The Haiku Foundation Forums

Quotepoem by Hosai Ozaki
as translated by Hiroaki Sato:
( i don't have the kanji/hiragana for this poem, and though Ozaki was not tied to the use
of kigo, I feel the reference is strong ....)

I kill ants as I kill them they come out

Hosai in Japanese reads

蟻を殺す殺すつぎから出てくる
ari o korosu korosu tsugi kara dete kuru



The kigo  蟻穴を出づ ありあなをいづ
仲春
蟻出づ（ありいづ）、蟻穴を出る（ありあなをでる） 
is listed in the Big Saijiki  (here in an online version, without the further explanations)
http://www.geocities.jp/tokihikok/masaji/haiku/kigo/haru/6doubutsu.html


Gabi

.
ants out of a hole--

This is the translation for the Japanese kigo for mid-spring

ari ana o izu 蟻穴を出づ (ありあなをいづ)
ants coming out of the hole
. . . . ari ana o deru 蟻穴を出る（ありあなをでる）
ari izu 蟻出づ（ありいづ）ants coming out (again)

Finally it gets warmer and the ants come out again looking for food.
This kigo shows the joy of springtime.

I hope this helps the appreciation of the haiku by Fay.
Gabi



ants out of a hole--
when did I stop playing
the red toy piano?

Fay Aoyagi
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QuoteOn the other hand, avoiding clichés is very important in modern English-language literature. George Orwell's first rule for writers is: "Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print."
So much for autumn leaves!
Dave

You are getting your finger to a point of crosscultural appreciation which is very important to me, and to my "foreign" friends who live in Japan.

Should we appreciate a penomenon of a different culture, which is new to us, 
within its own terms, which we have to learn bit by bit,
by deprogramming our own cultural understanding and become open for the new world?

or should we judge new and unfamiliar things within the terms of our own culture, to which we are used  from childhood and tend to think are "right" ?

eating soup
with chopsticks ...
crosscultural encounters


Gabi



And a big thanks to Don for bringing kigo back to haiku  ;D

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Dear Dave,
thanks for bringing up the problems of translation ... my perennial headache !

Anyway,
I have been introducing more than 100 Japanese haiku poets over the years, many with in-depth discussions of possible translations and the cultural background of a given situation necessary for understanding the meaning.
Many Japanese haiku are thus introduced "in context" for readers who do not speak Japanese and know little about Japanese culture.

The list would be too long to post here, so look at this link please.
http://wkdhaikutopics.blogspot.com/

The World Kigo Database also tries to introduce Japanese kigo with more detail than just the word itself.

If there are any Japanese haiku or kigo you would like to be discussed in more detail, please let me know.


My mother tongue is German, next comes British English and since 1977 Japanese. I work as a translator of scientific, medical and Buddhist art texts.
(BTW, I dream in Japanese and often my German relatives talk to me in Japanese in a dream ... which makes me wake up in wonder . . .   :D)

All the Best with English-language haiku (ELH).

Gabi

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