14/06/2012

kokoro - heart, mind, soul

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- kokoro こころ - 心  "heart", mind, soul  -

kokoro - one of the most difficult terms to translate in poetry.
in combination, it is also read ...gokoro.




Many temples and some shrines in Japan feature a pond in the shape of the Chinese character HEART, kokoro 心 toward the exit of the temple grounds. Thus, the heart, mind, soul is washed clean as you leave.
. Kokoro no Ike 心の池 Heart Pond .



. Flower-Heart (hanagokoro, hana gokoro 花心) .
... that expression seems already been used in Heian poetry ... the heart of a lady in love, but also the heart changing as fast as cherry blossoms fall ...
onna-gokoro 女心 is another version.


BTW, the biological heart of a living being is
shinzoo 心臓 heart


Matsuo Basho wrote a few hokku about his own "kokoro" and that of others.


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秋近き心の寄るや四畳半
. aki chikaki kokoro no yoru ya yojoohan .
our hearts are drawn together in the small tea room


あこくその心も知らず梅の花
. Akokuso no kokoro mo shirazu ume no hana .
I do not know his heart



朝よさを誰松島ぞ片心
. asayosa o taga Matsushima zo katagokoro .
asa yosa o taga Matsushima zo kata kokoro


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葉にそむく椿の花やよそ心
ha ni somuku tsubaki no hana ya yosogokoro

the camellia blossom
goes against the leaf -
absentmindedness


Written after 貞亨元年, Basho age 41 or later




yoso gokoro, yoso-gokoro ... the heart goes astray . . .

. WKD : tsubaki つばき - 椿 camellia .


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幾霜に心ばせをの松飾り
. iku shimo ni kokoro baseo no matsukazari .
my mind is always "Baseo"


君や蝶我や荘子が夢心
. kimi ya cho ware ya Sooji ga yumegokoro .
the dream-heart of a butterfly


この心推せよ花に五器一具
. kono kokoro suiseyo hana ni goki ichigu .
this my heart you will know


まづ祝へ梅を心の冬籠り
. mazu iwae ume o kokoro no fuyu-gomori / fuyugomori .
winter seclusion of the soul


なかなかに心をかしき臘月哉
. naka naka ni kokoro okashiki shiwasu kana .
I feel quite at ease here.
For his host Suganuma Kyokusui 菅沼曲水 to thank for a barrel of New Year sake.



野ざらしを心に風のしむ身かな
. nozarashi o kokoro ni kaze no shimu mi kana .
piercing wind in my mind
Nozarashi Kiko 野ざらし紀行


住みつかぬ旅の心や置火燵
. sumitsukanu tabi no kokoro ya okigotatsu .
my traveling mind


七夕の逢はぬ心や雨中天
. Tanabata no awanu kokoro ya uchuuten .
At Tanabata, the hearts can't meet because of a rainy sky.


魚鳥の心は知らず年忘れ 
. uo tori no kokoro wa shirazu toshi wasure .
the heart of fish and birds. I do not understand.


義朝の心に似たり秋の風
. Yoshitomo no kokoro ni nitari aki no kaze .
the soul of Yoshitomo


四つ五器のそろはぬ花見心哉
. yotsu goki no sorowanu hanami gokoro kana .
my mind enjoys cherry blossom viewing



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- - - - - haiku including the words

. - tabi 旅 travel, travelling - .
- - - tabine 旅寝 sleeping on the road
- - - tabi no kokoro 旅の心, tabigokoro 旅心 "the mind of a traveler"


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. Kokoro no Ike 心の池 Heart Pond .


. Cultural Keywords used by Basho .



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