Japanese Haiku Poems

by Peter Washington (Artist)

Once confined to a literary elite in Japan, haiku are now written all over the world by poets who find their combination of brevity, technical discipline and expressive content irresistible. This collection brings together hundreds of poems by Japanese writers from the fifteenth century to the twentieth, with modern examples from Europe and America. In addition, there is a selection of poems influenced by haiku, and a section devoted to haiku-like passages from traditional English poets. The book is dominated by four great masters Basho, Buson, Issa and Shiki who between them compress the gamut of human experience into the limits of seventeen syllables.

Genres: Poetry, Japan, Japanese Literature, Classics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Asian Literature

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice collection of haiku, but I didn't like how it was organized. In the traditional Japanese sections, poems were grouped by subject. You'd read six poems in a row about chrysanthemums, which became tedious and repetitive. In the modern Western section, it was grouped by author... This organization just couldn't win in my opinion.

[Sookie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh Darling. It's not you, its me.

My favorite from this collection:

An autumn eve:
There is a joy too
In loneliness.
- Buson

And then there are these:

When cherry-blossoms are blooming,
Birds have two legs,
Horses four.
- Onitsura

What.

Sneezing,
I lost sight
Of the Skylark.
- Yayu

ok...?

The old pond:
A frog jumps in, -
The sound of water.
- Basho

ah...

The young girl
Blows her nose
In the evening glory.
- Issa

riveting.

In the dark forest
A berry drops:
The sound of water.
- Shiki

ah..hmm...

The collection as a whole is fine but there are some that made me wonder...why.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haikus—ah, those lovely little poems that our grade school teacher used to give to us as writing assignments. A short, three-line poem with only 17 syllables in it seemed like the simplest trick in the world, right? Yeah, well, so is the rabbit-in-the-hat gag and most of us can’t manage that one.

Now I know what you’re thinking. These poems don’t have the required number of syllables! Well, they are translations, so something gets lost in the telling. But the deceptive beauty of these little poems tug at you until you find yourself repeating them softly and wishing you could craft something as effortless as these seem to be.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice collection with some really good haikus. As far as poetry collections go, this is one that features a large number of poems that I liked a lot (which doesn't often happen), so even though there are of course some poems that don't speak to me, the good ones really make up for it.

[Louis Armitage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Words in brief cascades,
Moments freeze in gentle grace-
Heartbeats of the world.

[Anna P (whatIreallyRead) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly delightful read! I say surprisingly because after reading The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches I thought Haiku were not for me. But I already had this volume (my favorite Everyman's Library Pocket Poets edition), so I decided to read it anyway. And at first, I did have a hard time connecting with the poetry, it seemed so trivial. But about a third of the way through I was drawn in, and started to enjoy it. Lovely experience! I'm glad I went out of my comfort zone.

Some examples:

As we grow old,
Even the length of the day
Is a cause of tears. —ISSA

To pluck it is a pity,
To leave it is a pity,
Ah, this violet. —NAOJO

Ice and water,
Their differences resolved,
Are friends again. —TEISHITSU

The old pond:
A frog jumps in, -
The sound of water. —BASHO

The sparrow hops
Along the verandah,
With wet feet. —SHIKI

Interestingly, this volume included some western attempts at haiku at the end, a small portion of the overall page count. But you can really see the difference. Westerners couldn't help but try to cram in a bunch of stuff into the three lines - there would be characters and a whole plot implied in them, whereas Japanese haiku have no more than 1 thing going on, if that. It's good that these were at the end, after I developed sensitivity over the course of reading the volume, and the contrast was striking and obvious.

[LudmilaM · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a treat. Exactly what I needed right now. I love haiku.

"Simply trust:
Do not also the petals flutter down,
Just like that?"
(ISSA)

"Today's moon;
Will there be anyone
Not taking up his pen?
(ONITSURA)

"The moon in the water;
Broken and broken again,
Still it is there."
(CHOSHU)

And my haiku for today :-)
The wind gently
Combs the twilight sky
With branches of trees.

[Paul H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is, technically speaking, the best single book of haiku in English, and is by far the cheapest way to get your hands on a generous selection of R. H. Blyth's translations of haiku (among the best out there). If you were to buy all of these in the 1940s-50s volumes at full price it would cost you around $300.

[Monika · Rating 2 out of 5]

This haiku collection is so badly organised it made me doubt whether I like hikus in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I really loved some of the haiku's in this collection but that was despite the book itself.

All the haiku's were organised by season, which I can understand and get behind. What was absolutely dreadful was that, the haikus were also in order of topic, so you would end up reading 6 haikus about frogs all in one go! And it was like that for the entire collection, which made the haikus seem boring and unoriginal!

Honestly, it felt like a fucking algorithm could organise a group of haikus better. If you want to read more haiku or get into haikus, please don't start with this book as it might ruin your experience of haikus, which are great! It just happens that this collection is bad.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do enjoy Haiku, as they are very good at capturing a single moment and the feelings invoked by it. They started out as a low brow sort of poem, meant for the common man or woman to enjoy, and expanded from there to influence many poets and become an art form.
One issue I do have is that most of the haiku here do not follow the 5 7 5 pattern, which I get can be hard when translating., but the American ones should have followed that at least. They did stay true to the "show a single moment in time" theme, so that helps excuse it. A good introduction to the form, and the editor did a good job of grouping them as well.

[Antonis Maronikolakis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good read, although Haikus are not really my type. I feel like I am missing out on a lot by a) not reading them in their original language, and b) not reading them in a picturesque location or in a peaceful state of mind. Also, even though grouping them by subject is kind of efficient, a lot of times very similar haikus are next to each other and that dilutes the effect.

In any case though, I feel like this is a good anthology, if you are into haikus or want to dip your toe, this is a pretty good place to start.

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haikus are really neat, it's a cool format but I don't think it's quite for me. There were quite a few I enjoyed but mostly I was very confused and weirded out by some of them. I went: 'wait what?' more than once.

[Fin · Rating 5 out of 5]

O snail,
Climb Mt. Fuji,
But slowly, slowly!

Carrying a girl
Across the river;
The hazy moon.

Peach-blossoms!
But the ferry-man
Is deaf. . .

This dewdrop world -
It may be a dewdrop,
And yet - and yet -

This line of ants,
It continues
From those billowing clouds?

After killing the spider,
A lonely
Cold night.

What a huge one, how splendid it was -
The chestnut.
I couldn't get at it.

The long night;
The sound of water
Says what I think.

Sheltering with the butterfly
Under the shade of the trees, -
This also is the Karma of a previous life.

The fire-fly
Gives light
To its pursuer.

The peony
Made me measure it
With my fan.

They spoke no word,
The host, the guest,
the white chrysanthemums.

Azaleas are blooming;
In this remote mountain village
The boiled rice is white.

I came back,
Angry and offended;
The willow in the garden.

A matter for congratulation:
I have been bit
By this year's mosquitoes too.

Every year,
Thinking of the chrysanthemums,
Being thought of by them. ((Shiki))

I mean come on!!!!!! Shiki and Issa particularly goated in this collection but they all hit so hard

[T. Kozumplik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Everyman's Pocket Library: tough little hardbacks that fit in your pocket and have a bookmark; these are truly beautiful books. These anthologies have insightful forewords and always a mix of classic selections and often unusual ones. The anthology is divided into different themes: Buddha nature, happiness, phases of the moon, birds, creatures, spring, summer etc. As well as a strong canon from Japanese poets, this collection has Western haiku stars and interestingly excerpts culled from masters like Shelley and Hopkins so that pieces of their verses become haiku. This selection introduced me to two 'Western' poets whose work I'm now hungry for - Stanford Forrester and Anita Virgil. Here are some snippets I liked

'Scooping up the moon
In the wash-basin
And spilling it'
- RYUHO

'The skylark:
Its voice alone fell,
Leaving nothing behind'
- AMPU

'In one single cry,
The pheasant has swallowed
The broad field'
-YAMEI

'The shell of a cicada:
It sang itself
Utterly away'
-BASHO

'Under a passage of wild geese,
Over the foot-hills,
A moon is signed'
-BUSON

'Having slept, the cat gets up,
And with great yawns,
Goes love-making'
-ISSA

'Early dusk:
The mouth of the toad
Exhales the moon'
-SHIKI

'Frost at midnight:
I would sleep, borrowing
The sleeves of a scarecrow'
-BASHO

'Peeling a pear
Sweet drops trickle down
The knife'
-SHIKI

[Zanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The strict form of haiku, (which I've always found fun) is untranslatable, so we are left with free verse. It's amazing how wonderful the famous Japanese haiku in this book are; each one awakens some sensory echo or memory, forges some connection to the eternal. Even when the objects they contemplate are banal the assembly sings in a mysterious voice, bringing on a meditative state of amusement, melancholy or awe. The translators of the haiku in this collection deserves high praise for capturing so much of their power.

Most of this book contains classic Japanese haiku but there is a small section of western efforts at the end. I can't account for their inferiority; nearly all seem pompous, contrived and pointless to me, with a few barely passable exceptions!

Under the cherry blossoms
None are
Utter strangers.

-Issa

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection ranges from classic Japanese haiku to modern day “found” haiku, arranged in sections by topics. Reading one or two haiku a day allowed time to appreciate the images (and meanings). This was one of my favorite reads this year. BTW, the small hardback format with sewn-in bookmark was just the right size and weight to comfortably read in bed.

“From time to time/The clouds give rest/To the moon-beholders." Basho

"The moon in the water;/Broken and broken again,/Still it is there." Choshu"

"In the moonlight/The white plum-tree becomes again/A tree of winter." Buson

“Write me down/As one who loved poetry/And persimmons." Shiki

"Examining/Three thousand haiku:/Two persimmons." Shiki

“Missing a kick/At the icebox door/It closed anyway." Jack Kerouac

"Half of the minnows/ within this sunlit shallow/ are not really there." Hackett

[Brad McKenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great way to get a survey of (mostly) Japanese masters. I find myself drawn to Basho and Buson most frequently. I had a library copy that had one of those rogue editors, there would often be a comment when the lines weren't 5-7-5. But that could be due to being translated from Japanese to English.

As I've begun to write them myself, I'm unsure how far from that format I want to stray. Being too rigid is sometimes too extreme. Is it ok if my poems have the 17 total syllables but not in that specific line arrangement? A lot of the modern haiku in this collection do that. Then there are the ones that have far too many or far too few. I don't like those very much. Even if they do have the ambiguous quality the traditional ones display. Or if they are frozen moment in nature expressing some profound thought.

I loved getting so many great takes on this great form.

[Michael Kitchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked reading through this collection. It's an introductory collection for me as I expand my horizons into the form of poetry I find enjoyable to read and contemplate. Some of my favorites include:

If you are tender to them,
The young sparrows
Will poop on you.
Issa

Ebb-tide;
The crab is suspicious
Of the foot-print.
Rofu

You can see the morning breeze
Blowing the hairs
Of the caterpillar.
Buson

The snow has melted
On one shoulder
Of the Great Buddha.
Shiki

From the modern section, I found one writer's haiku most enjoyable - so much so that I want to find more from him. The author's name is Stanford Forrester.

first snow-
the spider is evicted
from my boot

temple ruins-
pieces of Buddha
still praying

Good stuff.

[Dennis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I understand why the haikus were organized in sections, but reading about the same topic (example: skylarks) OVER AND OVER again made me sick of it. I’m still trying to get better at reading poetry (not trying to rush through it all, reading a collection in bits and pieces) but I just had to get this shit over with. There were a few that I did like, but a lot of them seemed to be nonsensical (which may be an issue of translation that’s unavoidable). My friend Emma described some of them as a joke that never revealed it’s punchline; they feel like they’re supposed to go somewhere else and they stop abruptly.

To leave off on a positive note, I’ll share my favorite haiku in the collection:

The straight hole
Made by pissing
In the snow outside the door.

- Issa

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not enough of an expert on the topic of the haiku form to expound upon whether the translations in this volume match up with translations found elsewhere. And I'm not familiar enough with the (famous!) authors collected here to say whether the editor selected their strongest work. I will say I loved reading these haiku, and I can see keeping this small volume nearby so I can pick it up, flip it open, and treat myself to small moments of beauty whenever I desire.

[Ryley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend has been writing Haiku and so naturally I needed to learn everything I can to really appreciate the beauty of their own writing and this pocket addition has the most beautiful snippets from some of the best writers I’ve read so far.

Definitely 5 stars because I read it thinking of someone I love but also what I was blessed to learn about Japanese culture and the descriptions of nature and life are beautiful.

[Jonathan Conrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is best read when you pick it up to pass the time and entertain yourself.

Some of these Haikus are simple observations of the natural world as people or animals journey through life, some of them thought provoking and could even enlighten you.

Then Issa comes out with:

"Asked how old she is,
She holds up the fingers of one hand;
The change of clothes."

Brother, what could you possibly mean by this.

[Rudolph · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of haikus (obviously) from both the east and the west, including some haikuists I didn't even know had published in the art. Ranging from the seasons, natural surroundings, and the animals that evoke thought. Infusing beauty and a profoundness in only a few lines (mostly three). A few of these pieces were hilarious, and reading Basho is always a pleasure.

[Claire A. Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, good intro for new readers of haiku, but be aware- if you’re reading the 2003 printing there is one haiku that is printed twice. “The first frost” by Chora appears on page 183 and again (missing a semicolon) on page 195. Lazy editing aside, it was fun to sit and read this and copy out my favorite poems.

[Federico Lucifredi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable collection. No commentary may be a plus to some, I did not like it but it does make the reading faster. I liked the Haikus by Issa the most in this collection, but I particularly like the idea of "modern" Haiku and collecting those found in Western poetry adds an interesting touch.

[Tayylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely read. The only weakness is in the grouping of poems into themes, causing the individual impact of each poem to dwindle a bit due to repetition. (You can use this to see how the poets differ in their treatment of a common subject, but you just need to be more mindful to identify subtle shifts.)

[Beril · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall an important collection for haiku-lovers but the editing and categorization of poems made the book feel redundant. I would have preferred to read the poems under each author’s name instead and maybe have more contemporary haikus in the end of the book. However, I loved discovering old and new voices.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Popsugar 2020: A book set in Japan.

I enjoyed this collection immensely. There were several favorite poems (What is the bachelor reading) and I read about new plants I didn’t existed. It’s a book to come back to for reference.

[Sarah Dunmire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read very few haikus in my life, so I thought I’d get more acquainted with them in my favorite poetry series. And it’s National Poetry Month! For the most part, the poems didn’t resonate with me but there were a handful of gems that painted a picture or mood for me in that short format.

[Atabei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Para tenerlo siempre cerca.