![]() ![]() We are after all, like Basho, students of life. If you find fault in my translations or have comments, feel free to respond. It would be unusual for an insect to find food at this time of year, much less to hear an insect at all. Winterįuyu niwa ya / tsuki mo ito naru / mushi no ginĪn insect sings Matsuo Basho, 2nd year of Genroku, 1689, at a tea ceremony with Ichinyū, a tea potter and lay Buddhist teacher. Boncho’s verse was, a new priest hurrying to the temple getting cold. Basho’s haiku was a response to a linked verse by Boncho. Autumn moon Basho, The Monkey’s Raincoat, 1691. Saruhiki no/ saruto yo furu/ aki no tsuki Thus, fishermen intentionally make pots black to catch the unwitting octopus. When alarmed an octopus will hide in a dark place. Matsuo Basho, at Akashi, a seaside town near Kobe famous for its seafood. Tako-tsubo ya/ hakanaki yume wo/ natsu no tsuki An almost too perfect combination of a bright moon and heavenly scented plum blossoms. The plum blossoms in early spring, often when snow is on the ground. The moon and a plum blossom Matsuo Basho, 6th year of Genroku, Spring 1693. Haru moya ya/ keshiki totonou/ tsuki to ume Spring moon, 春の月, haru no tsuki Summer moon, 夏の月, natsu no tsuki Autumn moon, 秋の月, aki no tsuki and Winter’s moon, 冬の月, fuyu no tsuki.Īnd here are four haiku by Matsuo Basho with seasonal references to the moon. The 17th century Japanese operated on a lunar calendar. One Hundred Aspects of the Moon: Monkey-Music Moon. Yoshitoshi Tsukioka and Noguchi Enkatsu, Engraver. I also learned that the moon is moving closer to earth, that is, it is in perigee, and will reach its closest on December the 4th. ![]() That the moon is prettier in Autumn, is, I learned later, due to the astronomical fact that the moon rises sooner in fall and at a narrower angle, making it appear to be fuller and more orange. My trip, and my moon spotting, corresponded roughly with the traditional day of Japanese moon viewing ( Tsukimi, 月見), or September 21, 2021. And, while I was in Central Missouri in the middle of nowhere, an hour or so after dusk, I caught a view of a full moon, large, round and orange, in the rear view mirror of my car. I recently drove back from the east coast. Zi-lu bowed twice, and said, “Reverently I await your teachings.” “Yes,” said Confucius, “but if you feather it and point it with steel, will it not penetrate more deeply?” If I cut it and use it, I can send it through the hide of a rhinoceros, what then is the use of learning to me?” ![]() “The bamboo on the southern hill is straight itself without being bent. “What is learning be to me?” asked Zi-lu. Of him, Confucius said, “If to your present ability you added the wisdom of learning, you would be a superior man.” Shiro, (子路, 543 – 481), Chinese, Zhong You (仲由), courtesy name Zi-lu, one of the ten most important disciples of Confucius. 白酒, Shiroki, Shirozake, is a white colored saki. Most likely, Basho was moon viewing and sharing a cup of saki with his friends. That December, back at Basho-an, under the moonlight he was thinking of Shiro, a disciple of Confucius. In 1686 he also composed his best known haiku about a frog, an old pond, and the sound of water. Earlier in 1686, Spring Days (Haru no Hi) was compiled in Nagoya by Basho’s disciples, edited by him, and published in Kyoto. Shiroki, a homophone, (also Shirozake), a white colored saki.īack in Edo, living in his cottage, Basho’an, Matsuo Basho was still learning. Shiro wakes up Matuso Basho, 貞亨3年, December, 1686 Tsuki shiroki / shiwasu wa / Shiro ga nezame kana December 30th is not too late to learn, if indeed one learns.
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