WHCschools
Susumu
Takiguchi, Instructor
LESSON 2-3: "cold" continued
(1)
Borrowing Japanese kigo:
We have seen elsewhere that applying Japanese kigo to haiku written
in regions of different climate would not work. This is one of the
most obvious limitations of traditional Japanese haiku conventions
used outside Japan. Again, we should start compiling our own kigo
words which are suitable for each of our localities.
__ had to deal with this question by borrowing a Japanese kigo, kogarashi (withering wind). In the Edo Period,
kogarashi
was used either for autumn or winter, but it is now a kigo for early
winter. It is the cold and strong north or west wind in October and
November, which withers leaves and blows them off the trees.
However, it seems that the emphasis is more on the strength of the
wind than on its coldness. (This is another reason why I posed my
question to __) There are colder winds.
kogarashi ya umi ni yuhi wo fuki-otosu (Natsume Soseki)
withering wind
blows the setting sun
down to the sea
(ST version)
kogarashi ya hoshi fuki-kobosu umi no ue (Masaoka Shiki)
withering wind --
stars are blown scattered
over the sea
(ST version)
kogarashi ya ishi fuki-tobasu Ohi-gawa (Hasegawa Reyoko)
winter gale --
blowing rocks away
at the Ohi-gawa River
(ST version)
kogarashi ni Asama no kemuri fuki-chiru ka (Takahama Kyoshi)
withering wind --
would the smoke of Asama vocano
be blown everywhere
(ST version)
Some other samples where the strength of kogarashi is
not that apparent: -
kogarashi no hikkakari iru toge no ki (Hara Yutaka)
withering wind --
caught and hanging on
to the hilltop tree
(ST version)
kogarashi ya me yori toridasu ishi no tsubu (Watanabe Hakusen)
winter gale --
I get out grit
from my eyes
(ST version)
umi ni dete kogarashi kaeru tokoro nashi (Yamaguchi Seishi)
blowing into the sea
withering wind has now
no place to return
(ST version)
*This haiku was written in October 1944 and the Kamikaze pilots were
flying to the sea then.
kogarashi ya mezashi ni nokoru umi no iro (Akutagawa Ryunosuke)
withering wind --
faint on the dried sardines
the colour of the sea
(ST version)
(2)
"Fuga-no-makoto"
I will deal with just one more issue, which to my mind is probably
the most important of all issues of haiku, fuga-no-makoto (poetic sincerity, honesty and truth).
This is the most important of all teachings of Basho. Sadly, it is
also the one value which is either missing or neglected in many
haiku poems written today. One cannot stress the importance of it
too much, or repeat it too often. Criticism of haiku against this
value is always, yes always, justified. The problem is that it is no
easy task for us to get to the true understanding of what was or is
meant by fuga-no-makoto. It is even more difficult for
us to explore what Basho would have taught us by this value in the
21st century context, or how much we can search for the 21st century
solution to the problems posed by this value.
Some members might have thought that __ has gone on and on and on
for too long in his inquisition. However, what he has
really been doing was posing this most important of all questions, fuga-no-makoto.
__ is a seeker of answers to
fundamental issues of contemporary haiku, practised both in Japan
and outside Japan, and is in a very rare position as a Westerner
living in Japan and having access to the first-line materials but
looking at them both through the Japanese eyes and Western
background, giving the feedback to the Western haijin. In a way, we
should be thankful to __ for being out there, trying to make
sense of the different perceptions of the Western and the Japanese
haijin. Every time strange things pop out of his lips ... we should be thankful. If he says anything and everything
which conforms to the Western, Zen-inspired haiku moment minimalist
conventions, I for one would politely and quietly write him off as a
golden boy apple polisher. Bridging the appalling communication gap
between Japan and the rest of the world in haiku is one of the main
aims of WHC. So, every time __ opens his mouth and says strange
things we should consider them so carefully as to be able to think
that they are not strange. I know __ well enough to be convinced
that there is no question about his poetic integrity, i.e. he was
completely truthful in his ... haiku. That is
not the issue. The issue is an advanced and higher stages over and
above that truthful stance, i.e. truthful in what way and in terms
of what. We will raise this question in WHCacademia.
There is this fundamentally difficult question: be true to the facts
but facts are not automatically and/or empirically the same thing as
truth; be true to your imagination but imaginations are
by definition not facts but that does not mean that imaginations are
not truths. Basho used both facts and imaginations. Not only there
is nothing wrong with human imaginations but they are one of our
best additions to whatever has been designed for nature. Fuga-no-makoto is the key. The Westerners are no less
qualified to try to search for the true meaning of this aesthetic
canon, particularly in the WHC context, i.e. the world-wide
relevance.
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lessons may be found in the WHCschools message archives and files.
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