Thursday, January 3, 2013

64 Basho Hokku Translations - A selection of Makoto Ueda's translations


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Basho and His Interpreters: 
Selected Hokku with Commentary
by Makoto Ueda

The following list of sixty-four (64) of the two-hundred-fifty-six (256) hokku translations by Ueda stand out for their emphasis on the verbs or have one or more lines in a verse ending with a verb. They represent 25% of the book’s translated hokku.

*Note that all of the Basho hokku presented in the book use verbs in their normal context. None stretch the meaning for the sake of novelty or added surprise.

pg. 19:
haru / ya / koshi / toshi / ya / yukiken / kotsugonori
spring / ? / came / year / ? /  went  / Second-Last-Day

was it spring that came
or was it the year that went?
the Second Last Day

pg. 21:
tsuki / zo / shirube / bonata / e / irase / tabi / no / yado
moon / ! / guidance / this-way / to / please-enter / travel / ‘s / lodging

the moon will guide you . . .
this way, traveler; please come
into the inn here

pg. 30:
kite / mo / miyo / Jinbe / ga / haori / hanagoromo
come / ! / see / Jinbei / ‘s / robe / flower-garment

come and look!
put on a Jinbei robe
and admire the blossoms

pg. 39:
neko / no/ tsuma / hetsui / no / kuzure / yori / kayoikeri
cat / ‘s / mate / cooking-stove / ‘s / crumble / from / frequent

the lover cat
over a crumbled stove
comes and goes

pg. 42:
ara / nani / tomo / na / ya / kino / wa / sugite / fukutojiru
oh / anything / ! / is-nonexistent / ! / yesterday / as-for / passing / fugu-soup

oh, nothing’s happened to me!
yesterday has passed––
fugu soup

pg. 54:
kumo / nani / to / ne / wo / nani / to/ naku / aki / no / kaze
spider / what / thus / voice / [acc.] / what / thus / chirp / autumn / ‘s / wind

spider––what is it,
what is it you are crying?
autumn wind

pg. 57:
kareeda / ni / karasu / no / tomarikeri / aki / no / kure
bare-branch / on / crow / ‘s / is-perched / autumn / ‘s / evening

on a bare branch
a crow has alighted . . .
autumn nightfall

pg. 65:
yuki / no / ashita / kitori / karazake / wo / kami / etari
snow / ‘s / morning / alone / dried-salmon / [acc.] / chew / can

the morning of snow––
all alone, I chew
dried salmon meat

pg. 71:
basho / uete / mazu / nikumu / ogi/ no / futaba / kana
banana-plant / planting / first / hate / miscanthus / ‘s / seed-lobe / kana

by my new banana plant
the first sign of something I loathe––
a miscanthus bud

pg. 76:
basho / nowaki / shite / tarai / ni / ame / wo / kiku / yo / kana
banana-plant / autumn-gale / doing / tub / in / rain / [acc.] / hear / night

banana plant in the autumn gale––
the sound of rain pattering
in the tub tonight

pg. 81:
asuagao / ni / ware / wa / meshi / ku / otoko / kana
morning-glory / to / I / as-for / meal / eat / man / kana

with morning glories
a man eats breakfast
––that is what I am

pg. 88:
uguisu / wo / tama / ni / nemuru / ka / taoyanagi
warbler / [acc.] / soul / as / sleep / ? / graceful-willow

is that warbler
her soul? there sleeps
a graceful willow

pg. 98:
haru / tatsu / ya / shinnen / furuki / kome / gosho
spring / begin / : / New-Year / old / rice/ five-sho

spring begins––
new year, old rice
ten quarts

pg. 102:
kirishigure / Fuji / wo / minu / hi / zo / omoshiroki
mist-rain / Fuji / [acc.] / not-see / day / ! / interesting

in the misty rain
Mount Fuji is veiled all day––
how intriguing!

pg. 105:
michinobe / no / mukuge / wa / uma / ni / kuwarekeri
roadside / ‘s / rose-mallow / as-for / horse / by / has-been-eaten

by the road
a rose mallow . . . it has been
eaten by my horse!

pg. 120:
kyoku / kogarashi / no / mi / wa / Chikusai / ni / nitaru / kana
comic-verse / wintry-gust / ‘s / self / as-for / Chikuai / to / resemble / kana

in the wintry gust
a wanderer . . . how like Chikusai
I have become!

pg. 123:
umi / kurete / kamo / no / koe / honokani / shiroshi
sea / grow-dark / wild-duck / ‘s / voice / faintly / white

the sea darkens––
a wild duck’s call
faintly white

pg. 129:
Karasaki / no / matsu / wa / hana / yori / oboro / nite
Karasaki / ‘s / pine / as-for / blossom / than / haziness / being

the pine tree
of Karasaki, looking hazier
than the blossoms

pg. 135:
natsugoromo / imada / shirami / wo / tori / tsukusazu
summer-robe / yet / louse / [acc.] / catching / complete-not

my summer robe
there are still some lice
I have not caught

pg. 139:
yoku / mireba / nazuna / hana / saku / kakine/ kana
closely / when-look / shepherd’s-purse / flower / bloom / hedge / kana

looking closely, I see
a shepherd’s purse blooming
under the hedge

pg. 149:
hatsuyuki / ya / suisen / no / ha /no /tawamu / made
first-snow / daffodil / ‘s / leaf / ‘s / bend / till

the first snow
just enough to bend
the daffodil leaves

pg. 156:
haranaka / ya / mono / ni / mo / tsukazu / naku / hibari
mid-field / thing / to / even / not-attach / sing / skylark

above the moor
not attached to anything
a skylark sings

pg. 158:
kami / haete / yogan / aoshi / satsukiame
head-hair / growing / countenance / pale / fifth-month-rain

hair on my head
starts to show, my face has paled––
long seasonal rain

pg. 162:
shizu  no / ko / ya /ine / suri / kakete / tsuki / wo / miru
rustic / ‘s / child / rice / husking / leaving / moon / [acc.] / I see

a peasant’s child
husking the rice, pauses
to look at the moon

pg. 165:
yase / nagara / wari / naki / kiku / no / tsubomi / kana
growing-thin / while / reason / nonexistent / chrysanthemum / ‘s / bud / kana

emaciated
yet somehow the chrysanthemums
begin to bud

pg. 177:
iza / saraba / yukimi / ni / korobu / tokoro / made
now / then / snow-viewing / for / tumble / place / to

now then, let’s go out
to enjoy the snow . . . until
I slip and fall!

pg. 181:
nani / no / ki / no / hana / to / wa / shirazu / nioi / kana
what / ‘s / tree / ‘s / bloom / so / as-for / not-know / smell / kana

from which tree’s bloom
it comes, I do not know––
this fragrance

pg. 189:
hana / no / kage / utai / ni / nitaru / tabine / kana
blossom / ‘s / shade / no / to / resembling / travel-sleep / kana

in the blossom’s shade
as in the no drama
a traveler sleeps

pg. 191:
horohoro / to / yamabuki / chiru / ka / taki / no / oto
horohoru / with / mountain-rose / fall / ! / rapid / ‘s / sound

petal by petal
yellow mountain roses fall––
sound of the rapids

pg. 193:
nao / mitashi / hana / ni / ake / yuku / kami / no / kao
still / wish-to-be / blossom / in / down / go / deity / ‘s / face

all the more I wish to see
in those blossoms at sawn
the face of the god

pg. 199:
hototogisu / kie / yuku / kata / ya / shima / hitotsu
hototogisu / disappearing / go / direction / : / island / one

hototogisu––
where it disappears
a lone island

pg. 204:
tsukigane / mo / hibiku / yo / nari / semi / no / koe
temple-bell / also / sound / like / is / cicada / ‘s / voice

the temple bell too
seems to start ringing––
cicadas’ screech

pg. 205:
omoshirote / yagate / kanashiki / ubane / kana
exciting / presently / sad / cormorant-boat / kana

so exciting
and, after a while, so sad––
cormorant fishing

pg. 217:
uzumibi / mo / kiyu / ya / namida / no / niyuru / oto
banked-fire / even / vanish / : / tear / ‘s / boiling / sound

don’t they quench
even the banked charcoal?
those hissing tears

pg. 235:
ishi / no / ka / ya / natusugusa / akaku / tsuyu / atsushi
stone / ‘s / smell / : / summer-grass / red / dew / hot

the stone’s smell
summer grasses look red,
dewdrops warm

pg. 246:
nomi / shirami / uma / no / shitosuru / makuramoto
flea / louse / horse / ‘s / piddle / near-pillow

fleas, lice––
a horse piddles
near my pillow

pg. 249:
shizukasa / ya / iwa / ni / shimiiru / semi / no / koe
stillness / : / rock / to / permeate / cicada / ‘s / voice

the stillness––
seeping into the rocks
cicadas’ screech

pg. 251:
samidare / wo / atsumete / hayashi / Mogami-gawa
fifth-month-rain / [acc.] / gathering / swift / Mogami-River

gathering the rains
of the wet season, how swiftly flows
the Mogami River!

pg. 269:
tsuki / izuki / kane / wa / shizumeru / umi / no / soko
moon / where / bell / as-for / is-sunken / sea / ‘s / bottom

where is the moon?
the temple bell is sunk
at the bottom of the sea

pg. 272:
fuji / no / mi / wa / haikai / ni / sen / hana / no / ato
wisteria / ‘s / seed ‘ as-for / haikai / to / make / flower / ‘s / subsequence

wisteria beans
will be my haikai,
flowers being gone

pg. 275:
hatsushigure / saru / mo / komino / wo / hoshigenari
first-winter-shower / monkey / also / small-straw-raincoat / [acc.] / look-wanting

first winter shower––
the monkey also seems to want
a small raincoat

pg. 277:
fuyuniwa / ya / tsuki / mo / ito / naru / mushi / no / gin
winter-garden / : / moon / also / thread / being / insect / ‘s / recitation

the winter garden––
thinning to a thread, the moon
and an insect’s singing

pg. 278:
iza / kodomo / hashiri / arikan / tamaarare
now / child / running / will-walk / hail

come, children,
let’s go out and run
in the hail!

pg. 287:
cho / no / ha / no / ikutabi / koyuru / hei / no / yane
butterfly / ‘s / wing / ‘s / how-many times / cross-over / fence / ‘s / roof

butterfly’s wings––
how many times do they flit
over the roofed wall?

pg. 293:
hi / no / michi / ya / aui / katamuku / satsuki-ame
sun / ‘s / road / : / hollyhock / lean / fifth-month-rain

towards the sun’s path
hollyhock flowers turning
in the seasonal rain

pg. 296:
yagate / shinu / keshiki / wa / miezu / semi / no / koe
soon / die / appearance / as-for / not-show / cicada / ‘s / voice

soon they will die––
yet, showing no sign of it,
cicadas screech

pg. 297:
tonbo / ya / toritsuki / kaneshi / kusa / no / ue
dragonfly / : / holding / is-unable / grass / ‘s / upside

a dragonfly
vainly trying to settle
onto a blade of grass

pg. 308:
higoro / nikuki / karasu / mo / yuki / no / ashita / kana
ordinarily / hateful / crow / even / snow / ‘s / morning / kana

always hateful––
those crows, except in this
morning’s snow scene

pg. 309:
yamazato / wa / Manzai / ososhi / ume / no / hana
mountain-village / as-for / Manzai / late / plum / ‘s / blossom

in the mountain village
Manzai dancers are late––
plum blossoms

pg. 314:
hototogisu / otakeyabu / wo / moru / tsukiyo
hototogisu / large-bamboo-grove / [acc.] / seep / moonlit-night

hototogisu––
through a vast bamboo forest
moonlight seeping

pg. 321:
Miidera / no / mon / tataka / baya / kyo / no / tsuki
Mii-Temple / ‘s / gate / knock / wish / today / ‘s / moon

shall we go and knock
on the gate of Mii Temple?
the moon of tonight

pg. 325:
suisen / ya / shiroki / shoji / no / tomoutsuri
daffodil / : / white / shoji / ‘s / mutual-reflection

daffodils,
white paper screens, reflecting
one another’s color

pg. 326:
yuki / wo / matsu / jogo / no / kao / ya / inabikari
snow / [acc.] / await / drinker/ ‘s / face / : / lightning

the faces of those
who love to drink––
a flash of lightening

pg. 333:
uo / tori / no / kokoro / wa / shirazu / toshiwasure
fish / bird / ‘s / heart / as-for / not-know / year-end-party

how fish and birds
feel at heart, I do not know––
the year-end party

pg. 337:
neko / no / koi / yamu / toki / neya / no / oborozuki
cat / ‘s / love / stop / whereupon / bed / ‘s / hazy-moon

cat’s love––
when it is over hazy
moonlight in the bedroom

pg. 341:
aokute / mo / aru / beki / mono / wo / togarashi
green also / is / should / thing / yet / pepper

as green as ever
it should have remained––
the pepper pod

pg. 350:
tsuki / hana / no / gu / ni / hari / taten / kan / no / iri
moon / blossom / ‘s / foolishness / on / needle / will-prick / cold / ‘s / entrance

still the fool
given to the moon and blossoms!
the coldest season starts

pg. 354:
hototogisu / koe / yokotau / ya / mizu / no / ue
hototogisu / voice / lie / : / water / ‘s / topside

hototogisu––
the shriek lies stretched
across the water

pg. 359:
kodomo-ra / yo / hirugao / sakinu / uri / mukan
children / ! / bindweed / have-bloomed / melon / will-peel

children!
bindweed flowers have opened,
I’ll peel a melon

pg. 361:
asagao / ya / kore / mo / mata / waga / tomo / narazu
morning-glory / : / this / also / again / my / friend / is-not

the morning glory––
that, too, now turns out to be
no friend of mine

pg. 381:
mugi / no / ho / wo / chikara / ni / tsukamu / wakare / kana
wheat / ‘s / ear / [acc.] / strength / for / clutch / parting / kana

clutching wheat ears
to support myself, I bid
farewell

pg. 383:
samidare / ya / kaiko / wazurau / kuwa / no / hata
fifth-month-rain / : / silkworm / ail / mulberry / ‘s / field

long seasonal rain––
a silkworm ailing
in the mulberry field

pg. 406:
kono / michi / ya / yuku / hito / nashi / ni / aki / no / kure
this / road / : / go / person / nonexistent / with / autumn / ‘s / evening

on this road
where nobody else travels
autumn nightfall

pg. 408:
shiragiku / no / me / ni / tatete / miru / chiri / mo / nashi
white-shrysanthemum / ‘s / eye / in / catching / see / dust / even / nonexistent

white chrysanthemum
without a speck of dust
the eyes can catch