Update Info

5/20/13 Today’s Haiku  (May 20,  2013) posted

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Fay Aoyagi’s new book “Beyond the Reach of My Chopsticks” is now available! If you would like to order, please contact Fay (fayaoyagi [at] gmail.com). $15 including shipping; check and paypal* are accepted for payment. (*additional $1 will be charged for paypal payment.)

(replace [at] with @when sending me a mail).

A winner of Touchstone Book Award 2012 (Haiku Foundation)!

     (Cover photo by Garry Gay)

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The Heron’s Nest (I am one of the associate editors) sponsors Peggy Wilils Lyles Haiku Award.   The deadline of the contest is June 1, 2013.   Pease visit  The Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Award.  Details are available at the link.

1500th Haiku

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Today, I uploaded the 1500th haiku translation.

To celebrate the milestone (and I happen to be vacationing in Tokyo), I went to “Tobi Shrine.”   As some of you can tell from the photo above,  the character for “飛” for “Tobi” (which is also for my name “Fay”),  means ‘flying,’ and a visitor buys an amulet for a safe trip.

I continue this one haiku translation per day journey, hoping you will enjoy haiku by the poets from my home country.

Fay Aoyagi  from Tokyo

April 5, 2013

Tanka Translation 100th tanka uploaded!

In January 2009, I started translating tanka from “Gendai Tanka no Kansho 101” (Apreciation of Modern Tanka 101), an anthology written and edited by Ken Kodaka.  It took longer than I thought, but I am happy to announce that the mission was completed at last!

Since I do not write tanka and some poets use classic Japanese, I found tanka translation more difficult than haiku translation.   From now on (at least for a while), this blog will concentrate on haiku. 

I appreciate your support and encouragement in the past 3 years! 

Fay Aoyagi

November 30, 2011, San Francisco

 

 

Today’s Haiku (May 20, 2013)

漆黒のばらの花こそわたしの忌　　　鳴戸奈々

shikkoku no bara no hana koso watashi no ki

            pitch-black rose

            it is

            my death anniversary

                                                            Nana Naruto

from “Haiku Shiki” (“Haiku Four Seasons,” a monthly haiku magazine) , September 2012 Issue, Tokyo Shiki Shuppan, Tokyo

Today’s Haiku (May 19, 2013)

夕日から人歩き出す夏の国　　長尾みのる

yûhi kara hito arukidasu natsu no kuni

            from the evening sun

            a person walks out…

            summer country

                                                Minoru Nagao

from “Haiku Shiki” (“Haiku Four Seasons,” a monthly haiku magazine) , August 2012 Issue, Tokyo Shiki Shuppan, Tokyo

Today’s Haiku (May 18, 2013)

ミモザ咲く人は高きに住みたがり　　石渡　旬

mimoza saku hito wa takaki ni sumitagari

            mimosa blooms

            people want to live

            at a higher elevation

                                                Shun Ishiwatari

from “Haiku Shiki” (“Haiku Four Seasons,” a monthly haiku magazine) , September 2012 Issue, Tokyo Shiki Shuppan, Tokyo

Today’s Haiku (May 17, 2013)

引越しのたびに大きくなる金魚　　　星野恒彦

hikkoshi no tabi ni ôkiku naru kingyo

            each time

            we move

            goldfish grow

                                                Tsunehiko Hoshin

from “Haiku Dai-Saijiki” (“Comprehensive Haiku Saijiki”), Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyo, 2006

Fay’s Note:   “kingyo” (goldfish) is a summer kigo.   Japanese noun doesn’t have the plural form.  There may be  only’ ‘one’ goldfish in this haiku.

 

Today’s Haiku (May 16, 2013)

歩みつつ居眠りもする蝸牛　　　岡井輝生

ayumitsutsu inemuri mo suru katatsumuri

            taking a nap

            while walking

            a snail

                                                Teruo Okai

from “Haiku Shiki” (“Haiku Four Seasons,” a monthly haiku magazine) , December 2012 Issue, Tokyo Shiki Shuppan, Tokyo

Fay’s Note:  “katatsumuri” (snail) is a summer kigo.

Today’s Haiku (May 15, 2013)

水槽の烏賊のスイッチバックかな　　　斉藤一也

suisô no ika no suicchi bakku kana

            in the aquarium

            a switchback

            of a squid

                                    Kazuya Saito

from “Haiku Dai-Saijiki” (“Comprehensive Haiku Saijiki”), Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyo, 2006

Fay’s Note:   “ika” (squid) is a summer kigo.