山田維史英語俳句：Tadami Yamada's English Haiku Poems (8)

   Millennium wisteria flower

   Its cluster

   short　　

 

   I look up at

   the wisteria of the millennium

   I am seventy-five

   Who forgot the cane

   on the fence

   and wisteria flowers

    The sound of the Zen temple bell

    in the distance,

    Wisteria bloom

    The boy's cheeks are 

    sharp

    The shadow of wisteria

    Well pathos in spring,

    Open mouth wide

    Also open eyes wide

   A dear

   handwritten letter I received

   Spring evening

   Silk the mountain cocoon

   The thread shines

   On the sleeves

【Note】Mountain cocoon : A cloth with a unique luster

woven from silk rayon taken from the cocoon of the

mountain cocoon moth. A piece of mother's haori.

"Yamamayu (the mountain cocoon)" is a spring season

word.

   Eat or do not eat

   Warabimochi, in front

   of the Buddhist alter

   Bamboo autumn dressed

   Mother was

   On a journey to death

【Note】Bamboo Autumn : Bamboo drops old leaves in

spring and becomes new leaves. "Také-no-aki (Bamboo

autumn9" is a spring season word.

   Ah, cherry trees in leaf

   Earthquake and thunderstorm

   My small house in Hino

   Oh interesting

   The waiting Moon

   After the spring storm is gone

Note】Imachizuki (The Waiting Moon) is the moon

three days after the full moon. Last night that day.

   The light of the moon

   On the drops from the eaves

   Of early summer rain

　The May rain

    Piking the flowers

    which finished the blooming　

　 To down trees' shadow

     I wonder if it's raining white

     It's May

     Silverberry is still blue

     But rain that continues

     rots the flowers of deutzia

【*Note】Unohanakudashi (To rot the flowers of

deutzia) : April is called "U" in the lunar calendar.

It is May in the present of the solar calendar. The

rain that continues around that time is called

"Unohana-kudashi". It means a long rain that rots

the blooming flowers of deutzia.

 

  The sound of rain is constantly

  The incense of ink of the writing

  in the summer

【**Note】Gegaki (Writing in the summer) : From

April 16th to July 15th of the lunar calendar, 

Buddhist monks stay in a room of temple, and 

desciples gather to discuss Buddhist scriptures

or practice their practices. ... This is called "Anko".

During the monk's anko, laymen and laywomen

ware chanting the sutras and copied the sutras and

dedicated them to the temple. This is called 

"Gegaki ( the writing in the summer)".

    You crawled, stood,

    and the days will go on,

    A young maple tree in May　　

    The spirit of tearing the air

    Hitting with bamboo sword, You.

    By fresh leaves maple tree 

    Dear! the flowers of deutzia

    Sudden shower of May 

    I run under the eaves

    Oh the flowers of deutzia

    Appear in color as your name,

    Non-existence is existence

    The flowers od deutzia

     With different colors,

     But existence is non-existence

【*Note】"Unohana (the flowers of deutzia) is an abbre-

viation for "Utsugi". The kanji for "Utsugi (空木)" means 

an empty tree, that is, "non-existent." The color of 

white flowers gradually changes to light magenta with 

purple.

   It's ridiculous to explain my own work, but this haiku

is a bit of a joke. It is parody of the true meaning of the 

phrase of Hannyashingyo (Prajñā-pāramitā-hrdaya).

The phrase is "Shiki-soku-ze-ku, Ku-soku-ze-shiki

(Existence is non-existence, Non-existence is 

existence. or, The entity is empty, Empty is entity)".