Yuzuru
Miura is an English literature professor at Chukyo University
in Nagoya and a haiku poet. In a brief preface he states
that haiku poets . . . at times catch
a glimpse of eternity through the evanescent, through the
commonplace. And in reference to Bashôs
pond/frog haiku (not included) he mentions that Takahama
Kyoshi has stated that the haiku reveals the starting point
of Bashôs direct natural description but that
the haiku itself is trite, more important for its historical
significance than artistic attainment.
The
books five seasonal sections (spring through New Years)
contain 100 haiku, one to a page, in the original Japanese,
romaji, and English-translation. Each season section has
a full page painting, with occasional small ones on various
pages, by Saito Gorô. Brief biographies of the poets,
from Bashô and Buson to living authors, are included.
Here
is a sampling of the haiku:
A
spring day
A long line of footprints
On the sandy beach.
Masaoka
Shiki
|
Sleeping,
waking,
And then giving a great yawn,
The cat goes out for lovemaking.
Kobayashi
Issa
|
The
windchime silent
But the clock ticking
Ah, the heat!
Yokoi
Yayû
|
What
a cooling sight
To see a young maid
Tying up her narrow sash.
Kubota
Mantarô
|
|