Nippoem

Journal of Japanese Poetry Translation

  • 13

    A sick man, venturing away from the heater to see the snow

    病む人の巨燵離れて雪見かな

    yamu hito no kotatsu hanarete yukimi kana

    (Natsume Sōseki 夏目漱石)

    *

    1.

    A kotatsu is a blanket-covered table with a heater under it. To move away from the heater means, in this case, to pull one’s body from under the blanket and brave the coldness of the room—something that even a healthy person would be reluctant to do in a typical traditional house in Japan, with its minimal insulation.

    2.

    Yukimi, literally “snow viewing”, refers to looking at a snowy scene in the context of admiring its beauty. In haiku it functions as a season word associated with winter.

  • 12

    Paper lanterns rushing to the scene of a fire; riverbank fog

    提灯が火事にとぶ也河岸の霧

    chōchin ga kaji ni tobu nari kashi no kiri

    (Ozaki Hōsai 尾崎放哉)

    *

    The word nari functions as a copula (similar to “is”), with everything preceding it being subordinated to an implicit noun such as “a situation”, “a matter”, etc. This construction is commonly used for giving an interpretation or explanation of observed facts, and a rough English equivalent would be: “what is happening here is that lanterns are rushing to the fire”. The explanatory tone is necessary in this case because the fog makes it impossible to directly see what is going on.

  • 11

    The Flag of the Rising Sun, stickily drooping in the sweltering heat

    日章旗ベッタリ垂れた蒸暑さ

    nisshōki bettari tareta mushiatsusa

    (Tsuru Akira 鶴彬)

    *

    Tsuru Akira (1909–1938) was an anti-militarist senryū poet frequently harassed by the authorities over his literary activities. He died in prison at the age of 29.

  • 10

    I wake up and see it, I go to sleep and see it: the space inside the mosquito net

    起きてみつ寝てみつ蚊帳の広さかな

    okite mitsu nete mitsu kaya no hirosa

    (Kaga no Chiyo 加賀千代)

    *

    Kaga no Chiyo (1703–1775) was a female haiku poet who lived in the Edo period.

  • 9

    The flowers I saw yesterday—now gone without a trace; nighttime wind

    昨日見た花は跡なし夜の風

    kinō mita hana wa ato nashi yoru no kaze

    (Masaoka Shiki 正岡子規)

    *

    In haiku, when unspecified “flowers” (hana) are mentioned, the word is usually understood as referring to cherry blossoms (sakura).

  • 8

    The soul on the verge of falling: now only one petal left

    たましひのちり際も今一葉かな

    tamashii no chirigiwa mo ima hitoha kana

    (Hanekawa Chinchō 羽川珍重)

    *

    1.

    Hanekawa Chinchō was a woodblock print artist who died in 1754. This is his death poem (jisei 辞世), written in the 17-syllable haiku form.

    2.

    Chirigiwa literally refers to the moment in which flowers or their petals are on the verge of falling. Figuratively it means the point of death, meeting one’s death.

  • 7

    Catch that full moon and give it to me, cries the child

    名月をとってくれろと泣く子かな

    meigetsu o totte kurero to naku ko kana

    (Issa 一茶)

    *

    Meigetsu, literally “famous moon,” refers to the full moon of mid-autumn—the one on the eighth month according to the lunar calendar (which roughly corresponds to the modern month of September).

  • Welcome to Nippoem!

    Read poems below or click on their numbers to comment and share.
    New project opened: Newrosis, an online speculative comics journal that accepts submissions from all over the world.

  • 6

    It tries to land on the very hand that tries to hit it, this fly

    うたうとするその手へとまらうとする蝿で

    utō to suru sono te e tomarō to suru hae de

    (Santōka 山頭火)

  • 5

    A kite broken loose, its string tangled in plum branches

    きれ凧の糸かかりけり梅の枝

    kiretako no ito kakarikeri ume no eda

    (Ozaki Hōsai 尾崎放哉)