松尾芭蕉 (1644-1694) Matsuo Bashō’s haiku poems in romanized Japanese with English translations Editor: Gábor Terebess (Hungary) abura kōri / tomoshi-bi hosoki / nezame kana The narrow tongue of flame, / the oil in the lamp is frozen; / it is so sad to wake up! (© Dmitri Smirnov) Waking in the night; / the lamp is low, / the oil freezing. (© Robert Hass) achi kochi ya / men men sabaki / yanagi gami here and there / a mask by itself combs / willow hair (© Jane Reichhold) a spring wind / combs on a mask / willow hair (© Jane Reichhold) ah haru haru / ōinaru kana haru / to un nun ah spring spring / how great is spring! / and so on (© Jane Reichhold) ah spring, spring, / great is spring, / etcetera. (© David Landis Barnhill) ajisai ya / katabira-doki no / usu asagi hydrangeas— / at the time for summer clothes / pale blue. (© David Landis Barnhill) hydrangea / in the season of unlined robes / a light yellow (© Jane Reichhold) ajisai ya / yabu o ko niwa no / betsu zashiki hydrangea and a wild / thicket, providing a little garden / for this cottage. (© Makoto Ueda) hydrangea— / and a thicket as a little garden / for the cottage. (© David Landis Barnhill) hydrangea / a bush is the little garden / of a detached room (© Jane Reichhold) aka aka to / hi wa tsurenaku mo / aki no kaze. Bright red, / the sun shining without mercy – / wind of the autumn. (© Haruo Shirane) red, red, / the heartless sun, yet / autumn wind (© Michael Haldane) Despite the red blaze / of the pitiless sun - / an autumn breeze. (© Helen Craig McCullough) How hot the sun glows, / Pretending not to notice / An autumn wind blows! (© Dorothy Britton) red red / sun unrelentingly / autumn's wind. (© Cid Corman & Kamaike Susume) Crimson on red, / The sun sets with yet remaining heat, / But autumn is in the wind. (© Earl Miner) Red, red is the sun, / Heartlessly indifferent to time, / The wind knows, however, / The promise of early chill. (© Nobuyuki Yuasa) Redly, redly / The sun shines heartlessly, but / The wind is autumnal. (© Donald Keene) so red, red, / the sun relentless and yet / autumn’s wind (© David Landis Barnhill) red, red is the sun / relentless, still / the autumn wind (© Haider A. Khan & Tadashi Kondo) Red and bright / The pitiless sun / And yet the autumn wind. (© Takafumi Saito & William R. Nelson) the red, blazing red, / of the pitiless sun – yet / autumn in the wind (© Tim Chilcott) red more red / in spite of the indifferent sun / an autumn breeze (© Jane Reichhold) ake yuku ya / nijūshichiya mo / mika no tsuki at dawn / the moon of the twenty-seventh night / seems new (© Jane Reichhold) dawn comes- / even on the night of the 27th, / a crescent moon. (© David Landis Barnhill) akebono wa / mada murasaki ni / hototogisu daybreak: / in the lingering lavender / a cuckoo calls. (© David Landis Barnhill) the break of day is / lavender which lingers still / as a cuckoo calls (© Tim Chilcott) daybreak / not yet lavender / the cuckoo (© Jane Reichhold) akebono ya / shira uo shiroki / koto issun twilight of dawn / a whitefish, with an inch / of whiteness. (© Makoto Ueda) Early dawn, / young white fish shining in ephemeral white, / hardly an inch long (© Nobuyuki Yuasa) Early dawn – / whitefish, an inch / of whiteness (© Haruo Shirane) Dawn-scaling – / a whitefish, with an / inch of whiteness. (© Lucien Stryk) In the dawn: / A whitebait, whiteness / One inch long. (© Thomas McAuley) at dawn - / how white the whitebait / of just an inch (© Gabi Greve) Daybreak - / An icefish / An inch of whiteness. (© Takafumi Saito & William R. Nelson) At breaking sunrise, / glistening whitefish – an inch / of utter whiteness (© Sam Hamill) at dawn / the white of an ice fish / just one inch long (© Jane Reichhold) daybreak- / a whitefish, whiteness / one inch. (© David Landis Barnhill) aki chikaki / kokoro no yoru ya / yo jō han Autumn is near; / The heart inclines / To the four-and-a-half mat room. (© R.H.Blyth) as autumn approaches / our hearts are drawn together-- / a four-and-a-half mat room. (© David Landis Barnhill) sensing autumn's approach / four hearts draw together / in a small tea room (© Makoto Ueda) Autumn nearing / Inclination of my mind! / A four-and-a-half-mat room. (© Robert Aitken) Autumn approaches / and the heart begins to dream / of four-tatami rooms (© Sam Hamill) Smell of autumn - / heart longs for / the four-mat room. (© Lucien Stryk) as autumn draws near / our hearts feel closer / to this small tearoom (© Jane Reichhold) aki fukaki / to nari wa nani o / suru hito zo It is deep autumn / my neighbor / how does he live, I wonder? (© R.H.Blyth) Nearing autumn’s close, / my neighbor, now – what is it / that he does? (© Harold G. Henderson) Autumn deepens - / My neighbor / What does he do? (© Takafumi Saito & William R. Nelson) In this late autumn, / my next door neighbor - / how does he get by? (© Sam Hamill) Autumn deepening – / my neigbour / how does he live, I wonder? (© Haruo Shirane) Deep is autumn,/ and in its deep air I somehow wondered / who my neighbour is. (© Nobuyuki Yuasa) Autumn deepens – / the man next door, what does he do / for a living? (© Makoto Ueda) Autumn's end – / how does my / neighbour live? (© Lucien Stryck) In my dark winter / lying ill, at last I ask / how fares my neighbour. (© Peter Beilenson) The depth of autumn: / still my neighbour gives no sign of life. I wonder how he lives? (© Harold Stewart) This deep in autumn, / Next door what / Do the people do? (© Thomas McAuley) Autumn deepens / what does he do / my neighbor next door (© Etsuko Yanagibori) deepening autumn: / the man next door, / what does he do? (© David Landis Barnhill) autumn deepens / so what does he do / the man next door (© Jane Reichhold) aki kaze no / fuke domo aoshi / kuri no iga Th winds of fall / are blowing, yet how green / the chestnut burr. (© Harold G. Henderson) Though the autumn wind is blowing / Green / Are the chestnut burrs. (© Takafumi Saito & William R. Nelson) The winds of autumn / blow: yet still green / the chestnut husks. (© Geoffrey Bownas and Anthony Thwaite) Autumn winds— / look, the chestnut / never more green. (© Lucien Stryk) autumn’s wind blowing / and yet how green / the chestnut burs (© David Landis Barnhill) though the autumn wind / has begun to blow, it is green - / a chestnut bur (© Makoto Ueda) the winds of autumn / blow, and yet how green still / are the chestnut burrs (© Tim Chilcott) an autumn wind / blowing yet how green / chestnut burrs (© Jane Reichhold) aki kaze no / yarido no kuchi ya / togari-goe The autumn wind / through the opening of a sliding door – / a piercing voice. (© Makoto Ueda) autumn wind / through the opening of a door - / a piercing cry (© Makoto Ueda) Piping autumn wind / blows with wild piercing voice / through the sliding door... (© Dmitri Smirnov) autumn wind’s / mouth at the sliding door / a piercing voice (© Jane Reichhold) autumn wind / through an open door - / a piercing cry (© David Landis Barnhill) Voices piercing / by the sliding door - / autumn wind. (© Lucien Stryk) the wind of autumn / through the opening of a door... / a cry piercing through (© Tim Chilcott) aki kaze ya / kiri ni ugokite / tsuta no shimo autumn wind- / a paulownia tree being blown, / now frost on the ivy (© David Landis Barnhill) autumn's wind blowing / on a paulownia tree - / soon frost on ivy (© Tim Chilcott) the paulownia leaf / moves on the autumn wind / frost in the ivy (© Jane Reichhold) aki kaze ya / yabu mo hatake mo / Fuwa no seki What was once the Barrier of Fuha, / now only fields and thickets: / the autumn wind. (© R.H.Blyth) Autumn wind – / nothing but thickets and farm fields / at Fuwa Barrier (© Haruo Shirane) Autumn wind - / This grove, this field / Once the Barrier of Fuwa. (© Takafumi Saito & William R. Nelson) autumn winds / in the thickets an fields / Fuwa’s fence (© Jane Reichhold) autumn winds / like thickets and fields / the indestructible barrier (© Jane Reichhold) autumn wind- / just thickets and fiels / at Fuwa Barrier. (© David Landis Barnhill) autumn wind - / the thickets, the fields and all / at Fuwa Barrier (© Makoto Ueda) Autumn winds blow / Over the thicket and field where once was / The Barrier of Fuwa. (© Toshiharu Oseko) aki ki ni keri / mimi o tazune te / makura no kaze autumn has come / visiting my ear on / a pillow of wind (© Jane Reichhold) aki ki nu to / tsuma kou hoshi ya / shika no kawa autumn has come / loving a wife with stars / on buckskin (© Jane Reichhold) aki mo haya / baratsuku ame ni / tsuki no nari Autumn will soon be gone, and / Amid the scattered showers of rain / The moon wanes thinner. (© Thomas McAuley) It’s autumn / Yet already / Drizzling rains and the shape of the moon. (© Takafumi Saito & William R. Nelson) autumn already passing: / in the cold drizzle / a warning moon. (© David Landis Barnhill) autumn passing now ... / through the slow drizzling of rain / the shape of the moon (© Tim Chilcott) already autumn / even sprinkles of rain / in the moon’s shape (© Jane Reichhold) aki ni soute / yuka baya sue wa / Komatsu-gawa Along with autumn / If I were to go, at the end would be / The Komatsu River! (© Thomas McAuley) traveling with autumn / I would go all the way to / Komatsu River (© David Landis Barnhill) along with autumn / I would like to go to / Little Pine River (© Jane Reichhold) aki no iro / nukamiso tsubo mo / nakari keri Signs of autumn; / I have no pot / of rice-bran mash. (© R.H.Blyth) the color of autumn: / not even a pot / of rice-bran mash (© David Landis Barnhill) autumn color / even without having / a pickle jar (© Jane Reichhold) aki no kaze / Ise no hakahara / nao sugoshi Winds of autumn – / the cemetery at Ise / still frightening (© Haruo Shirane) Cold autumn wind / through a graveyard in Ise - / even more lonely (© Sam Hamill) autumn windws: / now the graveryard of Ise / is even more desolate.