This is the time of year when ghosts come to visit and we celebrate it. 200 years Sogetsu-ni wrote about this.
盆踊りあとは松風虫の声
bon odori ato wa matsukaze mushi no koe
after the dance
the wind in the pines, and
the insect voices
—Sogetsu-ni
(trans. David LaSpina[1])
The dancing she is writing of is a special dance for the Obon festival near the beginning of August (and in some areas in July). During Obon, it is thought that the spirits of our ancestors return to the family house where they stay with us for a few days.
The biggest celebration during the holiday is the Obon Dance, bon odori (盆踊り). You may have seen this event in some movies. I think the final fight of Karate Kid II was during the Obon Dance, for instance. There will be a stand from which hanging lanturns will be strung, and people will dance around this stand. It's a fun event.
In this haiku you can imagine that after the loud dance and festivities when the people return home, the sounds of nature rush in to fill the silence: the breeze blows through the pines and the insects start their evening singing which then continues long afterwards.
If you are curious, here is a video of an Obon Dance in Tokyo:
and here is one from near my house
Obon Dance is a kigo (season word) for early autumn, which is where we already are according to the traditional Japanese almanac which holds that each new season begins at the peak of the previous one, when we can start to feel hints of what is to come.
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| 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. |
That is, me! If you like this translation, feel free to use it. Just credit me. Also link here if you can. ↩