What has disappeared

Posted by Tito on June 10, 2023

EARLY SPRING

Mt. Asama has
A spot of snow near its top —
A cold, frigid eye.
….. (Sosui)

longer days —
the snowman bows gently
toward the east
….. (Bandit)

February sun —
at breakfast
the quiet patter of words
….. (Tito)

no moon, no blossom —
I resign myself
to watching balloons
….. (Bandit)

LATE SPRING

What has disappeared —
Fireflies, dragonflies, tea leaves
Hand-crushed for fragrance.
….. (Sosui)

Honeysuckle blossoms
on a tumble-down fence:
no hum of bees
….. (Tito)

What has multiplied —
Bush mosquitoes, cockroaches
And atomic bombs.
….. (Sosui)

the fog of war —
even the general
dons his battle fatigues
….. (Bandit)

One vernal evening,
My viewing an opera
Of deep love and hate.
….. (Sosui)

RAINY SEASON

Heavy sky
rolling in on Yamato;
the laughing cuckoo
cannot sleep
….. (Tito)

.
Notes:
Mt. Asama (2,568m) is an active volcano on the border between Gunma and Nagano; hand-crushed tea-leaves are known as tencha 碾茶; the laughing cuckoo is ホトトギス hototogisu, cuculus poliocephalus, which often cries at night.

End of the Year Haiku: Political Comment and Body Parts

Posted by sosui on January 6, 2023

by Sosui (Nobuyuki Yuasa)

首相の眼虚ろになって神無月

October has come—
Now our prime minister’s eyes
Look blank and vacant.

支持率が三十パーを切る寒さ

Just thirty percent
Support rate for this cabinet—
How bitter the cold!

信無くて議長の席は氷室なり

Without people’s trust
The Speaker’s seat, now colder
Than an ice cellar.

山柿の当たり年なり枝垂れる

A very good year
For our wild persimmon tree—
Loaded with small fruit.

熟し柿食えばまず鳴る太鼓腹

A ripe persimmon—
My tummy gives a rumble
As I gobble it.

浅間嶺や初冠雪の眩しさよ

Mt. Asama had
Its first snowfall of the year—
Too bright for my eyes.

皆既食かすかに見える月の臍

Totally eclipsed,
And now barely visible—
A navel of a moon.

冬至まえ腸赤き日が昇る

Solstice approaches—
With its red belly rising,
The reluctant sun

黙食を強いられ悲し第八波

In the dining hall
Silent eating is enforced—
Eighth corona surge.

蜜入りの林檎頬張る頬赤し

Nectarous apple—
A bite into its red skin
Made my cheeks red, too.

Nothing at all

Posted by Tito on January 31, 2021

Last Sunday in January: the dead of winter. Japanese Government toying with extending the latest Covid Emergency Order. Almost the end of the university year. Still one online lecture, three classes to grade and eleven grad theses to go. At home, almost at the end of our tether: getting on each other’s nerves.

Looks sunny. We strip off all our sheets and put them in the washing-machine; futons, out to the terrace to dry. Sunday, right? So, where to go for a kibun-tenkan (change of surroundings)? I ask my wife.

“The Botanical Gardens.”

“There’ll be nothing out,” I say.

We go.

Rounding the first corner… and a freak shower is racing towards us from the north! We rush back home, unlock the front door. Sprint upstairs to the terrace, as icy rain comes blasting through; hurl those futons and sheets back inside… then drape them all over the furniture in our living room.

We set off once more.

Entering the Gardens. Nothing out at all. Just a few bobbly white buds on the mitsumata (paper-making bush).

As a last resort, we head for the glasshouse.

The orchid exhibition —
each one a fashion statement
with its own devotees

There is a small voting-box, at one end of the hall, and a stack of cards and pencils. All are urged to vote for their favourite bloom. I find myself tending towards no. 37.

Taking off my mask
to smell the orchid —
nothing at all!

Windy

Posted by Nori on March 5, 2013

Windy

Strong wind
Giving up wearing a cap
Sun-exposed face

風強し帽子諦め顔晒す

from the Icebox inbox – 28

Posted by Tito on February 1, 2013

deep winter
blending the color
of sky and stone

……… (Michael Henry Lee)

That scrabbling in the radiator: is it the rat my neighbour saw?

Rain. Lead sky. Lifting its bounty to the day: forsythia.

Yes, I have suitcases. No, I don’t want a cab. “Bitch!” one driver calls.

Buffalo. Thick obliterating snow. This electric blanket.

……… (Ellis Avery)

First varifocals
Renew my interest in clouds.
Cirrocumulus.

……… (Kamome)

From the Icebox inbox – 27

Posted by Hisashi Miyazaki on December 18, 2012

Sweet smell of summer—
Looking down on bare meadows
the first cut of hay
. (David Sinex)

**********
autumn winds
nothing bears repeating
but the moon
. (Michael Henry Lee)

**********
maple moon
grandmother’s recipe
settles in the pan
. (Alan Summers)

**********
Cobwebs –
My daily routine is
Lost in entanglement
. (Nancy May)

**********
a diary –
within its ruled lines
anger and tears
. (Elaine Hillson)

**********
wild boars
write in the sand –
october rains
. (Alhama Garcia)

**********
At this stage of life
seasons swirl ever faster—
Years drop like petals
. (David Sinex)

Waikiki Bound

Posted by Richard Donovan on September 24, 2012

This anecdote is hardly on the same scale as Tito’s, but my ‘hair-raising’ travel experience on my recent round-the-world trip was a taxi ride from the base of Diamond Head to Waikiki beach. The touting driver offered to take a bunch of us tourists (three Japanese and me) for 3 dollars each, only slightly more than the $2.50 the bus cost, and a lot quicker off the mark. Then two more tourists joined our group, and he put the price down to $2 a head. We piled into his minivan, all smiles. When the latter couple got out first and handed over their money, the driver yelled that they needed to pay more — it was three dollars a head. I pointed out that he’d said two, and he laughed, saying “How could I charge you less than the bus?”, and claimed it must have been his accent that had caused the ‘misunderstanding’. In the immortal words of Basho: “Yeah, right”. We all heard two dollars. Three dollars was still a good deal, but for some reason he felt the need to scam us….

It is true, of course, that such dubious characters ensure that they do not simply blend into the background of a journey: their dodgy-ness grants them a certain immortality.

taxi ride
to Waikiki —
the revised fare
drops like a coconut

(Other images from my trip can be viewed at kyotosnow.wordpress.com.)

Tito, whatever the state of their vehicle, your driver and his companion at least seemed sincere in their attempts to convey you. I trust your destination did not prove mythical in the end, and will feature in the next instalment!