Rainy Season Woes・Haiku of Japan
The other day I posted a haiku I had written about rainy season. (You can find that here). Today when I sat down to write about a Japanese haiku, that theme was still in my head, so I decided to see if I had any Issa haiku in my personal database that use the rainy season theme. I do! Let's see what he had to say about the season.
neboketa ka nyūbai no ame kyō mo mata
is it rainy season rain
yet again today?
—Issa
Here he seems to be just coming out having nodded off, noticed the rain, then wondered, in that somewhat confused just-woken-up way we all have, if he is hearing rainy season rain outside.
As I write this, rainy season may be over. I don't know; I haven't read the weather report so I don't know the official word yet. But we're into July and are having more sunny (and hot!) days than rainy ones, so I think it may be behind us. Issa, on the other hand, probably wrote this near the beginning of rainy season, so about a month before now. The kigo (season word) is nyūbai, which means something like "entering rainy season".
The attitude shown in his haiku is a someone common one. Even when the season has just started, already people are tired of the daily rain. "Rain again?!" is not an uncommon sentiment.
Worth noting, however, that the question is actually at the beginning after "dozed" and not at the end. I am interpreting it as if the entire haiku is a question, but we could look at it a different way.
was I dozing?—
rainy season rains
again today
In this interpretation, his view might be less the common growing-weary-at-another-rainy-day and more just pointing out the fact of the matter: rain again.
Which one do you think is closer to the mark?
An interesting note about the word "rainy season". In Japanese it is 梅雨, literally "plum rain". I've read that it was named this because in China in the old days, it was thought that when the plums turn yellow and fall around this time, the moisture in them evaporated and turned into the rains of the season. I'm not sure if this mythology remained in Japan when they adopted the word. It is, however, usually when the plums ripen and are ready to be picked.
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David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. |
That is, me! If you like this translation, feel free to use it. Just credit me. Also link here if you can. ↩
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The rain will bring with it the calm of the soul, at night it shelters with his embrace o and calls Morpheus for the inevitable visit.
Excellent analysis of the Haiku.
Thanks for sharing.
Good day.
Thanks for reading 😃
It's always rainy season in the UK....
Perpetual rainy season.... bummer...
Does it matter which he meant? Interpretation of poetry will bring in the reader's notions. I love rainy days, because I get to 'doze' on my usual activities and get some of the stuff that is farther down my priority list done.
I like the second interpretation. Asking "was I dozing" lets me imagine that the author could have been doing many things, other than actually sleeping. Was he daydreaming? Reading? Considering lofty notions? Washing the dishes? Talking to a pet? For me, the second version speaks of a break in the author's hustle and bustle, a calm moment on a rainy day.
That's a great point. I once read that once a poet publishes their work, it's out of their hands; their opinion of the meaning becomes no more or less correct than all the ideas their readers have as well.
I like that What does the artwork say to the observer? What the creator was trying to say is irrelevant. Maybe the best artwork leaves room for interpretation. If the meaning is obvious, it's a boring, not very creative, piece.