Title: Dissection of the Haiku Tradition (7)
Moon
If somebody asks me to choose between the sun and the moon as the place to live, I will choose the moon. In
my mind, there are highways with ten lanes on the sun, and the moon has alleys and narrow streets I can
explore on foot.
For me, the sun is the destination. The moon is a gateway and a peep hole to the world unknown.
As you may know, Japanese saijiki categorize the word 'moon’ by itself as an autumn kigo. You will find many
ways to say ‘moon’ in Japanese saijiki. For example, the full moon can be called ‘gyokukon’ (round soul) or
‘sasaraeotoko’ (small but lovely man – a nickname for the moon).
In Japan, there is a long tradition of admiring a full moon on the fifteenth day of lunar August. Special dishes of
taros and sweet dumplings are prepared. Pampas grass is arranged in a vase.
kono tsuki o imachi nemachi to yubi o ori
should this moon be waited for
by sitting or lying down…?
I calculate with my fingers
Sujyu Takano (1)
Sujyu Takano (1893-1976) is referring to the belief in ancient time. People imagined that, just before moonrise,
three gods would come down to the earth to show a way to the Land of Paradise. Seventeenth-day moon which
rises around 7:00 pm is called ‘tachimachizuki’ (the moon you wait for by standing). I can see my ancestor
waiting for the moonrise near his gate after an evening stroll. On eighteenth day, the moon rises about 30
minutes later than a previous day. Without electricity, streets must have been dark by then. People waited in
their living rooms or on their verandas for the moon to rise. A kigo for the eighteenth day moon is ‘imachizuki’
(the moon you wait for by sitting). Next day the moon does not rise before 8 pm. In their bedrolls, people
waited for the nineteenth day moon called ‘nemachizuki’ (the moon you wait for by lying down).
During Edo Period (1603~1867), a day was divided into twelve segments and each segment had the name of an
animal. Those animals were the same twelve zodiac signs you see in a Chinese calendar. I have to admit that I
do not know a kigo like ‘inakazuki’ in English. A character for ‘i’’ (pronounced as ‘i’ in ‘inside’) means ‘boar’ and
‘naka’ means ‘between.’ In the modern world, Hour of Boar is between 9pm and 11pm. I translated ‘inakazuki,’
(the moon rises between 9pm and 11pm.) to ‘twentieth-night moon’ in the haiku below
basu roubu no tora hoeteiru inakazuki
a tiger on his bath robe
howling—
twentieth-night moon
Fay Aoyagi (2)
‘Inakazuki’ is a rather technical term which only exists in the haiku world or in a historical novel. This kigo is
fascinating, but today I may need to explain what ‘inakazuki‘ is to a Japanese friend who does not write
haiku. Saijiki is a treasure vault of kigo and sample haiku. I heavily rely on saijiki when I write haiku both in
Japanese and English.
negaerishi ko wa gekkô ni chikazukinu
turning in sleep
my child is getting closer
to the moonlight
Yasuko Tsushima (3)
This is one of my favorite haiku written by Yasuko Tsushima. I may completely misinterpret the meaning,
but let me tell you why I am intrigued with this haiku.
A sleeping face is peaceful and beautiful in the moonlight coming through a window. Watching him/her, a poet
experiences the happiness which only a mother can enjoy. Yet at the same time, an invisible hand draws the
child closer to the world we human beings do not belong to. Something wicked and strong pulls away the cord
between mother and child.
My interpretation may be influenced with a legend of Kaguyahime, a story of the Moon Princess. A beautiful
baby was found and raised by an elderly couple. Eventually, though, she returned to the moon on the fifteenth
night (full moon) of lunar August when she declined to choose a husband.
kangekkô onore no hone mo sukitôru
winter moonlight
my bones, too,
are transparent
Yukiko Itoyama (4)
Sunlight helps me understand the shape of an object. A moonbeam shows me the inside of it.
I like moon-related kigo because I can lead a reader into a labyrinth. I may lose him/her in a maze. But I hope I
am showing a way to the deep inner world.
American Indians and colonial Americans have a lot of evocative names for a moon. Lizard Cut Moon (January),
Fish Moon (March), Buck Moon (July) and Leaf Fall Moon (October) are among many. Those names are more to
describe a month than the moon itself, but they can be interesting kigo.
gesshoku matsu kawa e jyusshi o hirakiite
I wait for a lunar eclipse
with all my ten fingers spread out
to the river
Toru Sudo (4)
Technically speaking, ‘gesshoku’ (lunar eclipse) is not a kigo. I found this haiku in the section of ‘zô’
(‘miscellaneous’ or ‘non-season’) in one of my saijiki.
In the above haiku, moonlight still shines between the poet’s fingers and may shimmer on the river surface.
But soon the earth will move between the sun and the moon. Most of the time, we are under the influence of the
sun or the moon. Can we be the absolute master of our life for the duration of the lunar eclipse?
itoshimeba ki mo katarikuru haru no tsuki
if I show my tenderness of love
a tree, too, will start talking—
spring moon
Heinosuke Gosho (5)
Though I respect a long tradition of moon-admiring in the autumn, I am attracted to the moon in the spring.
Spring is a budding season. The night air is filled with fragrance of flowers. Animals mate. The moon floats in
the mist.
One of my Japanese friends told me that she did not understand how Americans write haiku in English.
According to her, Japanese culture, including haiku, is very subtle. She said Japanese is more ambiguous than
English; it is a more suitable language to express feelings. Writing in Japanese, a poet can avoid too much
explicitness.
I am not sure I totally agree with her. I think English haiku can be very suggestive, as well.
summer moon—
shadows with tiny horns
at the monkey bars
Fay Aoyagi (6)
My friend may say, “Well…. I can see that it is possible to compose a weird haiku in English. But is this a
haiku or a 3-line poem?”
If I write a three-line poem, the above haiku may go like:
When I was looking for my lost childhood in the summer moonlight,
I saw shadows with tiny horns at the monkey bars.
I might be one of those with horns, here in my adopted land.
Haiku is a poetry form which requires reading between the lines. I strongly believe that we can achieve subtlety
in English.
Next theme will be ‘wind.’
(1) Haiku Saijiki edited by Fusei Tomiyasu, Kenkichi Yamamoto et al, Heibonsha, Tokyo, 1971
(2) Ten’I (Ten’I haiku group members’ magazine), February 2003 Issue
(3) Tsushima Yasuko Shu (Collection of work by Yasuko Tsushima), Yu Shorin, Tokyo, 2003
(4) Gendai Saijiki (Modern Saijiki), edited by Tota Kaneko, Momoko Kuroda, Ban’ya Natsuishi, Seisei
Shuppan, Tokyo, 1997
(5) Dai Saijiki (Comprehensive Saijiki) edited by Shuoshi Mizuhara et al, Kodansha, Tokyo, 1982
(6) In Borrowed Shoes by Fay Aoyagi, Blue Willow Press, 2006
All Japanese translation by Fay Aoyagi.
Essay 7