Still Alive :: Haiku of Japan #86
秋風や生きて相見る汝と我
aki kaze ya, ikite aimiru nare to ware
autumn wind...
still alive, we meet again
you and I
by Shiki
(Tr. David LaSpina)
(Imai Bridge by Kasamatsu Shiro)
I often see this haiku mistranslated to make it seem like Shiki is greeting the wind. He is actually writing about his meeting with his old friend Hyotei, a fellow haiku poet whom he had worked with at the newspaper where he wrote his essays calling for haiku reform. Hyotei had recently returned from China where he had fought in the army, and Shiki is commenting that both are still alive to meet again: neither his illness had killed him yet nor had the China war killed Hyotei†.
In his notes for this haiku Shiki wrote about the mixed feelings he had when meeting with Hyotei. He was very happy to see Hyotei again, but at the same time he was sad that Hyotei had been given a full life of adventure while his illness had confined him to his bed most of the time. He wasn't angry at the universe for this unfairness, but he was confused by his feelings, and that confusion gave birth to this haiku.
Footnotes:
†: Shiki suffered from tuberculosis most of his life and died of it at only 34 years old.
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I post one photo everyday, as well as a haiku and as time allows, videos, more Japanese history, and so on. Let me know if there is anything about Japan you would like to know more about or would like to see.
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 | David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time. |
I've been following this series now a little, and I just wanted to let you know I really appreciate what you're doing. This type of poetry is not easy to gain access to as someone from outside of Japan. Especially your notes accompanying your choices and your approach make it possible to appreciate it much more.
So, thank you.
I'm glad you're enjoying the series :)
Япония вообще красивая страна, но в купе с оригинальной азиатской/восточной культурой делает ее уникальным и очень интересным местом. То к чему мы привыкли в европейской культуре там может казаться не востребованным, а все их нам наоборот будет казаться инопланетным.
Так и с этими хайко - вроде просто набор коротких фраз и даже не в рифму, а у японцев это уровень стихов. И если принять их правила игры, то хайко воспринимается действительно как красивая вещь. Правда всегда есть те, кто или этого не понимают, или не желают играть по чужим правилам. Но да фиг с ними. Мне вот нравится!
Ещё бы куда-нибудь под Сакуру цветущую и чтобы вокруг японская речь... Эх мечты.
How's your Russian, David? Man of too many talents??
Эт сарказм или неграмотное построение фразы?
Purely illiteracy on my behalf, my friend.
Будем считать, что мы друг друга не поняли.
Surprising how far good will can get you though, isn't it?
Tho I did consider studying Russian at one point, no, I have no idea.
Me too! I have the Cyrillic script on one side of a noteblock on my desk and Katakana & Hiragana on the other. Just to remind me of how I once considered...and to help me out on Google Translate... Haven't put the first part through, so I, too, remain clueless on the primary intention to communicate with you.
hah I have a sheet with all the cyrillic letters somewhere around here too. Even if I don't learn any language that uses them, the idea of learning the letters themselves one of these days remains in my head. I am always fascinated by different scripts.
Beautiful post. Also such an amazing painting.
We would be mistaken to think Japanese men are without emotional depths, because they seldom express their emotions (in public). Thanks to these posts on Japanese poets we are learning how full of emotion and very socially orientated the Japanese can be; they just concentrate this into words of great beauty (alternating weight and lightness). There is no overflowing Keats or highflown Blake or stilted Larkin. Something very rich, which a western eye might easily overlook without your help. Not that I personally have .... a great fan of haiku already, and can't wait to read the new Murakami....
Yes, exactly. There is just as much emotion in Japanese poetry, it is just not as straightforward as we are used to in the West. Famously, Soseki was once asked by a student how to translate "I love you" into Japanese. Soseki remarked that the Japanese would never be so direct, but would instead say something liketsuki ga tottemo aoi naa—The moon is so blue tonight.
The wind can take your breath away ...thank you for sharing:)
Nice post please upvote me
This is spam and these types of comments will be flagged if you are not careful.
Thanks :) In exchange, I'll give you a tip: don't beg for upvotes. No one will upvote a beggar and you are likely to be downvoted instead which will affect your Steemit rep (that number next to your name). Instead provide a good comment that shows you actually read the post and people might be more likely to check you out—and maybe upvote you—in response.