Bashō's Haiku: Selected Poems of Matsuo Bashō

Major Nature Images in Basho’s Hokku

269 M a j o r N a t u r e I m a g e s i n B a s h ō’ s H o k k u Note: The season poetically associated with the image is indicated in lower capitals. The numbers refer to poems the image appears in. ajisai: hydrangea. The deciduous shrub up to five feet high with ball-shaped clusters of bluish flowers in June and July. It has become a common ornamental throughout the world. Hydrangea macrophylla. SUMMER. 92, 673. aki no kaze; akikaze: autumn wind. Usually refers to the biting wind that connotes loneliness as well as cold. See also kogarashi and nowaki. AUTUMN. 1, 34, 77, 101, 135, 136, 181, 316, 321, 331, 414, 416, 421, 426, 452, 559, 578, 642. aki no kure: autumn’s evening. Refers both to an autumn evening and the evening of autumn, that is, late autumn. A principal image of tranquil loneliness. AUTUMN. 37, 38, 67, 137, 501, 718, 719. asagao: morning glory, literally “morning face.” The normally purple blossoms last only into mid-morning, and thus suggest impermanence. Ipomoea nil, I. purpurea, or I. indica. AUTUMN. 62, 63, 130, 210, 324, 638, 639. ashi: reed. Up to 20” high, it is common by swamps, inlets, and ditches. Phragmites communis. • ashi no wakaba: young leaves of reeds. SPRING. 255. • ashi kari: cutting reeds. AUTUMN. 430. ayamegusa: blue flag iris. Blooms purple May through July. 5th day of Fifth Month was the Iris Festival (also known as “Boy’s Day”), and irises were displayed on the eaves of houses. Native to mountain meadows. Iris sanguinea, I. nertschinskia, or I. sibirica. Some authorities state that in Bashō’s time, this word referred to sweet flags, Acorus calamus . See kakitsubata. SUMMER. 384, 606. bashō: banana, plantain. Its long, broad leaves tear easily in wind and rain, thus suggesting transience and ascetic exposure to nature’s elements. Used in Buddhist texts as a symbol for impermanence. In Japan, it rarely bears fruit. Musa basjoo. AUTUMN. 52, 58, 103, 371, 611. botan: peony. A deciduous shrub usually around three feet high. Early summer blossoms of pink, red-purple, or yellow summer are luxuriant and suggest splendor. Paeonia suffruticosa . SUMMER. 139, 168, 287, 630, 670. chidori: plover. Bird of the seashore, with a shrill, plaintive cry that evokes the loneliness of winter. Year-round resident that flocks in winter, with long legs and rather short bill. Refers to various species in the genus Charadrius. WINTER. 139, 224, 519, 543. chō; kochō: butterfly. In Bashō’s time, the butterfly was associated with the story in the Zhuangzi, in which Zhuangzi wakes after dreaming he was a butterfly, but then wonders whether he is actually a butterfly dreaming he is Zhuangzi. SPRING. 44, 45, 73, 86, 126, 163, 167, 319, 442, 478, 486, 512. hagi: bush clover. A deciduous shrub up to seven feet high, with reddish-purple blossoms in early autumn. Associated with dew and the mournful cry of a stag in mating season. Lespedeza bicolor. AUTUMN. 211, 412, 417, 418, 440, 441, 572, 636. hana: blossoms. Unless otherwise specified, hana refers to cherry blossoms (sakura). Moon (tsuki) and blossoms are the two principal Japanese images of nature, and as a pair they refer to nature’s beauty and poetry about it. Cherry blossoms are known for scattering while at their peak, suggesting the combination of beauty and sadness central to 2 7 0 B a s h ō’ s H a i k u Japanese aesthetics. Prunus spp. SPRING. 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 29, 72, 78, 82, 83, 86, 87, 88, 112, 113, 156, 159, 161, 177, 179, 186, 198, 199, 233, 244, 251, 259, 264, 268, 269, 270, 275, 278, 279, 306, 323, 356, 401, 105, 410, 446, 468, 473, 474, 481, 537, 539, 601, 622, 628. harusame; haru no ame: spring rain. A soft, steady, quiet drizzle . See also samidare and shigure. SPRING. 84, 276, 471, 535, 667, 669. hibari: skylark. A bird of meadows and fields known in poetry for singing cheerfully as it flies high into the sky. A yearround resident, it is about seven inches long, golden brown with white edges to tail and wings. Alauda arvensis. SPRING. 200, 201, 267, 355, 551, 552. hirugao: noonflower, bindweed, literally “noon-face.” A twining vine similar to the asagao, but opens in midday. Native to grassy fields and mountains, it is often...