TANKA
Note:
(imit.) means that the English version is an imitation rather than a
translation. In these poems, I have intentionally changed the tone/voice of the
original; the content (at its most basic level) has not been altered.
mizuha
sasu on
the waves of age,
yasoji
amari no the
jellyfish joys
oi
no nami to
meet its bones (imit.)
kurage
no honi ni
au
zo ureshiki
zōga shōnin
(917-1003)
yorokobi
no joy
has been excised
ushinawaretaru from
the ocean; in the deep,
umi
fukaku tentacles
closed,
ashi
tojite the
octopus and its kind
tako
no rui wa kōramu will
be frozen
nakajō fumiko
(1922-1954)
sabishisa
wa loneliness
is not
sono
iro to shimo one
colour;
nakarikeri evergreens
stand
maki
tatsu yama no on
a mountain
aki
no yūgure autumn
dusk
jakuren (1139?-1202)
akikaze
no with
every passing day
hi
ni hi ni samuku the
autumn wind
fuku
nabe ni is
blowing colder,
tomoshiku
narinu the
voices of the crickets
kirigirisu
no koe become
ever fewer
kainadete you
cosseted him,
oite
hitashite began
to foster him,
chi
fufumete and
gave him your breast:
kyō
wa kare-no ni today
in a withered field
okurunarikeri you
send him away
koyoi
ai together
tonight;
asu
wa yamaji o tomorrow
the mountain path
hedatenaba will
come between us,
hitori
ya suman and
I shall reside alone
moto
no iori ni in
my hermitage again
yomosugara throughout
the night
kusa
no iori ni we
kept the brushwood burning
shiba
taite in
my lowly hut,*
katarishi
koto o and
the words that we exchanged
itsuka
wasuren I
never shall forget
*kusa
no iori: ‘grass hut’, although this is not to be taken literally.
miyamabi
ni deep
in this mountain
fuyugomorisuru I
keep the winter indoors:
oi
no mi o who
would care to call
tare
ka towamashi on
so aged a body,
kimi
naranaku ni were
it not for you?
izukuyori you
found a path in my dream
yoru
no yumeji o the
mountain
tadorikoshi is
deeply in snow now (imit.)
miyama
wa imada
yuki
no fukakini
ikanishite wondering
how you
kimi
imasuran have
been of late, as the breath
konogoro
no of
snow in the wind
yukige
no kaze no blows
colder every day
hibi
ni samuki ni
hisakatano snow
falling
amagiru
yuki to from
a full horizon;
mirumadeni sakura
petals (imit.)
furu
wa sakura no
hana
ni zo arikeru
awa-yuki
no bubble-snow*
–
naka
ni tachitaru three
million standing worlds*
michiōchi of
falling snow (imit.)
mata
sononaka ni
awa-yuki
zo furu
*awa-yuki,
lit. ‘bubble-snow’: light snow that
falls in spring.
*michiōchi,
lit. ‘three thousand great thousand
worlds’: in Buddhism,
yūgiri
ni in
the twilight mist
ochi
no satobe wa distant
villages
uzumorenu are
enshrouded;
sugi
tatsu yado ni I
tread the road to my hut
kaerusa
no michi in
the cedar grove
aki
no no no on
every blade of glass
kusamura
gotoni in
the autumn field
oku
tsuyu wa dew
is posted –
yomosugara
naku the
tears of insects
mushi
no namida ka crying
through the night?
nani
to naku it
is a thing of sorrow,
uraganashiki
wa the
rustling of the rice leaves
waga
kado no before
my hut, at evening
inaba
soyogeru in
the autumn wind
aki
no yūkaze
ware
danimo does
the reflection
mada
kuitaranu at
the bottom of my gruel*
shira-gayu
no feel
that it has fed? (imit.)
soko
nimo miyuru
kagebōshi
kana
*shira-gayu:
rice gruel, white gruel. Added to a scanty portion of rice; often eaten by
invalids.
yamakage
no awake
and heaping
kusa
no iori wa brushwood
on the ashes* –
ito
samushi winter
night (imit.)
shiba
o takitsutsu
yo
o akashiten
*Traditional
Japanese homes have an ‘irori’ as a fireplace. It is square and sunk into the
floor, and is filled with charcoal, brushwood and ashes.
uzumibi
ni legs
by the buried embers
ashi
sashikubete and
gripes –
fuseredomo winter
night (imit.)
kotabi
no samusa
hara
ni tōrinu
taga
sato ni in
what village
tabine
shitsuran may
the traveller have slept
nubatama
no in
the pitch-black round
yowa
no arashi no of
night, when the tempest fell
utate
samuki ni ever
more bitterly cold?
iikou
to a
begging bowl
waga
koshikadomo strewn
with violets –
haru
no no ni spring
field (imit.)
sumire
tsumitsutsu
toki
o henikeri
haru
no no no distant
neighing
kasumeru
naka o in
the evening mist –
waga
kureba spring
field (imit.)
ochikata
sato ni
koma
zo inanaku
sono
kami o thinking
of the past,
omoeba
yume ka is
it but a dream
utsutsu
kamo or
a standing truth?
yoru
wa shigure no tonight
I listen
ame
o kikitsutsu to
the winter rain
tsukuyomi
no wait
until the moon-god shines
hikari
o machite before
you leave for home;
kaerimase chestnut-burrs
have fallen
yamaji
wa
iga
no otsureba
satobe
ni wa from
the village the sound
fue
ya tsuzumi no of
flute and drum!
oto
sunari deep
in the mountain
miyama
wa matsu no the
voice of the pines
koe
bakari shite
sumizome
no I
would they were wider,
waga
koromode no the
sleeves of this robe,*
yutanaraba to
shelter the poor of this world (imit.)
madoshiki
tami o
ōwamashi
mono o
*sumizome:
a Buddhist black robe
ume
no hana plum
blossoms,
oi
ga kokoro o comfort
an aged man’s heart;
nagusameyo my
old friend is gone (imit.)
mukashi
no tomo wa
ima
aranaku ni
oi
ga mi no the
pathos of an old body,
aware
o tare ni walking
home at dusk
kataramashi without
his staff (imit.)
tsue
o wasurete
kaeru
yūgure
kaze
wa kiyoshi the
breeze is fresh,
tsuki
wa sayakeshi the
moon is bright;
iza
tomoni come,
we shall dance till dawn,
odori
akasan and
say farewell to age
oi
no nagori ni
nani
to naku somehow
my heart is pounding,
kokoro
sayagite stopping
me from sleep,
inerarezu to
think that the coming dawn
ashita
wa haru no will
usher in spring!
hajime
to omoeba
gokuraku
ni in
the
wa
ga chichi haha wa mother
and father may dwell;
owasuran today,
I think, I shall go
kyō
hizamoto e and
sit at their knees
iku
to omoeba
*gokuraku:
the land of peace, free from pain, where Buddha lives.
mi
o sutete some
people renounce
yo
o suku’u hito mo their
body to save the world;
masumono
o in
my humble hut
kusa
no iori ni I
follow leisure
hima
motomu towa
kusamakura each
night,
yogoto
ni kawaru a
change of grass-pillow
yadori
ni mo and
the dream of my home (imit.)
musubu
wa onaji
furusato
no yume
Yamamoto Ryōkan
(1758-1831)
(To
her dead husband)
waga
kokoro when
my heart is not
shizuka
narazaru at
peace, come, talk to the end
toki
ni kite of
that distant world (imit.)
kataritsukuse
yo
tōki
yo no koto
Yamanaka chieko
(1925-)
gose
wa nao this
life and the world
konjō
dani mo to
come are void
negawazaru of
desires;
waga
futokoro ni my
breast is falling
sakura
kite chiru cherry
blossoms
Yamakawa tomiko (1879-1909)
kane
narashi ringing
a bell
Shinano
no kuni o as
I peregrinate
yuki
yukaba the
arishi
nagara no will
I be able to see
haha
miruramu ka my
mother, as she was?
kubota utsubo
(1877-1967)
yamazato
wa in
the mountain village,
matsu
no koe nomi windless
days
kikinarete are
so lonely (imit.)
kaze
fukanu hi wa
sabishikarikeri
Ōtagaki rengetsu
(1791-1875)
mizutori
no of
waterfowl,
kamo
no hairo no the
wild ducks have wings
haruyama
no the
deep green of spring hills,
ohotsukanaku
mo as
dim and uncertain
omohoyuru
kamo as
my thoughts of you
kasa no iratsume (Man’yōshū)
yuku
mizu no beneath
the flow
nagare
no soko no of
water passing,
utsukushiki beautiful
pebbles
koishi
ni nitaru resembling
omoide
mo ari memories
Yukawa hideki
(1907-81)
utatane
ni in
a light sleep,
koishiki
hito o I
saw the one I love;
miteshi
yori now
I hang on this thing
yume
chō mono wa they
call dreams
tanomi
someteki
ono no komachi
(Early Heian)
hana
wa ne ni the
flowers have returned
tori
wa furusu ni to
their roots, the birds
kaeru
nari are
back in their old nests;
haru
no tomari o no
one can tell
shiru
hito zo naki where
spring stays
sutoku-in
(1119-64)
tsuki
wa fune the
moon is a boat,
hoshi
wa shiranami the
stars white waves,
kumo
wa umi and
the clouds a sea:
ika
ni koguran how
does he row,
katsura-otoko
wa the
laurel-man,
tada
hitori shite all
alone?
ryōjin
hishō (ed. 1170)
usumono
no sliding
down
nishaku
no tamoto two-foot
long light sleeves,
suberi
ochite fireflies
flow; the green
hotaru
nagaruru of
the evening breeze
yokaze
no aoki
Yosano akiko
(1878-1942)
katae
yori stepping
back a little,
sukoshi
shirizokite to
the side, I looked – but
nagamuredo the
ugly object
minikuki
mono wa was
no easier to see
minikukarikeri
kujō takeko
(1888-1928)
tsukuzuku
to alone,
intensely listening
hitori
kiku yo no to
the sound of the rain
ame
no ne wa at
night, even the lulls
furi
o yamu sae are
lonely
sabishikarikeri
princess gishi naishinnō
(Daughter
of Emperor Hanazono)
inishie
mo as
in ancient times,
kakariki
kokoro my
heart in pain
itamu
toki becomes
a huge white bird
ōshiratori
to and
mounts the sky
narite
sora yuku
yosano hiroshi
(1873-1935)
yama
fukami deep
in the mountains,
haru
to mo shiranu beyond
the knowledge of spring,
matsu
no to ni on
a pine bough door
taedae
kakaru there
are faintly suspended
yuki
no tamamizu beads
of liquid snow
princess shikishi naishinnō (?-1201)
waga
yado wa at
my house, there is
hana
motehayasu no
one to praise the blossoms …
hito
mo nashi what
is spring after? (imit.)
nani
ni ka haru no
tazunekitsuran
murasaki shikibu
(from The Tale of Genji)
kokoro
naki even
the heartless body
mi
ni mo aware wa would
have to acknowledge
shirarekeri the
pathos –
shigi
tatsu sawa no a
marsh with rising snipe
aki
no yūgure on
an autumn evening
priest saigyō
(1118-1190)
ai
ni aite when
I fit my thoughts
mono
omou koro no to
love,
waga
sode ni even
the moist-faced moon
yadoru
tsuku sae sojourns
at my sleeve
nururu
kao naru
lady ise (fl.890-930)
tanoshimi
tsukite pleasure
comes to an end,
kanashimi
kitaru sadness
advenes,
tennin
mo nao gosui* no hi ni aeri and
even angels meet the time of five
decays
pleasure
ends,
sadness
comes,
and
angels, too, decay
*gosui:
‘five decays’, Buddhist term. When
an angel is about to die, its crown of flowers withers, its robe becomes
begrimed, its armpits effuse, its body emits foul odours, and it feels
continual discontent.
Ōe no asatsuna
(886-957)
Tanka
Introduction
Haiku Readings