Classical Poetry of Tokyo

Haiku · Sumida River

Spring

春の夜は 桜に明けて しまひけり

The spring night passes— and before I knew it, dawn arrived dressed in cherry blossoms

Matsuo Basho Edo period · ca. 1680

Haiku · Ueno Park

Spring

さまざまの こと思ひ出す 桜かな

Cherry blossoms bloom— and all the scattered memories come drifting back to me

Matsuo Basho Edo period · ca. 1685

Haiku · Fukagawa

Autumn

この秋は 何で年よる 雲に鳥

This autumn— why do I grow old? Birds vanish into clouds.

Matsuo Basho Edo period · ca. 1693

Haiku · Asakusa

Spring

花の雲 鐘は上野か 浅草か

A cloud of cherry blossoms— Is that bell from Ueno, or does Asakusa call?

Matsuo Basho Edo period · ca. 1686

Haiku · Edo Shitamachi

Spring

めでたさも 中くらいなり おらが春

Even this blessing is only middling— and yet, my spring

Kobayashi Issa Edo period · ca. 1819

Haiku · Negishi, Yanaka

Winter

いくたびも 雪の深さを 尋ねけり

Again and again I ask how deep the snow has fallen— bedridden, longing

Masaoka Shiki Meiji period · ca. 1895

Haiku · Fukagawa, Basho's Hermitage

Summer

古池や 蛙飛び込む 水の音

An ancient pond— a frog leaps in, the splash of water

Matsuo Basho Edo period · 1686

Haiku · Shinjuku

Summer

雀の子 そこのけそこのけ お馬が通る

Little sparrow chick, move aside, move aside now— the great horse comes through!

Kobayashi Issa Edo period · ca. 1810

Haiku · Negishi, Yanaka

Autumn

鶏頭の 十四五本も ありぬべし

Cockscombs in the garden— fourteen, perhaps fifteen stalks standing there, just so.

Masaoka Shiki Meiji period · 1901

Haiku · Tokyo Bay

Winter

海暮れて 鴨の声 ほのかに白し

The sea darkens into night— a wild duck's cry barely visible, white

Matsuo Basho Edo period · ca. 1690