踏切のむかうが遠し黒揚羽 駒木根淳子
fumikiri no mukô ga tôshi kuroageha
from the railway crossing
it is a long way to go…
a black swallowtail
Atsuko Komakine
from ‘Haiku,’ a monthly haiku magazine, March 2017 Issue, Kabushiki Kaisha Kadokawa, Tokyo
夏至を過ぎ後ろ向きなる生き方に 小林貴子
geshi o sugi ushiromukinaru ikikata ni
after summer solstice
the way of my living becomes
backward
Takako Kobayashi
from ‘Haidan,’ (‘Haiku Stage’) a monthly haiku magazine, October 2017 Issue, Honami Shoten, Tokyo
夏至といふ白き時間をもて余し 大高霧海
geshi toiu shiroki jikan o moteamashi
white time
called summer solstice
what to do with it
Mukai Ohtaka
from “Haiku-kai” (“Haiku World,” a monthly haiku magazine) , March 2017 Issue, Bungaku No Mori, Tokyo
小鏡をとりおとしてや木下闇 石橋秀野
kokagami o toriotoshite ya koshitayami
I dropped
a small mirror—
darkness under trees
Hideno Ishibashi
from “Haiku Dai-Saijiki” (“Comprehensive Haiku Saijiki”), Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyo, 2006
Fay’s Note: Hideno Ishibashi (1909-1947) ‘koshitayami’ (darkness under trees) is a summer kigo. It uses the word ‘yami’ (darkness), but it is a ‘shade’ under a leafy summer tree.
身を離れ行くものばかり夏の原 渡辺誠一郎
mi o hanareyuku mono bakari natsu no hara
everything
is leaving my body
summer field
Sei’ichiro Watanabe
from “Haiku Shiki” (“Haiku Four Seasons,” a monthly haiku magazine), November 2016 Issue, Tokyo Shiki Shuppan, Tokyo
ゆるやかに着てひとと遭ふ蛍の夜 桂 信子
yuruyakani kite hito to au hotaru no yo
I wear my kimono loose
to meet him
firefly night
Nobuko Katsura
from “Haiku-kai” (“Haiku World,” a monthly haiku magazine , March 2017 Issue, Bungaku No Mori, Tokyo
Fay’s Note: Nobuko Katsura (1914-2004)
Japanese original uses the word ‘hito‘ (a person). I use ‘him’ in the second line because a poet is a woman,
あぢさゐのかくも疲れし前頭葉 波戸岡 旭
ajisai no kakumo tsukareshi zentoyô
hydrangea…
its frontal lobe
so tired
Akira Hatooka
from “Haiku-kai” (“Haiku World,” a monthly haiku magazine , December 2016 Issue, Bungaku No Mori, Tokyo
Fay’s Note: This one is tough to translate. Japanese word after a hydrangea is ‘no’ (of). But a flower doesn’t have a frontal lobe and this ‘no’ may be a soft cut… Translation could (should?) be:
hydrangea…
my frontal lobe
so tired
