricalquality.KUBOYORIE(1884â1967).BorninMatsuyama,YoriemetShikiand SĆseki when she was young and became interested inhaiku.KYORAI(1651â1704).BorninNagasaki,KyoraimovedtoKyotoat the age of eight and became known for his excellence inmartial arts, astronomy, andgeneral learning.HemetKikakuin1684andjoinedhimtobecomeoneofthetenleadingpupilsofBashĆ.Hecombinedinhisownversethequalitiesofmartialstrengthandpoeticgentleness.Kyoraiâswritingsaboutpoeticsbecameinfluentialforlaterhaikumasters.KYORIKU(1656â1715).AsamuraiintheHikoneregion(present-day Shiga Prefecture), Kyoriku excelled in the lance, sword,andhorsebackriding.HewasalsoagoodpainterintheKanĆstyle.HestudiedhaikuwithBashĆ.KYOSHI.SeeTAKAHAMAKYOSHI.KYĆTAI (1732â92).Anative ofNagoya,KyĆtai tried to elevatehaikufromthevulgarityofhisdayandreturntotheexcellenceofBashĆ.HealsofollowedtheleadofBusonincreatingpoemscombining strength of imagery with keen observation of theworldaroundhim.MANTARĆ.SeeKUBOTAMANTARĆ.MASAOKA SHIKI (1867â1902). Despite the brevity of his life,Shikibecamethemostinfluentialhaikupoetandtheoristofthelate nineteenth century. He insisted that haiku poets shouldcultivate the keen observation (shasei) of nature. HeestablishedthefamoushaikujournalHototogisu.
MATSUSESEISEI(1869â1937).ApoetfromOsaka,SeiseiwasafollowerofShikiandwrotehaikuintraditionalstyle,opposingradicalchangeintheworldofpoetry.In1902,hebecamethehaikueditorofTheAsahinewspaper.MEITEI.SeeTSUKAKOSHIMEITEI.MIZUOCHIROSEKI(1872â1919).BorninOsaka,MizuochiRosekistudiedhaikuwithShiki.HewasconsideredtobetheleaderoftheOsakahaikugroupofthetime.MURAKAMIKIJĆ (1865â1938).Bornas theeldest sonofa low-rankingsamuraiinTottori,KijĆsufferedfromconstantpoverty.HewasanearlyrepresentativeofthehaikujournalHototogisu.NAKAMURATEI-JO(1900â1988).BorninKumamoto,Tei-jojoinedthe haiku journal Hototogisu. She promoted womenâs haikuwritingthroughmassmedia.NAO-JO(datesanddetailsunknown).NATSUMESĆSEKI(1867â1916).Themostfamousnovelistofhistime, SĆseki studied in England and later taught Englishliterature in Japan. Less known as a haiku poet, heneverthelesswrotemanyfineverses.OGIWARA SEISENSUI (1884â1976). Born in Tokyo, Seisensuigraduated from Tokyo University, majoring in linguistics. Headvocated free-style haiku. Taneda SantĆka was one of hisfollowers.HewrotewidelyonIssaandBashĆ.OKADAYACHĆ(1882â1960).BorninTsuyamaCity,YachĆstartedcomposingsenryĆ«inhisearlytwenties.Heengagedinfarmingandwas a gentle person known for senryĆ« with topics takenfromhisdailylife.ONITSURA (1661â1738).At theageofeight,Onitsurabegantolearn haiku. At thirteen, he became a pupil of MatsueShigeyori, and he also received instructions from KitamuraKigin and Nishiyama SĆin. In 1865, Onitsura stated that hecametorealizethatsinceritywasthemostimportantqualityinpoetry. Thus, his haiku poems were written in a simple and
straightforwardstyle.ONTEI.SeeSHINOHARAONTEI.OTSUYĆȘ (1675â1739). Also known as Bakurin, OtsuyĆ« was apriest at Ise. He studied with BashĆ when BashĆ visited hisarea.Healsopaintedhaiga.OZAKI HĆSAI (1885â1926). Spending his life working attemples,OzakiHĆsaiwrotehaikunotedfortheirfreeformanddirectlanguage.OZAKIKĆYĆ (1867â1903).KnownprimarilyforhisnovelssuchasGoldenDemon,written incolloquial style,KĆyĆwasalsoafinehaikupoetduringhisshortlife.RAIZAN(1654â1716).AmerchantinOsaka,Raizanstartedwithcomical andwitty haiku but later changed to amore seriousstyleclosetoBashĆâs.RAKUKYO(datesanddetailsunknown).RANKĆ (1726â98). Born in Kanazawa, RonkĆ later moved toKyoto, where he practiced medicine. He promoted BashĆâshaikustylebycompilingthemasterâswritings.RANSETSU (1654â1707). Ransetsu studied painting withHanabusa ItchĆ, a famous painter, and haiku under BashĆ.Ransetsu also studied Zen Buddhism, and its influence isdiscernibleinhislaterhaiku.HewasoneofthediscipleswhomMasterBashĆhighlyappreciated,and isknown forhisgentleandsophisticatedpoeticstyle.RITĆ (1681â1755).AnEdopoet,RitĆwasoneof thepupilsofRansetsu.OneofhisfollowerswasRyĆta.ROSEKI.SeeMIZUOCHIROSEKI.RYĆKAN (1758â1831). Born in Echigo, present-day NiigataPrefecture,RyĆkanbecameaZenmonk.Hespenthislife,fullof interesting episodes (some of which are legendary), inpovertyasanitinerantmonk.Hispoemsarefullofawonderfulfreespirit.RyĆkanalsoexcelledinwakapoetry,Chinesepoetry,
andcalligraphy.RYĆTA (1718â87). When young, RyĆta moved to Edo (Tokyo)and studied with RitĆ, Ransetsuâs pupil. He then became ahaiku teacher and was reported to have many pupils underhim.SAIMARO (1656â1738). Born to a samurai household, SaimarostudiedhaikuwithIharaSaikaku,thefamousfictionwriterandhaikupoetof the time.SaimaroalsokeptanassociationwithBashĆ.Later inhis life,heenjoyedconsiderablepower in theOsakahaikuworld.SANORYĆTA (1890â1954). Born in Niigata Prefecture, RyĆtawasknownforhisfreshexpressionsofnature.SANPĆȘ (1647â1732). A pupil and patron of BashĆ, SanpĆ«providedthemasterwithhisfamouscottageBashĆ-an(BananaPlantHermitage).SANTĆKA.SeeTANEDASANTĆKA.SEIBI(1749â1816).Bornintoawealthyfamily,SeibiassociatedwithShiraoandKyĆtai.HewasknownasoneofthethreegreathaikupoetsofhisdayalongwithMichihikoandSĆchĆ.HewasIssaâsbenefactor.SEIFU-JO (1731â1814). Born in Musashi Province, Seifu-jostudiedwithChĆsuiandShirao.Herhaikustyleisoftenhighlysubjectiveandpersonal.SEISEI.SeeMATSUSESEISEI.SEISENSUI.SeeOGIWARASEISENSUI.SEISHI.SeeYAMAGUCHISEISHI.SEIUN(datesanddetailsunknown).SEKITEI.SeeHARASEKITEI.SENGAIGIBON(1750â1837).AZenmasterfromKyushu,Sengaibecame beloved for his paintings, which often show hisdelightfulsenseofhumor.
SHADĆ (died 1737?). A poet and doctor in Ćmi (present-dayShigaPrefecture)area,ShadĆstudiedhaikuunderBashĆandparticipated in BashĆâs haiku-composing gatherings. Hepublished one of BashĆâs well-known anthologies, Hisago(Gourd).SHIGEYORI (1602â80).Born inMatsue,Shigeyori livedmostofhis life in Kyoto. He studied haiku with Teitoku. He latercompiled BashĆâs haiku, and had fine haiku pupils such asOnitsura.SHIKI.SeeMASAOKASHIKI.SHIKĆ (1665â1731). After serving as a Zenmonk atDaichi-ji,ShikĆbecameadoctor,latermeetingandbecomingadiscipleofBashĆ.Whentoldhemightberebornasananimalifhedidnot lead a pure life, ShikĆ observed that itmightwell be animprovement.SHINKEI(1406â75).Alinked-verse(renga)poet,Shinkeiwasaninfluential figure for the next generation of the linked-versepoets,suchasSĆgi.SHINOHARAONTEI (1872â1926).BorninKumamotoPrefecture,Onteiworked foranewspaper company inTokyoand studiedhaikuunderShikiandKyoshi.SHIRAO (1738â91). Born in Shinano (present-day NaganoPrefecture) and studying haiku in Edo (Tokyo), Shirao latertraveledtomanyareasandvigorouslytaughthaiku.Hewroteseveral manuscripts on haiku theory that emphasizednaturalnessofexpression.SHIRĆ(1742â1812).BorninNagoya,ShirĆpracticedmedicine.HestudiedhaikuwithKyĆtaiandwasalsoknownforhisskillinplayingthebiwa(lute).SHISHĆSHI (1866â1928). Born in Tokyo, ShishĆshi was veryactiveinpromotingsenryĆ«andmentoredmanypoets.SHĆHA(died1771).ShĆhastudiedChinesepoemswithHattoriNankaku. A beloved haiku pupil of Buson, ShĆha died before
histeacher,andBusonthereuponwroteaprefaceforShĆhaâscollectedhaikuthatbecamevery famous.ShĆhaâsownpoemsshowhiskeenvisualsense.SHOKYĆȘ (1741â81). Born in Echigo (present-day NiigataPrefecture), ShokyĆ« took the tonsure after her husbandâsdeath.Shealsotraveledwidely.SHĆȘSHIKI-JO(1669â1725?).ShĆ«shiki-jostudiedwithKikaku,andshemarried thehaikupoetKangyoku,alsoapupil ofKikaku.ShĆ«shiki-joâs poems became famous for their gentle andhumaneobservationsofeverydaylife.SĆCHĆ (1761â1814). The son of the famous calligrapherYamamotoRyĆsai,SĆchĆbecameasuccessfulartistandhaikupoetinEdo(Tokyo).SODĆ(1642â1716).BorninKai,SodĆmovedtoEdo(Tokyo)andbecameassociatedwithBashĆ.SĆGI (1421â1502). A highly respected linked-verse (renga)master and literary theorist, SĆgi excelled in calligraphy. Hewasalsoverywell learnedinclassicalpoetry,andhelecturedtomany nobles and high officials, including a shogun. SĆgiâslinked-verse collectionMinase SanginHyakuin (OneHundredVersesbyThreePoetsatMinase),whichhecomposedwithtwoothermasters,representsahighpointoflinkedverse.SĆKAN(1458?â1546?).Fromasamuraifamily,SĆkanservedtheshogunAshikaga Yoshihisa. After his fatherâs death, however,SĆkan became a monk and lived the rest of his life in ahermitage,wherehedevelopedanewformofsimplifiedlinked-verse (renga) poetry. In time he became considered theinventorofhaiku.SORA(1649â1710).Givinguphislifeasasamurai,SorawenttoEdo (Tokyo) and studied ShintĆ and waka with KikkawaKoretaru. Later, Sora became a pupil of BashĆ and oftentraveledwithhisteacheronhaikujourneys.SĆSEKI.SeeNATSUMESĆSEKI.
SĆSHI(datesanddetailsunknown).SUGITAHISA-JO(1890â1946).ApoetinthecoterieofTakahamaKyoshi,SugitaHisa-jomarriedapainter.Herhaikustylehasarichromanticflavor.TAIGI (1709â71). Born in Edo (Tokyo), Taigi moved to theentertainment district of Kyoto, where he became associatedwithBuson.Heisknownforhishaikuonhumanaffairs.TAKAHAMAKYOSHI(1874â1959).KyoshiwasoneofthemastersofthehaikutraditioninthelateMeiji,TaishĆ,andearlyShĆwaperiods. The name Kyoshi was given him by Masaoka Shiki.Kyoshi inherited Shikiâs haiku magazine Hototogisu andcontinued Shikiâs 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.TANEDASANTĆKA (1882â1940). 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 (1610â73). Running a paper business in Kyoto,Teishitsu studied haiku under Teitoku. He was also a skilledmusician,playingthebiwa(lute)andflute.TESSHI(died1707).TesshitraveledwidelyintheKansai,KantĆ,and northern areas of Japan. The book by Tesshi entitledHanamigurumaisacollectionofgossipabouthaikupoets,whoappearinthebookascourtesans.
TOKOKU (?â1690).Aricemerchant inNagoya,TokokubecameBashĆâs pupil when the latter came to the area. He traveledwithBashĆ,andhisdeathwasdeeplylamentedbyhismaster.TOMIYASUFĆȘSEI(1885â1979).FĆseitraveledinEuropeandtheUnited States, then returned to Japan to study under Kyoshi.Eventually he became one of the leading haiku poets of thetwentiethcentury.TSUKAKOSHIMEITEI (1894â1965).ApoetborninTokyo,Meiteiworkedfornewspapercompanies,oneofwhichwasinTaiwan.He created a Taiwan senryĆ« circle before returning to JapanafterWorldWarII.USUDA ARĆ (1879â1951). Born in Nagano Prefecture, ArĆlearnedhaikuunderTakahamaKyoshi.WATSUJIN(1758â1836).ApoetintheKyĆtaitradition,WatsujinwasasamuraifromSendaiwhowrotehaikuunderavarietyofartnames.YACHĆ.SeeOKADAYACHĆ.YAMAGUCHISEISHI(1901â94).BorninKyoto,hewasamemberof the haiku journalHototogisu. He introduced new ideas tohaikuthroughhispoems.YASUI (1658â1743). A merchant from Nagoya, Yasui wrotemany haiku following the BashĆ tradition. Later in his life,Yasuishiftedhisinteresttowakaandtheteaceremony.YAYĆȘ(1702â83).YayĆ«wasaretaineroftheOwarifamily,oneofthe three branch families of the Tokugawa clan. After heretired, YayĆ« spent his life creating haiku and paintings. Hewasalsoknownforhishaibun(poeticwriting).YORIE.SeeKUBOYORIE.YĆȘJI.SeeKINOSHITAYĆȘJI.
THEARTISTS
HAKUIN EKAKU (1685â1768). Considered the most importantZenmasterofthepastfivehundredyears,Hakuinwasalsotheleading Zen painter, creating a large number of works withpower,humor,andZenintensity.IKETAIGA(1723â76).OneofthegreatliteratipaintersofJapan,Taiga was unusual in that he displayed his art fully at ayouthfulage,creatingdelightfultransformationsofthescholar-artistlandscapepaintingtradition.KIBAITEI(1734â1810).Oneofthemajorpupilsofpoet-painterBuson,Baitei (alsoknownasKyĆ«rĆ) lived inShigaPrefectureandcreatedbothlandscapesandhumorousfigurestudies.MARUYAMAĆKYO (1733â95).Bycreatingastylethatcombinednaturalism with influences from China and the West, ĆkyobecamefounderofthepopularMaruyamaschoolofpainting.MATSUYAJICHĆSAI(active1781â88,died1803?).AlsoknownasNichĆsai, hewas a sake brewer and antique dealer inOsakawho dabbled in poetry, painting, and singing. His humorouspaintingshaveacaricaturestylealltheirown.SESSONSHĆȘKEI(1504?â1589?).Oneofthemajorink-paintersofthe latemedieval period in Japan, Sesson was known for hisstrongcompositionsandboldbrushwork.TACHIBANAMORIKUNI (1679â1748). Born in Osaka, Morikunistudied theofficial styleof theKanĆschool,butwasexpelledbecause in one of his books he published designs that wereconsideredsecretsintheKanĆtradition.YAMAGUCHI SOKEN (1759â1818). A pupil of the naturalisticmasterĆkyo, Sokenwas especially gifted in his depictions offiguresubjects.
THEILLUSTRATIONS
1.TACHIBANAMORIKUNI(1679â1748),StreamfromEhonShakantei(1720)
2.KIBAITEI(1734â1810),CrowfromKyĆ«rĆGafu(1795)
3.KIBAITEI(1734â1810),DeerfromKyĆ«rĆGafu(1795)
4.KIBAITEI(1734â1810),LeaffromKyĆ«rĆGafu(1795)
5.KIBAITEI(1734â1810),IrisfromKyĆ«rĆGafu(1795)
6.KIBAITEI(1734â1810),PinefromKyĆ«rĆGafu(1795)
7.HAKUINEKAKU(1685â1768),GourdfromHakuinOshĆShigasanshĆ«(1759)
8.HAKUINEKAKU(1685â1768),ShrimpfromHakuinOshĆShigasanshĆ«(1759)
9.MARUYAMAĆKYO(1733â95),PlumBranchfromĆkyoGafu(1850)
10.YMAGUCHISOKEN(1759â1818),BudsfromSokenGafuSĆkanoBu(1806)
11.YAMAGUCHISOKEN(1759â1818),CranesfromSokenGafuSĆkanoBu(1806)
12.YAMAGUCHISOKEN(1759â1818),RiceFieldsfromSokenGafuSĆkanoBu(1806)
13.ANONYMOUS,DrunkardfromToba-eĆginoMato(1720)
14.MATSUYAJICHĆSAI(?â1803?;active1781â88),MusicfromGahonKochĆzuGahi(1805)
15.YAMAGUCHISOKEN(1759â1818),PlantingfromYamatoJinbutsuGafuKĆhen(1804)
16.YAMAGUCHISOKEN(1759â1818),WoodcutterfromYamatoJinbutsuGafuKĆhen(1804)
17.ANONYMOUS,Fox-MonkfromToba-eĆginoMato(1720)
18.SESSONSHĆȘKEI(1504?â1589?),CrowfromKingyokuGafu(1771)
19.IKETAIGA(1723â76),BoatingfromTaiga/IFukyĆGafu(1803)
20.IKETAIGA(1723â76),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 translationsofHanShanâspoems intoAmericanEnglish.TheBeatâsgreatnovelistJackKerouacembodiedHanShaninacharacterbasedonSnyderhimselfand furtherembedded theimage of Han Shan in young Americansâ hearts and souls,quoting Snyderâs 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 Tâang dynastycollapsedaroundthem,WangFan-chihâscompleteworks,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,butalwayslaughingtooâsometimeswithpurejoyâmaybebecausetheyknowsomethingwonderful?Sometimespointedly laughing at themselves, and, more daringly,
sometimes pointedly laughing at the readersâ follies, thatâsmine,andyourstoo.Theywrotetheirpoemsontrees,onrocks,on the walls of farmersâ homes, and on the walls of themonasteries they sometimes visited, taking menial work, asthey did in the kitchen at Kuo-châing Temple, a famouspilgrimagesite in theTâien-tâaimountains insoutheastChina.Buttheydidnâtobservethemonasticdiscipline,andtheywerenever dependable servants, being drawn to hike off toward acave on Cold Mountainâs side, their true home. There,according to the traditional story, finally cornered by templeofficials,HanShanwentintothecaveatColdCliffandpulleditshutbehindhim,leavinghisadmirerstocollectandhanddownmorethan350poemsbythetwopoets.Infact,thoughIâllfollowtheconventionoftreatingthemas
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 theinstitutionalizedBuddhistchurchesofTâangdynastyChinaandestablishing itself as themostChineseofBuddhisms.Zendidthis by emphasizing meditation over scriptural study (âZenâliterally means âmeditationâ) and, maybe even moreimportantly,byincorporatingthewisdomandthehumorofthegreatTaoistsagesLaoTzuandChuangTzu.HanShanbecameone of Zenâs 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 thehighmonksandabbotsofChâan, 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 Châan 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-châiuYin(whomhistoryhasprovidedwithtwolifetimes,orsetsofdatesanyway,andmaybeevenonerealofficialoffice,thoughnotanywhereneartheTâien-tâaiRange)camealongandwrotean account of his own short encounterwith the two, by thentransmogrifiedintothebodhisattvasManjusri(knownasWen-shuinChinese)andSamantabhadra(knownasPâu-hsien).Thisis the story which has come down to us, in a couple of verysimilarversions,formorethanathousandyears.Lu-châiu Yinâsmemoir is a neat little essay that appears to
tellusjustabouteverythingweneedtoknowaboutbothHanShanandShihTe.Therearetwoverysimilar,popularversions.TheshorterversioncomesfromtheintroductiontoHanShanâspoemsintheChâĂŒanTâangShih, thegreatcollectionofTâangdynasty poems. There are several available in English,includingGarySnyderâsfrom1958.Thefollowingismine:
NobodyknowswhereMasterHanShancamefrom.Helivedat Cold Cliff, in the Tâien-tâai mountains in Tâang-hsingCounty,sometimescoming in tovisitKuo-châingTemple.Heworeafancybirch-barkhat,araggedcottoncoat,andworn-out sandals. Sometimes heâd sing, or chant verses in thetempleporches.Othertimesheâdsitoutatfarmersâhouses,singingandwhistling.Nooneeverreallygottoknowhim.Lu-châiu Yin had received a government appointment in
Tan-châiu,andwhenhewas justabout todebarkto takeuphis post, he happened to run into Feng Kan, who told himheâd just come from the Tâien-tâai area. Lu-châiu Yin askedhimiftherewereanysagestherewithwhomhemightstudy.âThereâs Han Shan, who is an incarnation ofWen-shu, andShih Te, who is an incarnation of Pâu-hsien. They tend thefiresofthekitchensinthegranaryatKuo-châingTemple.âThethirddayafterheâdtakenuphisposition,Lu-châiuYin
wentinpersontothetempleand,seeingthetwomen,bowedinappropriatefashion.Thetwoburstoutlaughingandsaid,âOh that Feng Kan, what a tongue-flapping blabbermouth!Amitabha![NotetheBuddhaâsnametakeninvainasa lightoath.]Wecanâtimaginewhatyouâdbebowingtousfor!âAndwiththattheywentstraightoutofthetemple,backtoColdCliff.MasterHanShandisappearedintoacave,andthenthecaveclosedupbehindhim.Ithadbeenhishabittoinscribehis poems on bamboo and trees and rocks and cliff faces.Those,alongwiththeoneshewroteonthewallsoffarmersâhomes,insideandout,cameto307.Theyarecollectedhereinonevolume.
There are more than just several problems with this tale,historically speaking. To begin with, the quasi-narrator, theofficialLu-châiuYin,isapersonwhodoesnâtexistinanyofthedynastichistories.FengKan,theZenmasterandauthorityfortheauthenticityofHanShanandShihTe,hasexistenceissuestoo.Theonlyevidenceheeverwas is thisstory,andacouplelikeit inwhichheâsacharacter.Heisknowntohistorysolelyas themanwho toldLu-châiuYin that twoBuddhistholymenlivednearthecountyofficewherehewasabouttotakeuphispost. Feng Kan is enshrined in the modern biographicaldictionaryofBuddhistmonksasaâtonguewaggerâinlanguagethatwasclearlytakenfromthisstory.Toputitmildly,FengKanis the nearly perfect example of an almost living, breathingfictionalcharacter.IfweacceptthatbothLu-châiuYinandFengKanarebogusâ
though excellent scholars who are brilliant men of goodwill
havepursuedtheirshadowsinmanyinterestingdirectionsâwecan 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
toldthatâhelivedatColdCliff.âThesearchforanideaofwhattherealHanShanwaslikecanbeginthere.ColdCliff,orHanYen, is a real place, a cliff in the Tâien-tâai 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.Everytimethewordâsitâappears inapoembyHanShanorShihTe,itmeanstosit,cross-leggedonthe ground or on a simple strawmat, inmeditation. For theTaoist,itistheâsittingforgettingâthatisintendedtofreehimofthememoryofwords,thememorywhichseparateshimfromtheTao,which, according toLaoTzu, cannotbedescribed inwords. For the Buddhist, âsittingâ refers to the deep mindmeditation that is the eighth and final step in the BuddhaâsEightfold Path, the prescription for getting free of samsara,freeofillusion,freeofsuffering.InSanskrit,theIndianliterary
languagethatisthebasisofMahayanaBuddhism,thissortofmeditationiscalleddhyana,pronouncedchâan inChineseandzen inJapanese.Emphasisonsittingmeditationasthesourceof ultimate enlightenment is one feature of both Taoism andBuddhismthatthepoemsofHanShan,ShihTe,andWangFan-chihallshare.The Lu-châiu Yin introduction also tells us that Han Shan
livedintentionallyontheedgesofsocietyandthat,likealotofpeople who live on its edges (religious seekers, artists of allkinds,even literary translators),HanShanhadwhatamountstoadayjob.Thepoemsshowusamanwhoâdratherbesittingor 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-châing Temple to pick up a little work. If youâregoing to spend time in the hills prospecting for somethingworthmorethangold,youneedagrubstake.Youneedtobuyafewsupplies,saltandoil,onions,afewpoundsofrice.Thoughstoriestellofhermitslivingondewandsunlight,theyalsotellofhermitswhopull their caves shutbehind them.Thosewhotriedthedewandsunlightdietmostlikelydidnâtthrive.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.Weâll 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),tworeallocationsintheTâien-tâaiRange,wasbecoming famous well before anyone thought to pull all thepoems together. The Tâien-tâai 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. Itâs quite possiblethatShanHanShih (HanShanâsPoems) 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, âThe threeWaysareone.âAmong 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 thatdidnât bore me or go beyond my personal knowledge ofBuddhist philosophy. There arenât many of the last category,
not because Iâm an expert, but because, essentially, âdeepâphilosophy, of which there is much in other schools ofBuddhism, just isnât a Zen thing, and it certainly is not HanShanâsthing.HanShanâsnamemeansâColdMountain,âandmanyofhis
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: âIf your heart were like mine, youâd be herealready,âanexampleoftheroughrhetoricofthema-jentajen(curse people, smack people) style. These will remind you ofcertain koansâcontemporary,most likely, tomanyof theHanShanpoemsâthatbecametheteachingandlearningdevicesofsomeschoolsofmodernZen.Thatroughstyle,apparentinHanShanâsresponsetotheofficialLu-châiuYinandthemonkFengKaninthestory,isanimportantfeatureofmanyofthepoemsofall threepoets in thiscollection,but itbegins inHanShanand is certainlymost obvious there.Finally, at the tip ofHanShanâspeak, there is the perfectmystical vision. Youâll knowthesepoemswhenyoureadthem,eveninmyEnglish,Ideeplyhope. Iassureyou thatsomeof themwould takeyourbreathaway if you could read theoriginalChinese.And, contrary topopularwisdom,itisnevertoolatetolearn.What the best poems shareâwhether theyâre about a
farmerâs life, a poor manâs struggles, or a sharp rebuke foranyone who strays from the path of Buddhistmoralityâwhatthey really share is an attempt at sharpening the readersâawareness 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 simplydisappearsâmaybe not from the face of the earth itself likeHanShan,butfromthelittlenarrative.HedoesnâtgowithHanShan; heâs just gone. (In his own ChâĂŒan Tâang 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-châing 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 Shanâsmountainpartner, but I hope I have already established that thisnarrative is designed as propaganda, and consistency isnât 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 Tâien-tâai ridges andcrags. Maybe they just added them to the manuscript as itpassedthroughtheirhands,copyingorhavingitcopiedtopassontopoetry-lovingfriends.DuringtheentireTâangdynasty,allwritten works were created, copied, and circulated inmanuscript, in handwriting. Printing wasnât put into generaluse until after the year 1000. The reputation of Tu Fu, forexample,fornearlyathousandyearsconsideredthegreatestofthegreatamongChinesepoets, tooka coupleof centuries tofully blossom. Han Shanâs fame, like Tu Fuâs, spread not somuchbywordofmouthasbywordofhand.AfterâHanShanâbegan toberecognizedas thenameofa
person, Iâm supposing that the same sort of admirers whowouldpreviouslyhavesimplyaddedapoemwhilecopyingthemanuscript to pass on, now wrote poems using the morehumblepseudonymofShihTe(whichsimplymeanssomethinglike âthe Orphanâ). 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 Iâd call propagandisticfiller. The Shih Te poets donât appear to have included anymystics, but several of the poems are as funny and asimaginativeasanythingofHanShanâs,and I thinkyouâll findthemfuntoread.Bytheusualcount,thereareonlyforty-nineextant poems by Shih Te, and Iâve chosen to translate justtwenty.After theTâangmanywell-knownpoetswrotepoems in the
mannerofHanShan, signing themwith theirownnamesbutattributingtheinspirationtoHanShan.Idonâtknowofanyonewho so honored the humble orphan poet except two Zenmasters,thefamousandpowerfulChâanabbotChâuShihoftheYuan dynasty and an anonymous Ming master who calledhimselfforthispurposeShihShu(âRocksandTreesâ).Bothofthese poets wrote lockstep harmony poems (poems writtenusingthesamewordsintherhymingpositionsinthepoemsashadHanShan)withapoemforeverysingleoneofHanShanâscollectedpoems.TheyalsowroteaharmonypoemforeachofShihTeâs,andevenforthetwoextantpoemsbyFengKan.
ThepoemsattributedtoWangFan-chihhaveahistorythatisdifferentfromthoseofthetwomountainmasters.Thesepoemswere popular among urban folk of the late Tâang, 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-chihâspoemsweresealedaway 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-chihâs poems werenât 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 DemiĂ©ville,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-chihâscaseclearlymainlypoetsofthe lateTâang.There isa lotof trash intheWangFan-chihcollection,but therearemaybe fiftyorsixtypoems thatwerereally exciting to discover. Digging through the collection forthegoodonesmademeappreciateHanShanâseditorsforthefirst time. Wang Fan-chihâs themes include the familiarBuddhist-Taoisteclecticmix,andIdonâtdoubt thatHanShanandShihTewouldhaveunderstoodandappreciatedthepoetâsmotives,orhispoems.Somefewarebrilliant,eventhoughthepoets whom this pseudonym gathers together were certainlypoorlyeducated.Someofthebestpoems,indeed,appeartobealmost what weâd call graffiti, and I can see guerilla artistssplashing these short and combative poems on walls in thedeadofnight.WhileHanShanandShihTesometimestelltalesofpoverty
andsufferingaswell,WangFan-chihâs 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-chihâsnamemeanssimply,âMr.Wang,aBuddhist
layman.âWhilehemayseemcynical,andhecancertainlybecruellywitty,hismotiveisalwaysaBuddhistâs,namelytosave
sentient beings from suffering. His poems concentrate onprovingthefirstoftheBuddhaâsFourNobleTruths,thatâlifeissuffering,â and so the poetry is oftenmorbid, evenmacabre.Heâs always ready to puncture hypocritical public displays ofpiety, andheâs 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 ofangerasrhetoricalâmadetomakeamoralpointâthanitisforsimilar 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 Buddhaâs Way, a wayprovidingeightstepsthatarechosensolelyforthepurposeofreleasinghumankindfromthatsuffering.Mr.Wangishappytorubhis readersâ faces in themud, andnot afraid to add in ameasureofshitandpisstotherecipe inhisefforttogetself-satisfied, greedy folks like us to see his point. His voicesometimesseems likeanOldTestamentprophetâs, 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 scrapingtogetheraâchairâfromthedirtofanearthenfloor.I originally planned to add only a few of Wang Fan-chihâs
poems to thisbook, tohelp tobroadenmost readersâ viewofwhatBuddhismwasintheTâangandshowwhatitisorcanbein an urbanized world. The book has ended up withmore ofWangFan-chihâspoemsthanShihTeâsbecause,whileShihTeoffersavaluableandenjoyablerepriseofHanShanâsideas,itseems tome the lay BuddhistWang Fan-chihâs 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 thanâmerewordsâcan.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.Donâtjustclaimtheyâreeasy.Ifyouweretoliveyourlifelikethat,alotoffunnythingsmighthappen.
IRanges,ridges,dauntingcliffs,Ichosethisplacewithdivinationâsaid.
Theroadâsforthebirds,nomantracksthere.Andwhatistheyard?Whitecloudsclothedarkstone.Ilivedhereyears,watchingspringswithTheGreatChangebecomewinter.
Hereâsawordfortherichfolkswithcauldronsandbells:Fameâsempty,nogood,thatâsforsure.
IIColdMountainRoadâsajoke,nocarttrack,nohorsetrail.Creekslikeveins,butstillitâshardtomarkthetwists.Fieldsandfieldsofcragsforcrops,itâshardtosayhowmany.
Tearsofdewuponathousandkindsofgrasses;thewindsingsbestinonekindofpine.
AndnowIâvelostmywayagain:Bodyaskingshadow,âWhichwayfromhere?â
IIIIfyouârelookingforapeacefulplace,ColdMountainâsalwaysarefuge.
Alittlebreeze,breathoftheshadedpines,andifyoulistenclose,themusicâsevenbetter.
Underthepinesagrayingman,soft,soothingly,readingaloudfromLaoTzu.
IVMymindâstheautumnmoon,shiningintheblue-greenpool,reflectingglistening,clearandpure...Thereâsnothingtocompareitto,whatelsecanIsay?
VInthecity,themoth-browedgirl,herjadependantsliketinywindchimeschiming.
Sheisplayingwithaparrotintheflowers;sheisplayingonherpâi-pâainthemoonlight.
Hersongswillechoforthreemonths;alittledancewilldrawtenthousandwatchers.
Nothinglastsaslongasthis:beautifulfaceofthehibiscus,canâtbearthefrostâscaress.
VIIalwayswantedtogotoEastCliff,moreyearsthanIcanremember,
untiltodayIjustgrabbedavineandstartedup.Halfwayupwindandaheavymistclosedin,andthenarrowpathtuggedatmyshirt:itwashardtogeton.Theslickerymudunderthemossontherocks
gaveway,andIcouldnâtkeepgoing.SohereIstay,underthiscinnamontree,whitecloudsformypillow,
Iâlljusttakeanap.
VIIIsitbeneaththecliff,quietandalone.
Roundmooninthemiddleoftheskyâsabirdablaze:allthingsareseenmereshadowsinitsbrilliance,thatsinglewheelofperfectlight...
Alone,itsspiritnaturallycomesclear.Swallowedinemptinessinthiscaveofdarkestmystery,becauseofthefingerpointing,Isawthemoon.
Thatmoonbecamethepivotofmyheart.
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