梅雨じめり / the damp air


山裾の木道軋む梅雨じめり

a submontane boardwalk squeaks

walking in the rainy season

feel the damp air

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

歳時記の言葉vol.9 "草笛" / The seasonal words in Japanese Haiku vol.9 "kusabue"

"草笛"は英語で"reed"を指し、夏を表す季語です。 上手な奏者は、たいていの草や木の葉を草笛として使えますが、葦、大麦、椿の葉が日本では好まれます。彼らは口に葉を押し当てて、各々好きな曲を演奏します。たいてい甲高く響くその音色は、私たちに郷愁を感じさせるものです。今でも多くの熟達した奏者がいますが、多くはお年寄りです。年々奏者は数を減らしており、近い将来には季語の"草笛"だけが残ることになるかも知れません。 The seasonal word "kusabue" refers to "reed" in English, and denotes summer. It seems that clever players can use most grass or tree leaves as a "kusabue", but they prefer to use a leaf of reed, barley, and camellia in Japan. They hold such a leaf to their mouth, and play pieces each as they like. It always sounds quite high-pitched, and makes us feel something like nostalgia. There are skilled players even now, but a majority of them are old. With advancing years, players are going to dwindle in numbers. So, in the near future, only the seasonal word "kusabue" might be left.
Read more

歳時記の言葉 vol.2　"夏近し" / The season words in Japanese haiku. Vol.2 "Summer will come before long."

"夏近し"は英語で、"Summer will come before long."と訳され、晩春を表現します。 桜の花の名残りも全て散り、若葉が成長し始める時節です。人々は軽装になりますが、季節の変わり目で風邪を引きやすくなります。更に言うと、同様に花粉症も流行り始め、多くの人がマスクをするようになります。日本では、この時期に花粉症を予防する事は大きな関心事です。花粉症自体が季語の一つでもあります。今日、自然の詩語としてすっかり確立された言葉になっています。 "Natsu chika shi" means "Summer will come before long" in English, and expresses a late spring.  It's the time that wind scatters the remainder of all of the cherry blossoms, and that the young leaves begin to grow. People dress lighter, but catch colds easily in the change of season. Moreover, people begin to suffer from hay fever as well, and so many people wear masks. In Japan, it's a major matter of concern to prevent the sickness in this time of year. Hay fever itself is a kind of seasonal word too. It has become firmly established as a natural poetry phrase in this country today.
Read more

歳時記の言葉vol.12 "木下闇" / The seasonal words in Japanese Haiku vol.12 "koshita yami"

"木下闇"は直訳すると"darkness under trees"となる、夏を表現する季語です。 夏の日本では、木々の茂みが濃くなり、その下に、昼間でも微かに暗い空間ができるものです。その闇は影でできるもので、漆黒の闇とは異なります。明るいところから森に足を踏み入れると、視界が暗くなるものです。"木下闇"はその暗さ自体と同様に、明るいところとの感覚の違いも表します。芭蕉以前の古来から伝わる言葉です。 The seasonal word "koshita yami" can be translated literally as "darkness under trees", and expresses summer. During the Japanese summer, clumps of trees grow thickly, and form slightly darker spaces under them even in the daytime. The darkness is a shadowy darkness, and differs from pitch-darkness. When we set foot in a forest from a light place, our sight dims the lights. "Koshita yami" refers to the darkness itself and the difference in feeling as well. The word has its origin in ancient times before Basho.
Read more