夜ル竊ニ虫は月下の栗を穿ツ
(yoru hisokani / mushi wa gekka no / kuri o ugatsu)

secretly
a worm in the moonlight
drills into a chestnut
—Basho

(Tr. David LaSpina)

(Print by Andrew Stone)

A simple thing, but he describes it so brilliantly. Basho was all about observational haiku and he avoided bringing in imagined things; we can guess he actually did notice a worm feasting on a chestnut when he was moon-viewing and decided to record a verse about it.

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Don't miss other great haiku in the Haiku of Japan series!

1. Traveling to the inn
2. Childless Woman
3. Old Dancing Butterfly
4. Seeing the Moon
5. Checking the Scarecrow
6. Skill of Insects
7. The Spider Lilies
8. A Thousand Green Mountains
9. Falling Lead Enlightenment
10. Lonely Night
11. Her Day Off
12. Autumn Crow
13. Faint Footprints
14. Alone on the Road
15. Autumn Begins
16. Early Morning Moon Viewing
17. Mistaken for a Scarecrow
18. The Galactic River
19. The Love of Cats
20. Autumn Waterfall
21. The Thief and the Moon
22. My Frozen Balls
23. Saké Waves
24. Friends with the Moon
25. Falling Flower
26. Winter Rain and No Hat
27. Sleeping Boy
28. Reward of Persimmons

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David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Twitter or Mastodon.