#santoka

[anthonyopal]

Poems of Taneda Santoka, now available

[haikubynight]

山頭火句集の鉢の子の二十一

Santouka Phrasebook

Child of the Bowl

21

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ほろほろ酔うて

木の葉ふる

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one by one the drunken leaves

fall gently to the earth

Amateur translation by haikubynight🍂

This may be one of my favorites so far. It speaks to being an observer fully in the present moment, one of the core tenets of Buddhism. Observer enough to find delight in the simple falling of leaves—drunken, enraptured little things—heralding the autumn.

[syringavulgaris]

A Haiku Garden: The Four Seasons in Poems and Prints, a collection of Japanese poetry and art, edited and translated by Stephen Addiss with the help of Fumiko and Akira Yamamoto.

[sakurabreeze]

The past, the future -- snow light faintly glows

Santoka

[soracities]

Snow falls on snow— and remains silent

Santōka, from Haiku: An Anthology of Japanese Poems (edited by Stephen Addiss, Fumiko Yamamoto and Akira Yamamoto)

[todayintokyo]

Santoka - The Back by Akiyama Iwao

This haiku by Taneda Santoka is part of this longer excerpt:

昭和六年、熊本に落ちつくべく努めたけれど、どうしても落ちつけなかつた。 またもや旅から旅へ旅しつづけるばかりである。 自嘲 うしろすがたのしぐれてゆくか 

Here’s a translation provided by Hisashi Miura and James Green in "Fire on the Mountain: The Selected Haiku of a Wandering Zen Monk, Taneda Santoka" (they add that it’s an exceptionally difficult-to-translate haiku):

In 1931, I tried hard to stay in Kumamoto but in vain, and couldn’t help but travel here and there. Self-reflection: A vague shape from behind - Into the drizzle, Disappearing 

Santoka, who was an incurable wanderer, is one of my favourite haiku poets. You can download a copy of the above-mentioned book here (download starts automatically when you click on that link).

[dk-thrive]

The deeper I go

wakeitte mo wakeitte mo aoi yama

the deeper I go the deeper I go green mountains ~ Santoka, For All My Walking tr. by Burton Watson (Columbia University Press April 15, 2003)

[anthonyopal]

Translations of Basho, Buson, Issa, Santoka, and Soha. Each translation is accompanied by the original Japanese text and English transliteration (romaji).

Purchase: 5 booklets for $25