07English

2007

ここに掲載の句は白魚火誌の“白魚火秀句”に掲載されたものの英訳です。
　翻訳はホームページ担当者が行っていますので、作者の意に染まないところや名前の読み違いには直ぐに対応します。メール

で担当者にお知らせください。

Shirawobi is the name of a Haiku magazine and an association of Haiku enthusiasts that has existed for fifty years in Shimane Prefecture, Japan.
The following Haikus are written by the members of the Shirawobi group, selected by its chairperson Mr. Masafumi Nio, and rendered into English by its web-site editor. The words in the single brackets are Haikus in Japanese and those in double brackets are the authors' names.

to '07 January edition's
to '07 February edition's
to '07 March edition's
to '07 April edition's
to '07 May edition's
to '07 June edition's
to '07 July edition's
to '07 August edition's
to '07 September edition's
to '07 October edition's
to '07 November edition's
to '07 December edition's

to '05 English page
to '06 English page

Haikus Selected
from '07 January edition of the Shirawobi

to '07 January Japanese page

(Hyakkan ni hyaku no kaze are take noharu)
    ((Ootsuka Sumie))

a hundred of banboos
generate a hundred kinds of
autumn breezes

(Tori no ich hito ni osare te hito wo osu)
    ((Maeda Kiyokata))

the Festival of the rooster--
the crowd to shrine push me
so I push crowd ahead too

*Tori-no-ichi: Festival of the rooster, is a festival of Shinto Shrine in November in Japan. That celebrates the gods of luck and business prosperity; and people buy bamboo rakes as good luck charms, there.

(Hovering shi te sekirei no e wo nerau)
   ((Sawa Koushin))

a wagtail
is hovering over
the food to get

(Michisugara kondate kimaru shin-shouga)
    ((Kotou Hiroe))

new ginger plants--
I decided the menu for dinner
on my way home from my field

(Taifuu ni jyouriku to iu shinro ari)
    ((Ootaki Hisae))

typhoon
has the course
to be on shore

(Ochiayu no take-su no ai ni agitoe ru)
    ((Shibayama Yousaku))

autumn-ayu
are gasping
on bamboo fish trap

(Aki-same ga ikki ni ten wo otoshi keri)
    ((Satou Akira))

autumn shower
fell the clouds
at once

(Yare-bashou migoto na heii-habou kana)
    ((Oonuma Kozan))

broken leaves of Japanese banana
reminds me the old fassion
with worn school uniform and cap

(Furusato wa Mexico datte aki-zakura)
    ((Kubo Miyoko))

I hear that
cosmos is
from Mexico

Haikus Selected
from '07 February edition of the Shirawobi

to '07 February Japanese page

(Nakaumi no oku naru umi no shigure kana)
    ((Araki Chizue))

*the lake behind Lake Nakaumi--
it drizzles
in early winter

*This is Lake Shinji in Shimane prefecture.

(Jyuuich-gatsu owaru ko no ma no umi no iro)
    ((Ninomiya Tetsurou))

the end of November--
I watch the Bungo Channel
through trees

(Bohimei wa ise-shinkurou ryuu no tama)
   ((Suzuki Keiko))

the epitaph
is Ise Shinkurou...
the berry of *dragon-whisker plant

*Ise Shinkurou is an name of Houjyou Souun who governed Tokyo area in 16th century.
*Dragon-whisker plant: ophiopogon japonicus is called ryuu-nohige or Jya-no-hige in Japanese.

.
(Oshidori no koyoku hazume ru yama no umi)
    ((Shinowara Yonejyo))

the flips of mandarin duck's wings
sound cheerfully
on a mountain lake

(Gakusou no kanshou narasu fuyu-momiji)
    ((Masuyama Masako))

the student of Buddhist priest
rings the bell for a Buddhist sermon...
winter red leaves

(Palette ni fude no fukuramu yama-momiji)
    ((Hayashi Tokuzou))

a paint brush
swells well in the palette...
autumn tints

(Kaki-sudare kage sayu re i shi shouji kana)
    ((Watanabe Etsuko))

the shadows of dried cinnamons
swing
on shoji screens

dried cinnamon

(Fuyu-ichigo mezuru tekubo ni korogashi te)
    ((Maruya Sumiko))

I appreciate
winter-strawberries...
by rolling on my palm.

(Tai wo yaku nioi mo koaji Ebisu-kou)
    ((Yamanishi Etsuko))

the smell of broiling sea beam
is good...
a festival in honor of Ebisu

*Ebisu is the God of business and prosperity in Japan.

(Cha no hana no hitotsu da ni naki chaen kana)
    ((Aoki Gensaku))

There was
no green-tea plant
that has flowers

(Gyouan ni habataku oto wa kamo nara mu)
    ((Tsuchie Kouryuu))

the flapping of wings
before dawn must be
of wild ducks

Haikus Selected
from '07 March edition of the Shirawobi

to '07 March Japanese page

(Shuugou wa yabusame doori hana-yatsude)
    ((Suzuki Yuriko))

the rendezvous is
at *Yabusame street...
fatsia flower

*Yabusame is a type of Japanese archery, one that is performed while riding a horse. The archer shoots a special "turnip-headed" arrow at a wooden target.This style of archery has its origins at the beginning of the Kamakura period. Minamoto no Yoritomo became alarmed at the lack of archery skills his samurai had. He organized yabusame as a form of practice.

(Ikutsu-me no jyoya-no-kane yara yume no naka)
    ((Taniyama Mizue))

I listen to
the *watch-night bell
between asleep and awake

*The watch-night bell:Joya-no-kane in Japanese, is struck 108 times as a new year ceremony in temples in Japan.

(Alibi wa taiyou ga shiru hinataboko)
   ((Ikeya Takahiko))

only the sun may
establish my alibi...
basking in winter sun

(Shuutome ni nite ki shi tachii me-shougatsu)
    ((Takaoka Yoshiko))

my manner has been influenced
by mother-in-law...
*January fifteenth

January fifteenth is a kind of holiday for house wives who have been very busy since New Year day.

(Kiri-bari no ookina hana ya yama nemuru)
    ((An-nou hisako))

a big patch of flower-shape paper
for shoji screen...
gentle winter mountain

(Koki majika shoujiki-sugiru hats- kagami)
    ((Muramatsu Ayako))

nearly seventy years old,
the mirror is too honest for me...
New Year's day

(Wakaki hi no kao shika shira zu gajyou kaku)
    ((Okada Boen))

I am writing a New Year's card
to a friend,
never seen since young

(Chikadou no iriguchi deguchi toshi no kure)
    ((Aoki Ikuyo))

the entrance and exit
of underpass...
the end of a year

(Ga no tsuyoki seikaku imada hotoke-no-za)
    ((Suzuki Keiko))

I am still
self-assertive...
Buddha's Seat Grass

hotoke-no-za :Buddha's Seat Grass

Haikus Selected
from '07 April edition of the Shirawobi

to '07 April Japanese page

(Shin-en no roppyaku-kabu no kan-botan)
    ((Torigoshi Chinami))

six hundred peonies are
in the garden of the shrine,
in winter

(Byou-shin no kotori to ugoki toshi arata)
    ((Masuoka Mieko))

the second hand moves
a second with a clink...
happy new year!

(Sae kaeri sae kaeri hoshi chikaku naru)
   ((Toujyou Mitsuo))

the crisp days
are again,
the stars are closer

.
(Haha to iu tate ushinahe ri kan-yuyake)
    ((Gotou Yoshiko))

I lost my mother
and a shield of mine...
winter sunset clouds

(Tonari no hi waga-ya ni utsuri kaji-jigoku)
    ((Yamazaki Asako))

the next door's fire
has spread to my house...
the inferno

(Hajimari no futari to nari nu nen-shu kumu)
    ((Hayashi Hiroyo))

drinking new-year sake,
we returned to the day
got to know each other

(Kan-beni no hake ru karakuchi hiyou kana)
    ((Okada Boen))

the bitter criticisms come out
from the lip
putting on a winter red-lipstick

(Yuzurare nu hanashi to nari nu me-shougatsu)
    ((Yamada Tomiko))

the negotiation turned to
what I must not give up...
January fifteenth

(Oni-sama ni nari taru ako ya yuki-matsuri)
    ((Sagawa Haruko))

my son is playing
the leading character
of the yuki-matsuri

(Risshun no komatsuna oyogu nabe no naka)
    ((Yamane Tsuneko))

Mustard Spinaches
swim in a boiling hot-pot...
the first day of spring

Haikus Selected
from '07 May edition of the Shirawobi

to '07 May Japanese page

(Hareki-tte yokan kibishiki Okhotsk)
    ((Asano Kazue))

fine weather...
in the sea of Okhotsk,
the lingering cold is severe

(Kan-botan gasshou hodoku komo no naka)
    ((Motosugi Ikuyo))

a winter peony blooms
like releasing jointed hands in prayer
in a cover of straw mat

(Kusa-mochi ni soe shi tegami no shimeri kana)
    ((Saitou Miyako))

the letter
with *kusa-mochi
got slightly wet

*kusa-mochi is a rice-cake mixed with young mugwort.

(Uraraka ya shiomi-zaka made toomawari)
    ((Kamakura Kazuko))

one beautiful spring day,
I detoured
to Shiomi-zaka

*Shiomi-zaka is a steep slope on Japan's route 1, where we can see the Pacific Osean and is adjaicent to Hamamatsu city.

(Kasu-jiru ya sewa-nyoubou ni narenu mama)
    ((Watanabe Sachie))

Kasu-jiru soup--
I have not been a house wife
but a career woman

*Kasu-jiru soup is a kind of miso-soup with Japanese sake lees.

(Shima-jyuu ga oboro-zuki-yo to nari ni keri)
    ((Taguchi Kou))

the whole island is
in a spring night
with a hazy moon

(Haru no kaze wagamama wo iu sukoshi iu)
    ((Kobayashi Satsuki))

I caught a spring cold...
I became selfish
a little

(Setsubun-sou soma no seseragi oto tate te)
    ((Narita Yukiko))

Setsubun-so--
wood cutter's brook
is murmuring

(Yuki-guni no oto no komore ru fuyu hanabi)
    ((Hirama Jyun-ichi))

the sounds of fireworks
in a heavy snow region
were indistinct

Haikus Selected
from '07 June edition of the Shirawobi

to '07 June Japanese page

(Ashiato no inu shika kitsune kinone aku)
    ((Nishida Mikiko))

footprints of dog, deer and fox--
the laying snow around birches
began to melt

(Hanazuou itsu made tsuzuku shakkuri zo)
    ((Ninomiya Tetsurou))

Japanese redbud--
the hiccups
wouldn't stop

* Hanazuou is Japanese redbud, and the scientific name of redbud is Cercis canadensis .

(Tori kumo ni nokosa re shi o-ku yomi-kaesu)
   ((Takama You))

the migratory birds to the north--
I am reading
his pasthumous haiku works

.
(Hinaga towa kure te sewashiki hi nari keri)
    ((Ooishi Tomie))

the longer daytime is,
the busier housewife is
in the evening

(Tabi ni areba nani mo wasure te asane kana)
    ((Aoto Shizuyo))

on the trip...
I, housewife enjoy
being a late riser

(Kokorozashi kataku tamochi te sakura kana)
    ((Andou Kimifumi))

cherry blossoms
remind me
of the samurai spirit

(Hyaku sai no oba no katami no haru-coat)
    ((Arita Kikuko))

I keep the spring coat
as a memento
of a hundred year-old aunt

Haikus Selected
from '07 July edition of the Shirawobi

to '07 July Japanese page

(Haru no kari sora ga yukkuri kure te yuku)
    ((Kobayshi Fusako))

spring wild geese--
the sky is gradually
getting dark

(Haru fukashi sobaya ni sou to tonari-au)
    ((Shimizu Kazuko))

middle of spring--
I shared a table with a priest
in a noodle shop

(Kakei-zu ni kuuhaku ooshi shouwa no hi)
    ((Maeda Kiyokata))

there are a few blanks
in our family tree--
Showa emperor memorial day

(Taikon no kinen no kitte shouwa no hi)
    ((Itou Tomoe))

Showa emperor memorial day--
I have a commemorative stamp
of his wedding

*Showa emperor: Hirohito, was born on April 29, 1901; married in 1925; and passed away in 1989. Now, his birth day is a national holiday called the Showa (emperor) memorial day.

(Itajiki ni mushiro ya watari gyofu no nema)
    ((Goshima Kyuukou))

the bedroom for migrant fishermen
was with wooden floor
and straw mats

(Kaze hikaru Vienna shounen gasshou-dan)
    ((Ezure Koujyo))

bright spring winds--
Vienna Boys' Choir
comes

(Haha yori mo too nagarae te yomogi tsumu)
    ((Nakanishi Akiko))

I turned ten years older than
my mother's age at death...
picking mugworts

(Tori-gumori mijika kari keri oi no kako)
    ((Maekawa Kimiyo))

migratory birds to the north...
my ninty years flied
like an arrow

Haikus Selected
from '07 August edition of the Shirawobi

to '07 Auguust Japanese page

(Shoubu-fuki ima mo yagou de yobu kurashi)
((Yoshioka Fusayo))

shoubu-fuki* tradition--
they friendly call each other
with the ancestal house-name

* Shoubu-fuki is a dying tradition to protect the house from misfortune and evil by putting bundles of iris' leave on the eaves during the children's days in May. Sorry that the URL referred is in Japanese.

(*Baika-mo* ya ie made go-ho no hashi kakaru)
((Shimizu Kazuko))

flowers of algae--
the bridge is in five feet
to the house

* Baika-mo is the flower of a sort of algae that looks like ume blossom.

(Nyuusha-shiki hayashi no you na otoko-tachi)
   ((Takahashi Kakou))

new employment ceremony--
guys are tall
like woods

.
(Ichi-nichi de ue-ta to nase ri ni tan go se)
    ((Shinoda Shouji))

I planted rice
in half-acre field
by one day

(Ao-shigure yufu-dake aogu ashi-yu kana)
    ((Wakiyama Sekishou))

drops from greenery--
I look up Mt.Yufu ,
soaking my legs in hot spring

(Ao-arashi umi no nioi wo hakobi keri)
    ((Hara Kazuko))

a gale of greenery--
it brought
the scent of the ocean

(Patto chiri soutto modoru medaka kana)
    ((Gotou Masaharu))

killifishes
disperse suddenly
then gather secretly

(Chichi-haha no jiman mo kuyou kiri no hana)
    ((Mitsuoka Yasuko))

bragging of my parents
is a kind of memorial service...
paulownia's flower

(Tsuyu harema okurete piano totsugase ri)
    ((Ogiwara Tomie)

blue sky in rainy season--
I shipped her piano
to the newly-married daughter

Haikus Selected
from '07 September edition of the Shirawobi

to '07 September Japanese page

(Kubi hitotsu mawashi roku-gatu owari keri)
    ((Ninomiya Tetsurou))

the end of June--
I turned my neck
once

(Ta ichi-mai hodo no sekkei asama-yama)
    ((Fukushima Fusako))

the remaining snow on Mt. Asama
has shrunk
as small as a rice field

(Hasu no ha ni amatsubu hitotsu hekigyo no ki)
   ((Toujyou Mitsuo))

a raindrop fell
on a lotus' leaf...
the anniversary of Hekigyo's death

* Mr. Hekigyo Fujikawa was one of leaders of the Shirawobi.

(Waribashi no kireini ware te suzushi kari)
    ((Kobayashi Satsuki))

a half-split chopsticks
split cleanly...
it's cool!

(Sensei ni tomodachi-kotoba camp no yo)
    ((Hazama Toshiko))

students talk to their teacher
too friendly...
at camping night

(Imo sasu ya kaze no omotaki yuu-magure)
    ((Takamura Hiroshi))

I am planting sweet potatoes
in humid air,
at dusk

(Shoubu mi ni tsuma tsure dase ba ame ni ai)
    ((Tanaka Ishi))

I took my husband
to see iris garden--
it rains

Haikus Selected
from '07 October edition of the Shirawobi

to '07 October Japanese page

(Ryou-fuu no jizai ni kayou tagajyou-hi)
((Shimizu Kazuko))

Tagajo stone-monument
is exposed
to cool breezes

* The Tagajo stone-monument is located near Sendai city, which was built for the memory of completion of Tagajo-castle's repair-work in 8th century, and is 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide.

(Otoko-buri age shi shimekomi dashi wo hiku)
    ((Taniyama Mizue))

wearing loincloth,
manly guys
pull a float

(Shiosai wo mimi ni nokashie te kami arau)
   ((Shinozaki Atomi))

the sound of sea is
lingering on in my ears--
I wash my hair

.
(Keidai wo dere ba tsune no yo shara no hana)
    ((Ihara Noriko))

coming out of the temple precincts,
I returned to this world--
the flowers of Shara

flower of Shara

(Hito-nigiri hodo no shima ni mo shin-chijiri)
((Katou Yoshie))

a pine tree
with green pine-cones is
on a palm-sized-like islet

(Ama-ashi no futo ku nari tari dai-nenbutsu)
((Satou Shouko))

a summer shower
comes on fast...
Dai-nenbutsu

*The Dai-nenbutsu is a folk art in Hamamatsu region, which is a series of dance with requiem performed by local young men and women groups on the Bon festival days in summer.

Haikus Selected
from '07 Nobember edition of the Shirawobi

to '07 November Japanese page

(Tori-odoshi hikari no yore te ori ni keri)
    ((Sakashita Shouko))

bird threatening devices
made of audiotape
twist sunlight

*Tori-odoshi is the device to threaten the birds that harm rice crops in the rice-field by making loud sound, mysterious ray by pulled-out audiotape or showing dead bird.

(Gesshoku no tsuki agari keri ushi no maki)
    ((Nishida Mikiko))

the moon in eclipse
has risen
above a cattle ranch

(Hiru-zake no sugi taru *doyou-tarou kana)
   ((Yumiba Tadatishi))

I drank much sake
in the middle of
the first day of doyou

* Doyou is eighteen days of the hottest period of summer, in the lunar calendar in Japan.

(Dougan no ani no iei ya shuusen-ki)
    ((Morino Itoko))

my brother's picture killed in the war
is boyish looking...
the anniversary of the end of the war

(*Zansho-mimai aoki ink no otoko-moji)
    ((Nakajima Keiko))

the zansho-mimai card,
written by man
with blue ink

*Zansho-mimai is the card that offers the best wishes for his or her health in the lingering hot summer.

(Inabikari seika ni kagi shi inuru toki)
    ((Maeda Kiyokata))

I lock and leave
my late-parents' house...
lightning

(Bon-sou ni kikaruru ine no deki-guai)
    ((Sano Eiko))

Bon-priest
asked me
this year's rice crop

(Mushi-megane hawase ru jisho ni ari ga noru)
    ((Kikuma Chiyoko))

I run reading glass
over a dictionary,
find an ant then

("Paa" no te mo " guu" no te mo ari kumo no mine)
    ((Suzuki Makoto))

I find *"paa"
and * "guu" hands
in the towering thunder-clouds

*Janken game: scissors-paper-stone game, is played to fix things like order of participation or victory or defeat in insignificant games. By saying "jankenpon" plays putting forward "paa"(paper) or "guu"(stone) or "choki"(scissors). Victory is determined with stone breaking scissors, scissors cutting paper, or paper covering stone.

"paa" stands for paper.

"guu" stands for stone.

"choki" stands for scissors.

(Natsu oshimu koppu no koori yuri narashi)
((Takaha Katsuko))

rocking and ringing
ices in a glass,
I regret summer is over

Haikus Selected
from '07 December edition of the Shirawobi

to '07 December Japanese page

(Tooku yori meboshi wo tsuke te take wo kiru)
    ((Itou Tomoe))

I mark a bamboo
from far,
then cut it

(Konomi furu shima wo kakomi shi nami no oto)
    ((Nishimura Matsuko))

the sound of wave
surrounded an isle
where nuts fell down

(Kusa no hana furui no soko ni mizu sukoshi)
   ((Takubo Mineka))

flowers of grasses --
a little water is
in the old well

.
(Mamushi-sou mi to nari tsuma wo odorokasu)
    (Okuno Tsuyako))

Viper-plant had berries,
that astonished
my husband

(SL no kemuri hai-yuku susuki-bara)
    ((Kadotani Akira))

steam-locomotive's smoke
crawls on a field
of pampas grasses

(Mitsuryou no sake morai taru hoshi no shita)
    ((Satou Isao))

I received
poached salmon
in the starlight

(Futatsu mitsu kuri wo hiroi shi *jyofuku kana)
    ((Nakamura Kuniji))

*Jyofuku
had picked up
a couple of chestnuts

*Jofuku is the person who lived in Chin dynasty. He was ordered to get the elixir of life by the emperor. They say he lived at the bottom of Mt. Fuji in Japan, later.