WHC MASAOKA SHIKI
CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
WHC Translation Project
of Masaoka Shiki Haiku Poems (4)
On-line Joint Translation by WHC Members
Here, we start the fourth online session of our Shiki translation project,
discussing an early haiku which Shiki wrote in 1891 (Meiji 24). It is an
important poem in terms of Shiki’s development as a haiku poet. Please discuss
this poem actively in order for us to produce best translations, and do send in
your own translation(s). Additional comments and the aims of the project are
added below.
kogarashi ya arao kui-komu suge-no-kasa
(Masaoka Shiki, 1891, Meiji 24)
kogarashi=winter
wind
withering wind
ya=kireji emphatic, exclamation
arao=straw strap
kui-komu=cut into (the flesh)
suge-no-kasa=sedgehat
(Note)
Shiki was making haiku trips during this year, visiting various places including
Kiso, Boso and Musashino. He used a sedgehat as an umbrella.
withering wind –
the straw strap eats into me,
my sedgehat
(version by ST)
Now, it’s your turn
Good luck and happy translations!
Susumu
COMMENTS
by Susumu Takiguchi
WHC Translation Project of Masaoka Shiki Haiku Poems
On-line Joint Translation by WHC Members
kogarashi ya arao kui-komu
suge-no-kasa
Masaoka Shiki, 1891, Meiji 24
withering wind –
the straw strap eats into me,
my sedge hat
(version by ST)
How many years was Shiki writing
haiku? My best estimate says 17 years and 9 months from 1885 (Meiji 18) until
1902 (Meiji 35) when he died. During this relatively short time, Shiki is
believed to have written 25, 444 haiku poems, according to Murooka Kazuko (see
Note). This would be about 1400 to 1500 per year.
His haiku was constantly
developing and evolving, going through numerous changes. This can be roughly
divided into five stages:
Tsukinami (banal)
[1885 - 1887 (M 18 - 20)]
Influence of
Ohara Kiju [1887 - 1891 (M 20 - 24)]
Study of Basho
and old haiku [1891 - 1894 (M 24 - 27)]
Fusetsu and
shasei [1894 - 1897 (M 27 - 30)]
Buson and
shasei [1897 - 1902 (M 30 - 35)]
By general consent, Shiki’s
haiku poems during the first two stages are regarded as mediocre, for he was
simply following conventional haiku which was then at one of its lowest ebbs. It
was not until Shiki began to study Basho's and other old haiku poems that his
eyes were opened. From this time on, his critical faculty and creative
originality began to manifest themselves. That is why the year 1891 is important
when reviewing Shiki’s development.
In the same year, Shiki gave up
his study of philosophy at Bunka-Daigaku (present Tokyo University) and was
transferred from the Philosophy Department to the Japanese Literature
Department. He made numerous trips which included Boso in the spring, Kiso,
Hiroshima, Itsuku-shima, Okayama, Shodo-shima, Daisen and the all important
Musashino trip in November when he wrote the haiku under review. The main aim of
these trips was to find new inspiration for the budding haiku of his own style
and sensibility, and also to start developing his haiku theory in the context of
the Japan which was being rapidly modernised, industrialised and Westernised.
Towards the end of this year, Shiki managed to establish an embryonic theory
which was to develop into his Shasei theory. These efforts during 1891 were to
blossom (more like "explode") in the following year when he started
the haiku reform movement with the publication of Dassai-sho-oku-haiwa
(Talks on Haiku from the Otter’s Den). A series of now famous
assertions were made such as the prediction of the demise of waka and haiku by
the end of the Meiji Era, the rejection of old haiku as tsukinami
(clichés), and in 1893 his condemnation of Basho though this needs to be
interpreted very carefully.
The sedge hat haiku under review
must be read against such historical background. The most significant
characteristic of this haiku is that it depicts what actually happened as it
was, without embellishment, subjective explanation or interpretation or emotion.
This approach was the basis for his "shasei" theory. Withering wind (kogarashi)
is a common phenomenon and nothing special in itself. ara in arao
means rough, coarse or raw and indicates that the strap was not of good quality,
which in turn suggests that the sedge hat itself was probably a cheap one. Cold
and fierce wind itself will cut into you. Shiki must have fastened the strap
tightly to secure the sedge hat firmly. Being at the mercy of the wind, the
strap must have eaten into Shiki's cheek and neck. The pain and cold must have
been quite unbearable. In fact, when he went to the trip to Boso in the spring
of the same year (1891), he fastened the strap so hard that his lower lip got
injured and swelled up.
As was already mentioned, the
sedge hat haiku was written out of the trip to Musashino which is a large area
west to Tokyo and in Shiki’s time was still not ruined by developers and
largely retained nature. Shiki walked about Musashino for three days. He had
decided to undertake an enormous task of classifying the past haikai which was
to be compiled under Haiku-bunrui (Classified Collection of Haiku).
Also, he was getting more and more serious about Basho as he delved into Haru-no-Hi,
Arano and Sarumino. The sedge hat haiku retained Basho’s
tradition and yet there was something else underneath which was to develop into
a new style which allowed haiku to make sense in the modern society.
Note: Shiki Hyakushu Hyakku,
Kazuko Murooka with Kanichi Imanishi; Izumi Sensho, 1990
23/12/01
Visit
the Shiki-an Picture Gallery
See
Shiki's death poems in the August 2001 issue World Haiku Review
Photo
of Shiki-an and Masaoka Yao, Shiki's mother on Ehime University Library website
Photo
of Shiki Working in the Sickroom (1898) on Ehime University Library website
Photo
of Shiki on the veranda of Shiki-an (19 June 1899) on Ehime University Library
website
Wall,
gates and location of Shiki-an on Ehime University Library Website
(Repeat and partly revised: the project
aims)
In this project, members are invited to join in the translation work of some of
the most celebrated or important haiku poems by Shiki and together, we will
create our versions of each. This is part of the incentive for all of us to
study, share and enjoy Shiki's works in a practical and real way.
It is also intended to address the issue of haiku translation. It will show how
difficult such translation is, how the results differ according to different
interpretations of the same poem and how the translation itself, as a
"living thing", must evolve and be open to improvement and new
interpretations. This point is stressed by such scholars as David Lanoue.
"Slow and steady" will be the pace at which this project will be run,
as we have so many other things going on simultaneously. When the translation
reaches a certain substantial volume (say, 20 or 30), the final versions will be
compiled and published in World Haiku Review and eventually the whole results
will be considered for inclusion in the proposed book on Masaoka Shiki. As it
will be our joint effort, the copyright will belong to WHC but it is envisaged
that participants' names will appear in the publications.
The procedure is (1) I will select Shiki's poems each time, put it in Romaji and
also the breakdown of components and the first version, (2) then, anyone
interested can post his or her opinions/comments/interpretations, (3) after a
while we will decide on our final versions. Please make the subject line:
"Shiki Translation". As this is part of our Shiki Centenary
Celebrations, it will be done on WHChaikuforumworkshop, rather than on
WHCacademia where normally such Kansho (appreciation) takes place.
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