Woman vs Wind ~ Haiku of Japan
It's spring, a wonderful time to enjoy the myriad blossoms, especially the beloved cherry blossoms. That's the highlight. One point, however, that is less than good for many people is the increased wind in this season. Not only does it spread pollen, triggering allergies for many, and colder temperatures every few days, but it also just generally annoys.
A scene similar to one you may have witnessed or even experienced yourself:
harukaze ni osaruru bijo no ikari kana
attacking a beautiful lady—
her rage!
—Kyōtai
Maybe you can imagine a young woman with her best makeup on, hair all arranged, wearing her best clothes, going off to some event such as hanami (cherry blossom viewing), but then the wind attacks! She holds up her parasol to fend it off, but the battle leaves her in disarray: hair and clothes a mess.
We can imagine old Gyōtai seated somewhere, perhaps drinking some sake (as people often do at hanami), watching the scene with some amusement.
The spring wind is normally thought of a gentle wind, inviting the birds to sing and the flowers to bud, not to mention spreading their delightful fragrance far and wide. At the same time, the spring wind can be strong and cold. It calls to mind the Japanese saying sankan shion (三寒四温), "three days cold, four days warm", which is always a pretty good description of the spring weather. The warm days are filled with the more gentle of the winds, but then when the cold rushes back it is brought by a much stronger and harsher wind. It is this second, strong and chilly wind that we might imagine is attacking the young lady in this haiku.
Kyōtai was born a samurai of Owari Prefecture, but later wandered for twenty years before building a hermitage in Nagoya and devoting himself to haiku.
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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. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Twitter or Mastodon. |
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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Once again wonderful. I love the simplicity of this piece. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
I've been noticing a lot more lately that the winds in spring and early summer have been quite a bit more intense than they used to be. It kind of stands out to you when you are pulling a 6000 pound trailer behind you that acts like a giant sail!
Oh man, I can't imagine doing that. If the wind got too strong, I'd be too nervous to drive.
It can get a bit nuts sometimes. I remember one time I had to get off the expressway and take back roads. It took us twice as long to get to our destination, but it was just too dangerous.
Very nice.
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Great haiku. It captures the image of those wind storms that pop up during Spring. I like how the last lines say, "her rage!" Who's rage is the poem referring to? The lady or the spring wind?
I assume the lady, but assigning the rage to the wind would be an interesting interpretation!
Nice to hear about the spring season and the cherry blossom of Japan. Its good you input some japanese words, hanami, sanka shion, learning of new language.