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

A far-off, across the earth racing—the cat’s loveHakyo Ishida

The seasonal word in this verse is “neko no koi” (cats in love), one of the kigo that signify spring.

Cats enter their mating season from winter into spring, and because they make plaintive, sometimes wailing calls during estrus, “neko no koi” came to be used as a spring kigo.

“Harukanaru” means that something is far away in distance or time, or conveys a sense of remoteness.

You can hear cats calling from somewhere far off—perhaps they’re in heat.

In the voices of the cats echoing as if racing across the ground, you can sense that the warm arrival of spring is close at hand.

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moko

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My body needlessly grows old—Needle MemorialTakahashi Awajijo

Harikuyo is a memorial service in which broken or worn-out needles are collected and honored.

It is carried out to express gratitude to the needles that have served us well.

People also pray for improvement in sewing skills and for safety in needlework.

Because Harikuyo is held every year on February 8, it is known in the world of haiku as a seasonal word for February.

“Itazura ni” means “in vain” or “to no purpose,” and “furiyuku” means “to grow old” or “to become worn with time.” In this haiku by Takahashi Awajijo, the poet depicts performing Harikuyo with gratitude for the needles that, through sewing, became uselessly old and eventually broke.

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moko

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First Horse Day— / old banners / among the many thingsTakahashi Awajijo

Hatsu-uma is a spring season word, referring to the festival held at Inari shrines on the first Day of the Horse in February.

Deriving from “ine-nari, inari,” meaning rice bearing grain, Hatsu-uma festivals have been held at Inari shrines across Japan to pray for abundant harvests and prosperous business.

Although it falls in February by the modern calendar, the Hatsu-uma counted by the old lunar calendar comes in a somewhat warmer, more springlike period than February, so perhaps this verse was composed during a visit in that mild spring weather.

“Nobori” is read nobori and means a vertical banner erected as a marker.

You can picture many old banners lined up at the shrine where Hatsu-uma is being held, announcing the event.

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moko

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New Year’s Eve — such is the fate of a world without certainties.Ihara Saikaku

“New Year’s Eve—such is the fate of a world without set order.” In this haiku, Ihara Saikaku, a popular haikai poet of the Edo period, expressed the idea that even though the order we are supposed to uphold in this world has fallen away and each day is full of uncertainty, New Year’s Eve arrives right on time every year.

In our daily lives, there are many things that don’t go as we wish.

Even when the days keep going badly, for better or worse, New Year’s Eve will come.

Let’s face today with a positive spirit and get through it.

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moko

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It looks delicious—snow drifting down, softly, softly.Kobayashi Issa

When you watch snow drifting down from the sky, it can spark all kinds of imaginings.

The fleeting, delicate nature of snow that soon melts away; or, if you’re a child, the hopeful wish for a big snowfall.

Kobayashi Issa’s haiku, “Umasaōna / yuki ga fūwari / fuwari kana,” also conjures up a vivid image of winter snow.

The haiku means that delicious-looking snow is floating down, softly and lightly.

By describing the snowfall as fūwari fūwari—softly, gently—it evokes an association with cotton candy.

Haiku allows older adults, too, to joyfully express what they feel, so I’d love for them to try composing some as well.

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Nakajima Junko

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Off they go, the children dash—Gyokuro.Matsuo Bashō

From Matsuo Basho’s haiku “Come on, children—let’s run about—tama-zarame,” we can glimpse the lively energy of children.

The haiku means: “Come, children, the hail is falling.

Let’s run around full of spirit—vigor is what matters most.” The word tama-zarame, which appears in the haiku, is a winter season word likening the beauty of hail to jewels.

In the past in Japan, even when hail or snow fell in winter, you could see children playing energetically outside.

It’s a sight that has become rarer these days.

This haiku is one that may also prompt older people to recall memories of forgetting the cold and playing when they were children.

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Nakajima Junko

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Snow and snow—could it be the full moon of the last month tonight?Matsuo Bashō

This is a haiku by Matsuo Basho, composed while gazing at the year-end (Shiwasu) night sky.

The phrase “yuki to yuki” (“snow and snow”) is thought to evoke both the falling, piling snow and the overlapping reflections of light and scenery upon the snow.

As the line “Is it the full moon of Shiwasu tonight?” suggests, even in the busy season of December, a serene and beautiful full moon shines in the night sky, creating a dreamlike scene together with the snowy landscape.

Through this verse, Basho conveys the sensibility of pausing to notice nature’s beauty and stillness amid the year-end bustle.

Reading it in early December lets you savor the arrival of winter and the quiet joy of a moonlit night.

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kepiko

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