[For Seniors] Winter Haiku: Introducing Beautiful Masterpieces by Famous Haiku Poets

Before I knew it, the needles had vanished—this is their memorial service.Takashi Matsumoto

Hari-kuyo is a ritual held on February 8 to honor and give thanks for needles that have become damaged, broken, or unusable.

In times when needlework for making kimono was a valuable livelihood, needles were an essential and treasured tool.

To show appreciation, people would rest the needles by sticking them into soft items like tofu or konjac and then offer them at temples and shrines.

This expressed the wish that the needles, which had worked so hard until then, could take their final rest in a soft place.

The verse that calls to mind the many needles and the women diligently engaged in needlework seems to praise the labor and efforts of those women and the needles alike.

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Warbler— nor am I distant from the February well-wishers.Sei-sei Matsuse

It’s common to exchange New Year’s greetings during the New Year holiday, but in the past there was a custom called “February visitors,” where people who were busy at that time would make their rounds and offer greetings later.

This work depicts the scene in early spring, when bush warblers appear, of those February visitors arriving.

The phrase at the end, “sokarazu,” means “not neglecting” or “not being remiss.” It conveys how people welcomed those who came to greet them politely, even if belatedly, and treated them with courtesy.

Although this custom is fading in modern times, such scenes may once have been considered one aspect of the spring atmosphere.

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Plum blossoms bloom—the gate is a teahouse, a fine place to rest.Masaoka Shiki

Plum blossoms are known for blooming in early spring compared to other flowers.

In the world of haiku as well, the plum is often used as a season word for spring.

From Masaoka Shiki’s haiku about plum blossoms and a teahouse, one can sense the feelings experienced while taking a brief rest at a teahouse where the plums were in bloom.

Dropping in for a break at a teahouse, with beautiful plum blossoms nearby, put one in a very pleasant mood.

In February, when the cold still lingers, the noble, pure, and vivid plum blossoms seem to gently and warmly soothe people’s hearts.

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In the white plum blossoms, a soul enters—oh, moonlit nightMasaoka Shiki

Tamashii-iri refers to a ritual in which a spirit is enshrined into a mortuary tablet placed in a Buddhist altar—also called a kaigen kuyō (eye-opening consecration).

In this verse, it’s not a tablet but white plum blossoms, which are a seasonal word, that seem to be imbued with a soul, their beauty standing out under the moonlit night.

It means they are as beautiful as if a soul had entered them, and the emotion felt upon seeing them comes through directly.

White plum blossoms are known as harbingers of spring, with their peak viewing season around February to March.

Plum blossoms are generally of two types: red (kōbai) and white (shira-ume).

You can tell which tree it is by cutting and looking at the cross section—the color differs, I’m told.

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Bush warbler—no one here to wake me from my morning slumber.Masaoka Shiki

This is a work by Masaoka Shiki in which the bush warbler, a quintessential bird of spring, is used as a seasonal word.

It describes waking up to the song of a bush warbler because no one was there to rouse the speaker in the morning.

We often wake to an alarm clock or a mother’s “Time to get up!” don’t we? Waking to a bush warbler, a little removed from that everyday routine, feels like a luxurious morning touched by a gentle, unhurried atmosphere.

The bush warbler’s call is famously “Hō-hokekyō,” but in spring you can also hear it still practicing.

Listening as its song gradually improves is one of the pleasures of the season.

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Bush warbler— the front hills, more and more, in the rainAkiyama Akiko Mizuhara

The bush warbler has long been cherished by people as a bird that heralds spring.

In the world of haiku as well, the bush warbler is a spring season word loved by many poets.

This verse was composed by Mizuhara Shūōshi while gazing at mountains that gradually faded from view in the spring rain.

The term “iyoyo” conveys that something has reached its final stage, akin to “at last” or “all the more.” Mountains stretching endlessly, the sky that brings rain, and from somewhere within this great nature comes the call of the bush warbler.

The arrival of spring is almost upon us.

In the warbler’s song, we can sense the hint of spring that the poet became aware of.

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Red camellia, white camellia—both have fallen.Kawahigashi Hekigoto

Because camellias bloom from winter to spring, they are known as “flowers that herald spring.” In the world of haiku as well, camellias have long been used as a seasonal word representing spring.

This verse depicts how the red and white camellia blossoms, once in full glory on their respective trees, have begun to fall one after another.

You can almost picture the contrast between the red and white petals and the yellow stamens at their centers.

February remains cold and windy, a time when few flowers are in bloom.

There is a touch of sadness in seeing the early-spring camellias drop, yet it also brings joy, knowing that spring is just around the corner.

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