Haiku and Poems

菜の花や月は東に日は西に · na no hana ya tsuki wa higashi ni hi wa nishi ni Buson - Rapeseed flowers: the moon in the east, the sun in the west

朝顔に釣瓶とられてもらい水 · asagao ni tsurube torarete moraimizu Chiyojo - The morning glory has taken the well bucket, so I borrow water

世の中は地獄の上の花見哉 · yo no naka wa jigoku no ue no hanami kana Issa - In this world of ours, We walk above hell, Gazing at flowers

目には青葉山ほととぎす初鰹 · me ni wa aoba yama hototogisu hatsugatsuo Sodō - Green leaves for the eye, the mountain cuckoo, the first bonito

雨にも負けず風にも負けず · ame ni mo makezu kaze ni mo makezu Be Not Defeated by the Wind, Be Not Defeated by the Rain

蝸牛そろそろ登れ富士の山 · katatsuburi sorosoro nobore fuji no yama Issa - Snail, ever so slowly climb, Mt Fuji

梅一輪一輪ほどの暖かさ · ume ichirin ichirin hodo no atatakasa Ransetsu - One plum blossom: one blossom's worth of warmth

稲妻にさとらぬ人の貴さよ · inazuma ni satoranu hito no tattosa yo Bashō - How admirable, to see lightning, and not think life is fleeting

荒海や佐渡によこたふ天河 · araumi ya sado ni yokotau amanogawa Bashō - A rough sea: lying toward Sado, the Milky Way

塚も動け我が泣聲は秋の風 · tsuka mo ugoke waga naku koe wa aki no kaze Bashō - Shake even the grave, My wailing is the autumn wind

五月雨をあつめて早し最上川 · samidare o atsumete hayashi mogamigawa Bashō - Gathering the early-summer rains, swift: the Mogami River

閑さや岩にしみ入蝉の声 · shizukasa ya iwa ni shimiiru semi no koe Bashō - Stillness: the cicada's voice seeps into the rocks

古池や蛙飛込水の音 · furu ike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto Bashō - The old pond, a frog jumps in, the sound of water

柿食えば鐘が鳴るなり法隆寺 · kaki kueba kane ga naru nari hōryūji Shiki - As I eat a persimmon, a bell rings: Hōryūji

雪とけて村一ぱいの子どもかな · yuki tokete mura ippai no kodomo kana Issa - The snow melts, and the village is full of children

やせ蛙負けるな一茶これにあり · yasegaeru makeru na issa kore ni ari Issa - Skinny frog, don't lose: Issa is here

蜻蛉釣り今日はどこまで行ったやら · tonbo-tsuri kyō wa doko made itta yara Chiyojo - My little dragonfly hunter, where has he gone today, I wonder

夜の蘭香にかくれてや花白し · yoru no ran ka ni kakurete ya hana shiroshi Buson - An evening orchid, Hidden in its scent, The flower's whiteness

梨さくや戦のあとの崩れ家 · nashi saku ya ikusa no ato no kuzure ie Shiki - A pear tree is blooming, By a collapsed house, on an old battlefield

春の海終日のたりのたり哉 · haru no umi hinemosu notari notari kana Buson - The spring sea, all day rising and falling, rising and falling

うらやまし美しう成て散る紅葉 · urayamashi utsukushū natte chiru momiji Shikō - How enviable, Turning beautiful then falling, maple leaves

月に遠くおぼゆる藤の色香かな · tsuki ni tōku oboyuru fuji no iroka kana Buson - In the moonlight, the color and scent of the wisteria, seems so far away

遅き日のつもりて遠き昔かな · osoki hi no tsumorite tōki mukashi kana Buson - The long slow days of spring, piling up, so far away the past

梅遠近南すべく北すべく · ume ochikochi minami subeku kita subeku Buson - Plum blossoms everywhere, I should go south, I should go north

手折らるゝ人に薫るや梅の花 · taoraruru hito ni kaoru ya ume no hana Chiyojo - To the person breaking off the branch, giving its fragrance, the plum blossom

人も見ぬ春や鏡のうらの梅 · hito mo minu haru ya kagami no ura no ume Bashō - On the back of the mirror, A spring unseen, A flowering plum-tree

稲妻にこぼるる音や竹の露 · inazuma ni koboruru oto ya take no tsuyu Buson - A flash of lightning, The sound of dew, Dripping down the bamboos

白梅に明る夜ばかりとなりにけり · shiraume ni akuru yo bakari to nari ni keri Buson - To white plum blossoms, Each night just dawning, Evermore

梅が香にのつと日の出る山路かな · mume ga ka ni notto hi no deru yamaji kana Bashō - In the plum blossom scent, the sun pops out, a mountain path

白露をこぼさぬ萩のうねりかな · shiratsuyu o kobosanu hagi no uneri kana Bashō - Not spilling the glistening dew, the bush clover, undulating

三千の俳句を閲し柿二つ · sanzen no haiku o kemishi kaki futatsu Shiki - Three thousand, Haiku to examine, Two persimmons

鉈あげてきらんとすれば木の芽かな · nata agete kiran to sureba konome kana Shiki - Lifting up the hatchet, To cut it down, It was budding

池と川ひとつになりぬ春の雨 · ike to kawa hitotsu ni narinu haru no ame Buson - In the spring rain, The pond and the river, Have become one

澁いとこ母が喰ひけり山の柿 · shibui toko haha ga kui keri yama no kaki Issa - The bitter part, eaten by the mother, mountain persimmon

盗人にとり残されし窓の月 · nusubito ni torinokosareshi mado no tsuki Ryōkan - The thief, left behind, the moon in my window

苦の娑婆や桜が咲けば咲いたとて · ku no shaba ya sakura ga sakeba saita tote Issa - A world of grief and pain, Flowers bloom, Even then

露の世は露の世ながらさりながら · tsuyu no yo wa tsuyu no yo nagara sari nagara Issa - This dewdrop world, is a dewdrop world, and yet

夏草や兵どもが夢の跡 · natsukusa ya tsuwamonodomo ga yume no ato Bashō - Summer grass, all the warriors are, but the remains of dreams

父ありてあけぼのみたし青田原 · chichi arite akebono mitashi aotabara Issa - Were my father here, At dawn we would gaze, Over the green fields

さびしさのうれしくも有秋の暮 · sabishisa no ureshiku mo ari aki no kure Buson - In loneliness, there is joy too, An autumn eve

をちこちに滝の音聞く若葉哉 · ochikochi ni taki no oto kiku wakaba kana Buson - From far and near, Hearing the sounds of waterfalls, Young leaves

ものいはず客と亭主と白菊と · mono iwazu kyaku to teishu to shiragiku to Ryōta - They spoke no words, The visitor the host, And the white chrysanthemum

旅に病んで夢は枯野をかけ廻る · tabi ni yande yume wa kareno o kakemeguru Bashō - Taken ill on my travels, My dreams roam over the withered moors

鐘消えて花の香は撞く夕べ哉 · kane kiete hana no ka wa tsuku yūbe kana Bashō - As the temple bell fades, The ringing lingers in the blossom scent, Evening