Emotions in Haiku and Kigo

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Emotions in Kigo and Haiku

for kigo, see details below


. Emotions and Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 .

. Emotions and Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 .

. Emotions and Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 .


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Strong emotions like melancholy or sadness (kanashisa 悲しさ) and others are usually not used directly in traditional Japanese haiku, which tend to simply describe the scene but not interpret it in human terms.
A suitable KIGO is used to bring out the underlying mood / emotion of the haiku.

Japanese haiku are a very emotional kind of poetry,
but
the emotional part is expressed through the skilfull use of kigo.
Each kigo has an emotional mood, which gives the author the opportunity to convey his emotion without saying "I am sad", "I am happy" openly.

The emotional background is explained in the saijiki and needs to be learned, just as we learn the vocabulary of a new language to be able to speak it properly.

early cherry blossoms
cherry blossoms
falling cherry blossoms

Three different emotions.


Children are usually taught to imply the emotion within an appropriate KIGO, as I have experienced it in our local grammar school.
Read more HERE:
. Teaching Japanese Children 　



Shasei .. 写生 sketching from nature

EGO and how not to anihilate it in haiku


There are however exceptions from these guidelines (yakusokugoto), as we will explore below. These emotional words are usually used in context with a season word.

The composing of a Japaese haiku depends first and foremost on the situation experienced by the poet and his choice of vocabulary or style which suits that situation.

Gabi Greve

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A sense of melancholy ... wabi　侘び　 and sabi 寂び　...


さびしさ　寂しさ

淋しい　/　淋しさ　

Wabi, sabi, Japanese Aesthetics


sabishii .. lonely, sad ... the dictionary

悲しい kanashii .. sad, miserable, sorrowfull ... the dictionary


SABISHISA and Japanese Poetry / some LINKS



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Question
How does one produce work on negative subject matter such as loss, anger, melancholy. Its not that I am a pessimist, its just I want to know if haiku cover the full the range of existence.

Answer:
Absolutely -- all flavors of experience have been approached through haiku.
However, as with any emotional content, dark emotions need to be evoked indirectly, by choice of words and images.
very strong emotions tend to be hard to express well in these subtle ways, and probably do not make good subjects for haiku. but there are plenty of examples of sorrow, loneliness, regret, and nostalgia being conveyed beautifully by way of the observations being made of "external" things.

©　acm / Shiki Archives

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The beauty of Japanese haiku poetry, inspired by Zen Buddhism, lies in the brevity of expression which conveys a world of meaning and emotions.

Dr Satya Bhushan Verma

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longing for a person, longing for one's mother
haha koishi


いかなごに　まづ箸おろし　母恋し　　　

to eat sand lance
first I put my chopsticks down -
I long for mother

Takahama Kyoshi 高浜虚子 and ikanago fish haiku
Tr. Gabi Greve


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feeling lonely, sabishiisa, sabishii 寂しい　

"Loneliness is the second state of mind necessary for the creation and appreciation of haiku.
Loneliness is also a state of interpenetration with all other things."

Robert Blyth



What quiet loneliness fills the autumn air!
As I lean on my staff, the wind turns cold
A solitary village lies shrouded in mist
By a country bridge, a figure passes
bound for home.

An old crow comes to roost in the ancient forest
Lines of wild geese slant toward the horizon
Only a monk in black robes remains
Standing motionless before the river at twilight.
Tr. Abe / Haskel


. Ryookan 良寛 Ryokan (1758-1831) .

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淋しさの底ぬけて降るみぞれかな
淋しさの底拔けて降る霙哉
sabishisa no soko nukete furu mizore kana

this sleet
right through the bottom
of loneliness . . .

OR

this sleet
falls right through the bottom
of my solitude . ..
Tr. Gabi Greve

This haiku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.

Joso (Joosoo) lived as a Zen monk in a remote small hut and might have felt this endlessly falling sleet as falling right though the bottom of heaven on his reed roof and onto his cold body. He felt the powerlessness, weakness and loneliness of his own body and personal situation even stronger. "through the bottom" is an expression of his humor on this bleek cold day, since there is nothing he can do but yield to his miserable situation and write poetry about it.
He died at the age of 43.

Read the full discussion of this translation HERE
Naito Joso 内藤丈草


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憂き我をさびしがらせよ閑古鳥
uki ware o sabishigarase yo kankoodori

this sorrowful me
you make even more lonely -
you cuckoo

MORE hokku about emotions by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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淋しさはつみ木あそびにつもる雪
sabishisa wa tsumiki asobi ni tsumoru yuki

this feeling of loneliness -
he plays with his building blocks
as the snow heaps up


Kubota Mantaro 久保田万太郎
He wrote this for his son, who was jsut 3 years old and always playing alone.


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いづれさびし風船売と寄居虫売　 　
izure sabishi fuusen uri to yadokari uri

they are both lonely -
the vendor of baloons
the vendor of hermit crabs

Yamao Tamao 山尾玉藻


Vendor of hermit cracs
kigo for all spring


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aware あわれ　哀れ　pitiful, miserable touching, to be moved, compassion, mercy, piteous

花みな枯れてあはれをこぼす草の種
hana mina karete aware o kobosu kusa no tane

the flowers have withered -
the seeds are spilling
their mercy

After the first frost has come, the flowers are withered and the seeds have fallen to the ground.. Compared to the lush green of summer, this view gives rise to "aware".

The point of this haiku is the expression "aware o kobosu".


flowers all withered,
spilling their sadness:
seeds for grass
source : translations


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lighthearted, light, karoshi, karui, karumi 軽い　


木の葉散る桜は軽し檜木笠
このはちるさくらはかるしひのきがさ
konoha chiru sakura wa karushi hinokigasa

falling leaves
of the cherry tree so light
on my pilgrim's hat

Matsuo Basho


. Karumi and Haiku by Basho


hat made from pine bark, hinokigasa ひのき笠


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a sparkling sight, dazzeling sight,
kirabiyaka　きらびやか


獅子舞の橋に行き会ふきらびやか
shishimai no hashi ni yuki au kirabiyaka

the lion dance
performed at the bridge
how dazzling a sight

Kume Santei, 久米三汀
© lib.virginia.edu

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feeling ashamed, asamashii 浅ましい


Some Haiku by Kobayashi Issa

浅ましや炭のしみ込む掌に
asamashi ya sumi no shimi komu tenohira ni

how shameful--
with my charcoal-stained
palms...



浅ましの尿瓶とやなくむら千鳥
asamashi no shibin toya naku mura chidori

"Shameful, that piss-pot!"
the flock of plovers
sing


浅ましや杖が何本老の松
asamashi ya tsue ga nanbon oi no matsu

what a shame!
how many canes prop you up
old pine?

I first translated asamashi as "pitiful," but for a different haiku in which this word appears, Shinji Ogawa suggests, "shameful," as a better translation. In snow country like Issa's home province of Shinano, certain kinds of trees must be protected by columns placed under every branch to prevent the branches from being broken by the weight of the snow. Shinji explains that Issa is playfully teasing the old pine: "Shame! Shame! How many canes are you using, old pine?"

Tr. David Lanoue
More haiku with ASAMASHI



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having a bad or unpleasant feeling,
mutsukashi むつかし 【難しい】
muzukashii むずかしい


むつかしや初雪見ゆるしなの山
mutsukashi ya hatsu yuki miyuru Shinano yama

watching first snowfall
in a rotten mood...
Shinano Mountain

Kobayashi Issa
Tr. David Lanoue


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feeling nostalgia なつかしい【懐かしい】 natsukashi
to be fond of something, to yearn for something


汲みて知るぬるみに昔なつかしや
kumite shiru nurumi ni mukashi natsukashi ya

drawing water
it's tepid...
nostalgia for olden times

Kobayashi Issa, 1795
Tr. David Lanoue

This haiku, written during Issa's journey to Matsuyama on Shikoku Island, was inspired by a stone monument containing a haiku by Basho that includes the lines,
"thrusting in my hands I noticed/ the urn water"
(te o irete shiru/ kame no mizu).
Natsukashi, has no exact English equivalent. It usually connotes the feeling of something dear or fondly remembered--a sort of sweet nostalgia. Shinji Ogawa offers this translation of Issa's haiku:
Drawing water, I noticed the tepidness yearning for the olden days . .
Shinji notes that Issa's use of the word shiru (notice) is a conscious reflection of Basho's statement.


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- - - - - nikui にくい　―　憎い　to hate 　- - - - -

おち葉して憎い烏はなかりけり
ochiba shite nikui karasu wa nakari keri

falling leaves
and nothing but
likeable crows
Tr. Chris Drake

Japanese double negatives are often best translated as strong positives in English. For example, what can be literally translated as "don't dislike" actually means "to love, like a lot, have special feelings for" in English. Classical Japanese was fond of understatement, and experienced readers knew from the context when to read double negatives as strong positives. If double negatives are translated literally into English, readers have fewer cues, so in many cases, such as the present hokku, written by a poet who himself does not hate crows at any time, a strongly positive translation seems justified. The implication in the hokku seems to be that even those who usually hate crows must be satisfied with the birds, at least for the time being. And Issa's own opinion seems to be that the crows are very likeable indeed.

. Full comment by Chris Drake .



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feeling overwhelmed, overpowered
すさまじい【凄まじい】 susamajii
something terrible or dreadful

susamaji ya sugina bakari no oka hitotsu
Masaoka Shiki



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urayamashi うらやまし　羨まし to envy something


. urayamashi ukiyo no kita no yama-zakura .
Matsuo Basho


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emotions used in KIGO


kigo for all spring




shunkyoo 春興 (しゅんきょう) joy of spring
..... shunki 春嬉（しゅんき）
haru no kyoo 春の興（はるのきょう）
haru tanoshi 春愉し（はるたのし）spring is enjoyable, I enjoy spring
shunyuu 春遊（しゅんゆう）enjoying spring, I enjoy spring
(by going out in the fresh green nature)

In the Edo period, this word was also used for the first haiku meeting and print-out of their latest haiku to had to friends.

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shun-i 春意 (しゅんい) feeling of spring
harugokoro 春心（はるごころ）the heart feels spring
lit. "spring heart"
..... shunyuu 春融（しゅんゆう）,shunjoo 春情（しゅんじょう）
haru no joo 春の情（はるのじょう）



shunshuu 春愁 (しゅんしゅう ) spring melancholy
haru urei 春愁（はるうれい）
haru ureu 春愁う（はるうれう）I feel melancholic in spring
shunkon 春恨（しゅんこん）
shun-en 春怨（しゅんえん）
haru no urami 春の恨み（はるのうらみ）
(feeling of young lonely women)

haru kanashi 春かなし（はるかなし）"sad spring"
I feel sad in spring

shunshi 春思（しゅんし）"spring thoughts"
(about the other sex)


春愁プランクトンも人間も
shunshuu purankuton mo ningen mo

spring melancholy -
even for plankton
even for humans

Sato Naruyuki 佐藤成之 (Satoo Naruyuki / Shigeyuki)


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kigo for late autumn

"loneliness in autumn" autumn melancholy,
aki sabu 秋寂ぶ (あきさぶ)
I feel lonely/melancholic in autumn

SABU, means also "getting rusty", autumn is rusting. It may also hint to the color of the autumn leaves.
aki sabishi 秋さびし（あきさびし） feeling lonely in autumn
I feel lonely in autumn

MORE
Autumn Melancholy Japan


Autumn Melancholy Europe


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. Feeling HOT in SUMMER 　

. Feeling COOL in SUMMER 　



. Feeling cold in WINTER 　



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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

大の字に寝て涼しさよ淋しさよ
dai no ji ni nete suzushisa yo sabishisa yo

lying spread-eagle
cool
lonely

by Issa, 1813
Tr. David Lanoue



©　Haiga and Renku by Nakamura Sakuo


lying spread-eagle
aa, this coolness !
aa, this loneliness!

Tr. Gabi Greve

MORE
comment and translation by
- - Chris Drake - translating haiku forum - -

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淋しさや汐の干る日も角田河
sabishisa ya shio no hiru hi mo sumida-gawa

loneliness--
even on a low tide day
Sumida River



淋さを鶴に及ぼすかがし哉
sabishisa o tsuru ni oyobosu kagashi kana

making the stork
feel lonely...
the scarecrow



淋しさは得心しても窓の霜
sabishisa wa tokushin shite mo mado no shimo

also consenting
to my loneliness...
frost on the window


Tr. David Lanoue
Issa and more haiku about loneliness !

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寂しさや須磨にかちたる浜の秋
sabishisa ya Suma ni kachitaru hama no aki

Lonelier even than Suma -
Standing on this beach
The end of autumn

Basho - The Narrow Road to the North
Tr. John Tran ＆ Tamiko Nakagawa

Suma, Iro no Hama and Basho

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さびしさや 岩にしみ込 蝉のこゑ
sabishisa ya iwa ni shimikomu semi no koe

oh this loneliness !
only the shrill of cicadas
seeps into rocks
(Tr. Gabi Greve)

Matsuo Basho


MORE hokku about emotions by
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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蜘殺すあとの淋しき夜寒哉　
kumo korosu ato no sabishiki yosamu kana

this loneliness
after killing a spider -
cold at night

Masaoka Shiki


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手毬歌かなしきことをうつくしく
temari uta kanashiki koto o utsukushiku

ball bouncing song -
such a sad thing
said so beautifully

Takahama Kyoshi



Temari uta is a song that Japanese children sing to count while bouncing or catching a small ball ten times, each time saying the name of a deity or famous temple or shrine.
After counting to ten, the next verse goes a bit like this:

I believe very much in all these Buddhas and Gods,
and yet, my dear child is very ill and wont heal,
my husband has to go to war and might not come back !
I cry and cough blood ... hototogisu!

Here is the Japanese version of this song:

一番初めは一の宮
二また日光中禅寺
三また佐倉の宗五郎
四また信濃の善光寺
五つは出雲の大社(おおやしろ)
六つは村村鎮守様
七つは成田のお不動さん
八つは八幡の八幡宮
九つ高野の弘法様
十で東京泉岳寺

これほど信(神）願　かけたのに
浪子の病はなおらない
武夫が戦地に行くときは
白きま白きハンカチを
うちふりながらも　ねえあなた
はやくかえってちょうだいね
泣いて血を吐く　ほととぎす hototogisu

Regional Versions of this Song



WKD: Priest Ryokan and the Temari balls
More links about the wonderful TEMARI balls.



Temari hand balls and temari songs 手毬唄
kigo for the New Year !


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初富士のかなしきまでに遠きかな
hatsu fuji no kanashiki made ni tooki kana

first Mt. Fuji
until I have become sad
at such a distance

Yamaguchi Seison 山口青邨

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remembering the Niigata earthquake

nochitsuki no kanashiki hodo no shirosa kana

October full moon
moonshine is too white
for sadness

etsuko yanagibori


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how beautiful うつくしや utsukushi ya


僧になる子のうつくしやけしの花
soo ni naru ko no utsukushi ya keshi no hana

how beautiful
this boy who becomes a priest -
poppy flowers

Kobayashi Issa

. Poppy flowers and kigo


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雁やのこるものみな美しき
karigane ya nokoru mono mina utsukushiki

wild geese ——
all that remains
beautiful

ISHIDA Hakyo (1913 - 1969)

quote
This haiku needs an introduction about the poet's parting on September 23, 1943 when he got his draft card notice. He then thought of his family and friends who remained behind.
In the evening sky, a flock of wild geese were flying and honking and then disappeared. It seemed to echo Hakyos sad feeling and his determination to deem, everything that remains as beautiful. This shows his affection toward everything that remained: the value of family and friends - and that love becomes more beautiful when it ends. His sad feeling is embodied in the image of the departing wild geese.
source : HIA - TAKAHA Shugyo
Translation by SATO Kazuo & Patricia DONEGAN


. Ishida Hakyo (Ishida Hakyoo)石田波郷 .

a flock of wild geese -
the things I leave behind
are all so beautiful
Tr. Gabi Greve

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炎天の空美しや高野山　
enten no sora utsukushi ya Kooyasan

the blazing sky
is so beautiful -
Mount Koya Monastery

Takahama Kyoshi 虚子

enten - blazing sky and haiku

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How interesting ! omoshiro ya
omoshiroi, おもしろい (面白い) can have many nuances in Japanese, according to the situation.
interesting, amusing, entertaining, funny, enjoyable, strange, weird, exciting ...


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. MORE haiku with emotions .


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Related words


***** Joy, pleasure (ureshisa, tanoshisa)
happiness, bliss (shiawase)


***** Boredom, to be bored (taikutsu)

***** Judgement and Duality, rich and poor yin and yang



***** Wabi, sabi, Japanese Aesthetics


***** Haiku Theory Archives

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