盗人に取り残されし窓の月

the thief
left it
the moon at my window
—Ryokan

nusubito ni / torinokosareshi / mado no tsuki

(Print by Hasui)

This is one of my favorite haiku. Ryokan captures such an image that one can't help but love it. This image has been the basis for a famous "zen tale" in fact.

The tale goes as follows:

Ryokan, a zen master, lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening a thief visited the hut only to discover there was nothing in it to steal.

Ryokan returned and caught him. "You may have come a long way to visit me," he told the prowler, "and you should not return empty-handed. Please take my clothes as a gift."

The thief was bewildered. He took the clothes and skunk away.

Ryokan sat naked, watching the moon. "Poor fellow," he mused. "I wish I could give him this beautiful moon."

Some versions of the story feature a cushion instead of clothes, and others have him sleeping while the theif searches for things to steal and waking up to have the conversation, but minor differences aside it is the same story.

We can read the haiku (and the tale it inspired) literally, that the thief didn't stop to enjoy the wonder of nature, the beautiful sight of the moon. Or we can read it metaphorically, that in his haste to find and steal treasure, the thief failed to recognize that he was in the presence of an enlightened person and had a chance to learn about the secrets of life. The moon is often used as a metaphor for enlightenment. It works well on both levels, so however you choose to read it, it is a great one.

Ryokan was an interesting guy and we can see how the story may well be true. He became a zen priest very early in life. After acheiving enlightenment, he left the temple and became a hermit for most of the rest of his life. He was a compassionate guy to the extreme and loved helping others even though he had nothing of his own. We could use more like him in the world

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Don't miss the 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

❦

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.