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- choo, chō 蝶 butterfly -
For the Japanese haijin, the butterfly it is not just an ubiquious animal in springtime, but relates to a much deeper layer of Taoist philosophy about the essence of being.
I am sure most of you know the famous parable by the Chinese sage Chuang-Tsu (Chuang Tzu).
Sooji 荘子 Soji、Zhuangzi
Basho also compares himself with a butterfly, leading a wandering life from flower to flower, traveling from one disciple to the next.
. WKD : Butterfly (choochoo 蝶々) .
The sweets maker Kikyou in Iga Ueno has a few butterfly sweets!
under construction
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秋を経て蝶もなめるや菊の露
aki o hete / chō mo nameru ya / kiku no tsuyu
- - - - - still looking for the Japanese
Deep into autumn
and this caterpillar
still not a butterfly
source : haiku.insouthsea.co.uk
not yet a butterfly
even as autumn passes
the caterpillar
Tr. Reichhold
- - - - -
and a few more
- source : thegreenleaf.co.uk
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蝶も来て酢を吸ふ菊の膾哉
. choo mo kite su o suu kiku no namasu kana .
(spring) butterfly. to sip vinegar. pickled chrysanthemum petals
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source : kikyou012
蝶の羽のいくたび越ゆる塀の屋根
choo no ha no ikutabi koyuru hei no yane
butterfly's wings -
how many times do they flit
over the roofed wall?
Tr. Ueda
roofed wall and gate
. WKD : roofed temple walls .
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source : kikyou0123
A field of sunlight
蝶の飛ぶばかり野中の日影哉
蝶の飛 ばかり野中の 日かげ哉
choo no tobu bakari nonaka no hikage kana
butterflies only
fluttering in this field
of sunlight
Tr. Barnhill
Only butterflies are
On the wing -
Sunlight in the fields.
Tr. Saito
butterflies flit . . .
that is all, amid the field
of sunlight
Tr. Ueda
This hokku has the cut marker KANA at the end of line 3.
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蝶鳥の浮つき立つや花の雲
chō tori no / uwatsuki tatsu ya / hana no kumo
butterflies and birds
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蝶よ蝶よ唐土の俳諧問はん
choo yo choo yo Morokoshi no haikai towan
butterfly! butterfly!
I would ask you about
China's haikai
Tr. Barnhill
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You are the butterfly
And I the dreaming heart
Of Chuang-tzu
Tr. Blyth
君や蝶我や荘子が夢心
. kimi ya cho ware ya Sooji ga yumegokoro .
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胡蝶にもならで秋経る菜虫哉
kochoo ni mo narade aki furu namushi kana
Oku no Hosomichi - - - - Station 43 - Ogaki 大垣 - - -
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .
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椹や花なき蝶の世捨酒
. kuwa no mi ya hana naki choo no yosute-zake .
hermit sake for the butterfly
物好きや匂はぬ草にとまる蝶
monozuki ya / niowanu kusa ni / tomaru chō
起きよ起きよ我が友にせん寝る胡蝶
. okiyo okiyo waga tomo ni sen neru kochoo ( oki yo) .
come with me as my friend
蘭の香や蝶の翅に薫物す
. ran no ka ya choo no tsubasa ni takimono su .
incense on a butterfly's wings
白芥子に羽もぐ蝶の形見哉
shira-geshi ni hane mogu chō no katami kana
. shirageshi ni hane mogu choo no katami kana .
Here Basho sees Tokoku as a white poppy and himself as a parting butterfly.
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. WKD : Butterfly (choochoo 蝶々) .
spring
. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .
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