Today will be the last of my New Year's posts, and I think I'll end with a few of my favorite New Year's haiku poems from the masters.
昼頃に元日になる庵かな
hiru-goro ni ganjitsu ni naru iori kana
close to noon
new years day starts...
at my hermitage
—Issa
I think many in the West can relate to Issa in wanting to sleep in on the first. The first day of the year is especially auspicious in Japan and many wake up early to greet it. But old Issa can't be bothered.
はつ夢や正しく去年の放し亀
hatsuyume ya masashiku kozo no hanashi-game
first dream
it was last year's
freed turtle
—Gonsui
Having a turtle appear in your first dream of the year is lucky. Like the turtle in the Urashima Taro folktale, where the turtle is so thankful for being saved by Taro that he takes him to the Dragon King's palace, was the turtle that Gonsui freed the previous year so thankful that it returned in his dream to give him luck?
初雀翅をひろげて降りにけり
hatsu suzume hane o hirogete ori ni keri
first sparrow—
spreads its wings
and descends
—Kijo
There are a lot of firsts in Japan for celebrating the New Year season. Sparrows are already considered lucky birds, but the first you see of the year? That's just even more!
元日の見るものにせむ富士の山
ganjitsu no miru-mono ni sen Fuji-no-yama
this new year's day
let us behold
mount fuji
—Sokan
Speaking of lucky things, seeing Mount Fuji is one of them. To be lucky enough to see that beautiful mountain in the distance—what a way to open the new year!
年とらぬつもりなりしが鐘の鳴る
toshi toranu tsumori narishi ga kane no naru
I intended
never to grow old...
the temple bell tolls
—Jokun
We'll end with this, what may be one of my favorite haiku of any season. On New Years in Japan, the temple bells tolls one hundred and eight times to wash away our desires and purify us for the new year. It also announces another year has arrived and we are another year older, whether we will it or not. All of us secretly think the rules of life won't apply to us and we will manage to avoid getting older, but as Jokun expresses, it sneaks up on you.
(all trans. David LaSpina, but you knew that already[1])
Anyway, that's a good place for me to end my New Year's series for 2024. The previous four parts were: Part I: HPUD, Part II: Hatsuyume Luck, Part III: Enter the [Wood] Dragon, and Part IV: The Golden Phoenix.
Hope you enjoyed and maybe learned something. And I hope you all have a wonderful 2024. May the Wood Dragon be good to you!
❦
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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. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Twitter or Mastodon. |
That is, me! If you like this translation, feel free to use it. Just credit me. Also link here if you can. ↩