夏草や 兵どもが 夢の跡 natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato bashō 芭蕉 Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams

Summer grass,
all the warriors are,
but the remains of dreams

夏草や兵どもが夢の跡 (natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato): summer grass; the trace of the warriors' dreams.

夏草や兵どもが夢の跡 is Matsuo Bashō's verse about what is left. 夏草 is summer grass, the season word, and や sets it as the scene. 兵ども is the warriors, an older word for a fighting man. 夢の跡 is the trace of a dream, what remains of it. The Japanese leaves it open: the dream may be over, or still being dreamt beneath the grass. Either way, the warriors' glory has become the grass. Whether you read it as loss or as a dream still going on is yours.

The English is Timothy L. Jackowski's, made for Takase Studios.

Translation Notes:

夏草 natsukusa - summer grass
兵 tsuwamono - soldier
夢 yume - dream(s)
跡 ato - remains, ruins

The verse was composed by Bashō at Hiraizumi in the fifth month of 1689, printed in the anthology 猿蓑 in 1691 under the heading at Takadachi in Ōshū, and set in his travel journal 奥の細道.

We want you to be as happy with the meaning as you are with Master Takase's art. To learn more, visit Philology of 夏草や兵どもが夢の跡.

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Eri Takase was born and raised in Osaka, Japan, and holds the rank of Shihan, the highest rank in Japanese calligraphy, from the Bokuteki-kai and the Bunka-shodo. About Master Takase