A Year of Bashō
Twelve haiku translations from Bonsai, PIE Books, Tokyo, 2011, translated by Emiko Miyashita and Michael Dylan Welch in January and February of 2011. Also shared on the Seattle Japanese Garden Community Blog (date unknown), with many of the poems also displayed individually at the garden’s entry kiosk. +
『盆栽』 芭蕉句
The First Month
一月
幾霜に心ばせをの松かざり
ikushimo ni kokorobase o no matsukazari
after years of frost
the unchanged green heart
of the New Year pine decoration
The Second Month
二月
春もややけしきととのふ月と梅
haru mo yaya keshiki totonou tsuki to ume
gradually spring—
the land just so
with moon and plum
The Third Month
三月
はるなれや名もなき山の朝がすみ
harunare ya namonaki yama no asagasumi
truly spring—
nameless mountains
in a thin morning mist
The Fourth Month
四月
あらたふと青葉若葉の日のひかり
aratōto aoba wakaba no hi no hikari
how brilliant—
leaves both green and young
in the sun’s light
The Fifth Month
五月
するが地や花橘も茶の匂ひ
surugaji ya hanatachibana mo cha no nioi
Suruga road—
even the wild orange blossoms
smell of green tea
The Sixth Month
六月
六月や峯に雲置くあらし山
rokugatsu ya mine ni kumo oku arashiyama
sixth month—
clouds resting on the peaks
of Arashiyama
The Seventh Month
七月
清滝や波に散込青松葉
kiyotaki ya nami ni chirikomu aomatsuba
Kiyotaki River—
the green pine needles
fall into the waves
The Eighth Month
八月
名月に麓の霧や田のくもり
meigetsu ni fumoto no kiri ya ta no kumori
the harvest moon glows
over fog at the mountains’ feet—
misted rice fields
The Ninth Month
九月
秋を経て蝶もなめるや菊の露
aki o hete chō mo nameru ya kiku no tsuyu
deepening autumn—
is the butterfly also licking
the chrysanthemum dew?
The Tenth Month
十月
色付や豆腐に落て薄紅葉
irozuku ya tōfu ni ochite usumomiji
turning color—
a lightly tinted leaf
fallen to the tofu
The Eleventh Month
十一月
作りなす庭をいさむる時雨かな
tsukurinasu niwa o isamuru shigure kana
refined garden
the passing winter shower
brings it to life
The Twelfth Month
十二月
節季候の来れば風雅も師走哉
sekizoro no kureba fūga mo shiwasu kana
sekizoro beggars—
when they appear, poets also know
the year is ending +