The last Haiku

Well, it's official, summer is here. The days are blazing and the nights are sweltering, and I find myself in front of a fan or any A/C unit in proximity. To finish off the month of May, which happened to whiz by me, I will end with a few last Haiku to carry us all into June. The first one paints an image relating to the night, I begin with this one hoping that the blanket of the night sky will cool the heat of the day.

A lovely thing to see:
Utsukushi ya
through the paper window's holes
shoji no ana no
the Galaxy.
ama-no-gawa.

Source:
http://nevsepic.com.ua/art-i-risovanaya-grafika/
page,2,1143-raboty-ot-hirosige-utagavy-171-rabot.html

A morning-glory  vine
Asagao no
in its full bloom, has thatched
Hana de fuitaru
this hut of mine. 
iori kana.


–Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828)


And I end with a farewell to spring.


"Marvelous!" I say,
Mezurashi to
and with each single thing I see
miru mono goto ni
springtime fades away. 
haru ya yuku.


–Takai Kito (1741-1789)

Source:
http://nevsepic.com.ua/art-i-risovanaya-grafika/
page,2,1143-raboty-ot-hirosige-utagavy-171-rabot.html

*From the Anthology of Japanese Literature compiled and edited by Donald Keene.

Haiku: Continued...

It's midnight now where I live, and here are a few more Haiku for those that enjoy fleeting and beautiful imagery.

Edo Period Art. 

Blossoms on the pear;                     Nashi no hana
and a woman in the moonlight        tsuki ni fumi yomu
reads a letter there...                        onna ari...
–Yosa Buson (1716-1784)








A one-foot waterfall                         Isshaku no
it too makes noises, and at night       taki mo oto shite
the coolness of it all!                         yusuzumi.





*From the Anthology of Japanese Literature compiled and edited by Donald Keene.

Edo kinko hakkei. Tamagawa shugetsu. By Utagawa Hiroshige. Edo:
Sanoya Kihei, c.1833. 1 print: woodcut, col.
Source: http://www.ndl.go.jp/nichiran/e/data/L/K/K34-001l.html

Haiku: Late Tokugawa Period

The rains have abated here in this island. I am currently writing this post with the night enveloping me, that being so I will start off with Haiku that captures the night.


 Night that ends so soon:                          Mijika yo ya
 in the shallows still remains                     asase ni nokoru
 one sliver of the moon.                            tsuki ippen.
 –Yosa Buson (1716-1784)

Traditional Edo Period scene. Woodcut. Source:
http://www.imagekind.com/Edo-Period-Japanese-Scene-art?IMID=69a960f6-10cd-46a6-9351-8d9f3e57382b

 The grove in spring:                                   Haru no mori
 the birds that catch the birds– they too        tori toru tori mo
 are slumbering.                                           neburi kana.
 –Takakuwa Ranko (1726-1798)



And now to end with a different theme.


Get out of my road                                  Soko noite
and allow me to plant these                     take uesase yo
bamboos, Mr. Toad.                                hikigaeru.
–Miura Chora (1729-1780)

Plum Blossoms in Midnight, Mishima Shoso.
Source:
http://mokuhankan.com/conversations/archives/prints/

*From the Anthology of Japanese Literature compiled and edited by Donald Keene.