湯豆腐の真ん中にある国家かな 久保澄雄
yudôfu no man’naka ni aru kokka kana
in the middle of
sizzling tofu
a nation
Sumio Kubota
from “Gendai Saijiki” (Modern Saijiki), edited by Tôta Kaneko, Momoko Kuroda and Ban’ya Natsuishi, Seisei Shuppan, Tokyo 1997
湯豆腐の真ん中にある国家かな 久保澄雄
yudôfu no man’naka ni aru kokka kana
in the middle of
sizzling tofu
a nation
Sumio Kubota
from “Gendai Saijiki” (Modern Saijiki), edited by Tôta Kaneko, Momoko Kuroda and Ban’ya Natsuishi, Seisei Shuppan, Tokyo 1997
This haiku brings to my mind the saying, “Out of the frying pan, into the fire”… I get a sense of anxiety about the nation’s welfare.
yudoofu ya inochi no hate no usuakari
hot tofu –
at the end of my days,
a faint light
Kubota Mantaroo 久保田万太郎
Kubota lost his first wife and his son commited suicide. He married again but that did not last. His third wife also died and he spend his old age quite alone. The faint light is shining from the Paradise of the West, where the souls reside after death.
Thank you for sharing Kubota’s haiku, Gabi.