Saturday 24 October 2009

Ready for show

Here are my haiku for the show...

Konnichiwa Dear Patrons
Today I’ll tell some haiku, written by the Haiku Master Issa.
These haiku are all based on the theme of “Snow Buddha”.
In the west we make snowmen, in Japan they make snow Buddha…
The format of the performance will be the original Japanese haiku
followed by the Romaji rendering,
and then an English translation by David G. Lanoue.
*
And so to our first haiku:
はつ雪や仏の方より湧清水
hatsu yuki ya hotoke no hô yori waku shimizu
first snowfall--
from Buddha's direction
pure water gushes
*
有明や雪で作るも如来様
ariake ya yuki de tsukuru mo nyorai-sama
dawn--
with snow I make
Lord Buddha
*
うす雪の仏を作る子ども哉
usu yuki no hotoke wo tsukuru kodomo kana
he rolls thin snow
into a Buddha...
the child
*
御ひざに雀鳴也雪仏
on-hiza ni suzume naku nari yuki-botoke
a sparrow chirping
in his lap...
snow Buddha
*
とるとしもあなた任せぞ雪仏
torutoshi mo anata makase zo yuki-botoke
growing old too
I trust in a Buddha
of snow
*
はづかしや子どもも作る雪仏
hazukashi ya kodomo mo tsukuru yuki-botoke
ashamed--
even a child has made
a snow Buddha
*
はつ雪や仏にするもむづかしき
hatsu yuki ya hotoke ni suru mo muzukashiki
first snow--
making a Buddha of you
is hard too
*
雪仏犬の子どもが御好げな
yuki-botoke inu no kodomo ga o-sukigena
the snow Buddha
likes the puppy
it seems
*
我門にとしとり給へ雪仏
waga kado ni toshitori tamae yuki-botoke
he deigns to grow old
at my gate...
snow Buddha
*
わんぱくが仕業ながらも雪仏
wanpaku ga shiwaza nagara mo yuki-botoke
naughty child--
instead of his chores
a snow Buddha
*
一握り雪持って居る仏かな
hito nigiri yuki motte iru hotoke kana
he's holding one
snowball...
the Buddha
*
我国や子どもも作る雪仏
waga kuni ya kodomo mo tsukuru yuki-botoke
my province--
the children also make
snow Buddhas
*
はいかいを守らせ給へ雪仏
haikai wo mamorase tamae yuki-botoke
guard the haiku
I beseech you!
snow Buddha
*
はつ雪をおっつくねても仏哉
hatsu yuki wo o[t]tsukunete mo hotoke kana
first snow--
even a lump of it
is Buddha
*
雪仏我手の跡もなつかしや
yuki-botoke waga te no ato mo natsukashi ya
snow Buddha--
my handprint too
is something to cherish
*
寄合って雀がはやす雪仏
yo[ri]atte suzume ga hayasu yuki-botoke
sparrows gather
and cheer...
my snow Buddha
*
はつ降りや雪も仏に成にけり
hatsu furi ya yuki mo hotoke ni nari ni keri
first snowfall--
it too
becomes Buddha
*
初ものや雪も仏につくらるる
hatsumono ya yuki mo hotoke ni tsukuraruru
first of the season--
the snow, too
made into Buddha
*
我門は雪で作るも小仏ぞ
waga kado wa yuki de tsukuru mo ko-botoke zo
at my gate too
made of snow...
little Buddha
*
我とてもおがむ気になる雪仏
ware totemo ogamu ki ni naru yuki-botoke
putting me into
a praying mood...
snow Buddha
*
三介が開眼したり雪仏
sansuke ga kaigen shitari yuki-botoke
the servant displays
a holy image...
snow Buddha
*
かりそめの雪も仏となりにけり
karisome no yuki mo hotoke to nari ni keri
even our fleeting snow
becomes
Buddha!
*
みだ堂にすがりて雪の残りけり
mida dô ni sugarite yuki no nokori keri
on Amida Buddha's
temple clinging...
leftover snow
*
花の所へ雪が降る涅槃哉
hana no tokoro e yuki ga furu nehan kana
snow falls
instead of blossoms...
Buddha's Death-Day
*
門先や雪の仏も苦い顔
kado saki ya yuki no hotoke mo nigai-gao
at my gate
the snow Buddha also
scowls
*
All these haiku were written between 1810 and 1825,
almost 200 years ago!
And that ends my performance for today…

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