Carpe Diem Haiku Kai Celebrates Its 9th Anniversary: #1851 A Wandering Spirit

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I have to make excuses again, one way or the other, it seems like I don't have time to create our posts. I really had hoped that I could bring an episode every day, but through several personal circumstances, it didn't work out.

This month we are celebrating our 9th anniversary and this month we are looking back into our rich and creative history. Today I love to look back at a nice new feature I started back in October 2016. Maybe you can remember Yozakura (1640-1716), the Unknown Haiku Poet? In that month I started his story with an introduction. I will replicate that first episode here.

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Wandering Spirit --- intoraddakkushan (Introduction)

Maybe you can remember me I once was your guest at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai as a ghostwriter. I told you a little bit about my life and my sensei, Matsuo Basho, whom I still miss very much. Master Basho taught me how to write soloku (or as you call it now, haiku) and I am still grateful that he accepted me as one of his disciples. Until that moment my life was a complete disaster.

I was an only child and I lived in Edo (or Kyoto) with my dad. I never had the chance to got to know my mother, because she died as she gave birth to me. My father raised me alone. He was a high ranked samurai and taught me all that I know about going to battle, but also about art and poetry.

When I was about 17 years old my dad passed away in the Great Fire of Meireki, a major city-fire in which Edo was destroyed for more than 60 %. I not only lost my dad, but also all of my family's belongings. After that major disaster I became an outcast and a wanderer under the sun, moon and stars of my beloved Japan.

Of course there is no urge to tell you about me and the life I had, but ... hidden deep inside me there is a kind of longing, a kind of hope, a kind of urge to tell you more about my life and so ... here I am again ... this is the story of my life, Yozakura, the Unknown poet.

Yozakura (1640-1716)

ろーすと・あんど・あろーん・あ・わんだーいんぐ・すぴらっと・びにーす・ざ・さん

roosuto ando aroon a wandaaingu supiratto biniisu za san

lost and alone
a wandering spirit
beneath the sun

© よざくら (Yozakura)

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In our rich history we have seen a lot of Unknown Haiku Poets, but Yozakura was one of a kind. The feuilleton Wandering Spirit is about him and I created (I believe) 12 chapters, but those 12 chapters haven't told the whole story. I hope to write the story further.

The goal for this episode is to create a new haiku or tanka, or other Japanese poetry form, inspired on the Introduction of Wandering Spirit as replicated above.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until October 24th at 10:00 PM (CEST). Enjoy!
Add your submission to the linking widget hidden in our logo below.

Wandering Spirit: faasuto iyaa wizu Basho (first year with Basho)

the story continues


After my first meeting with the master, with Basho, I was excited and proud to have a haiku written by him personally. I cherished that haiku and decided to calligraph it on white silk. As I had done that I bought a small wooden box and put the haiku on silk into it carefully.

Like a treasure
Hidden in the depth of the mountains
His haiku

© Yozakura

Several days later Basho invited me to his home. I was honored that he invited me.
“Yozakura”, he said. “I have a proposal for you”.
I nodded and my heart beat rose to unknown height.
“Your haiku are wonderful Yozakura, but they can become more sophisticated. I can teach you how. Do you want to be one of my students?”
“I would be honored master Basho. Yes, I love to become one of your students”, I answered.
Basho hugged me and gave me a kiss on my forehead.
“That that is settled. Welcome Yozakura. Please stay with me. Let us write a chained verse together. Do you want to write the first verse?”
I looked at him and stammered: “I would be honored, but I am just a beginning haiku poet. I don’t know if my haiku are worth to start a chained verse with”.
“Lesson One, dear Yozakura, every haiku is a real beauty. It has nothing to do with being a beginner or a professional. It has to do with the love of nature. Look at the pine-tree and see the pine-tree as Buddha. Your haiku are extraordinary wonderful Yozakura … don’t forget that!”
I bowed my head. “I will write the first verse master Basho”, I whispered.

dewdrops shimmer (image found on Pinterest)

At dawn
Birds sing their song
Dewdrops shimmer

© Yozakura

“Brilliant”, Basho said. “This is a nice haiku to start with. Now I have to write the second verse, but I need your help with it. In which season your haiku is written?”
I felt a little bit embarrassed as he asked me which season it was written in.
“I don’t really know. ‘Dawn’ can be used in every season as can ‘birds sing their song’, but I don’t know if ‘dewdrops’ can be used in every season. I think ‘dew’ is a kigo for spring or summer. So this haiku is a spring haiku, because all scenes noticed give me a spring feeling’, I answered. Basho smiled.
“Than it is a spring haiku Yozakura. Now to write the second verse. What do you want that this second verse tells us?”
“I would love to see, the beauty of flowers and young life”. Basho applauded.

Cherry blossoms bloom again
Shelter for young sparrows

© Basho

“That’s what I thought too master”, I laughed. “The beauty of cherry blossoms and the offspring of sparrows. Fragile beauty and the seemingly roughness of sparrows without colors as bright as the cherry blossoms”.
I became excited. I never had done a chained verse in the manner of Basho. “He is really a renga master”, I thought.
“Well … let us go on to the third verse. Read that verse again Yozakura, say it aloud, try to feel what it is painting. Become a part of the scene. Be a spectator that sees this scene”.
I, of course, did what he asked from me. How could I not do that. I was his apprentice so I just did what he asked. I said the second verse aloud … became a part of it. It felt like I was one with the scene. I was the young sparrow in the shelter of the cherry blossom.
“Now … I will make it a little bit more difficult for you my dear Yozakura. It’s your turn to write the next verse, but I love to see a moon theme in it. Do you think you can do that?”
“I think I can, but are you willing to give me some time? This way of writing chained is somewhat new to me”.
“Yes of course you can. Are you still staying at the home of your brother?”
“Yes”.
“Than go home and take your time. A chained verse doesn’t see the light in one day”.

Later that day Kichirou and I had dinner and I told him about my first lesson. “Basho asked me to write the first verse of a chained verse. That was a honor and than he asked me for help with creating the second verse. It was really awesome to work with him. He is a very nice and attractive man, but he is also very wise”.
“Sounds like you have had a good time Yozakura”, Kichirou said.
“Yes it was a real nice day. How was your day?”
“My day was good too. I met a wonderful painter. He told me about haiga. That’s a kind of painting in which haiku are used. He gave me this”.

Willow Tree (woodblock print, by Kawase Hasui, inspired on Saigyo's renown waka)

Kichirou reached for a roll of rice paper and showed it to me. It was an awesome painting inspired on a waka by Saigyo about a willow tree. The willow tree was really beautifully painted and in the pond its reflection was magnificent. The waka calligraphed in a great way. I felt tears rolling from my cheeks.
“Who has painted this … it is … it is wonderful”, I stammered.
“His name is Takayuki and he is a young man, very talented as you can see. I have asked him to make a haiga inspired on that haiku you got from Basho. He will be visiting us tomorrow. As a former Wakashu I think you will appreciate him”.
I smiled. “Hoshina was the first man I fell in love with. There is no place in my heart for a new love my dear brother”.
After dinner we sat on the verandah enjoying each other’s company. Kichirou was reading a book and I was busy to create a new verse for the chained verse Basho and I started.
“Kichirou?” I asked.
“Yes my brother?”
“This is the chained verse we started today, but I have no idea how to bring the moon into the third verse. Maybe you can help me”.
“Please … read what you have already”, Kichirou answered.
“At dawn
Birds sing their songs
Dewdrops shimmer;
That’s the first verse and this is the verse Basho created inspired on the first.
Cherry blossoms bloom again
Shelter for young sparrows;
And now I have to write the third verse, but in that verse I have to use “moon” as Basho asked me”.
“How do I do that?” Kichirou asked.
“By looking at that second verse and let your heart speak to you through the images you see”.
Kichirou nodded. “Let me hear that second verse again”.
I read it aloud a few times again and than I saw how Kichirou smiled.
“Do you have an idea my brother?”
“What do you think of this idea: fragile beauty makes the night mysterious in the moonlight”.
“Awesome Kichirou, but that last line. I don’t know. In your second line you use mysterious and than you use moonlight. I think that there is no need to use moonlight. What do you think of this line? The moon is female so I thought of this ‘she … is beautiful’. Than it makes the mystery bigger, more intense and I think that’s a nice contrast with fragile in the first line”.
I saw that Kichirou understood what I meant, but he wasn’t quite satisfied.
“Your third line is nice, but than you have used two times ‘beauty’, maybe you can change that third line into ‘she … the one I love’, because you love the moon.

I looked at him. "What do you mean?"
"Well ..."
I saw that he weighed his words. "Don't be afraid to say what you think my brother".
"You had a loving relation with Hoshina".
I nodded. "Yes you are right. I loved him very much. I am still missing him. I know they call male to male love "moonlove" ... so I think that third line you proposed is very nice and keeps the mystery.

Moon (woodblock by Gesso Yoshimoto) (found on Pinterest)

We were awake early after a good night's sleep. The sun was already above the horizon and the village was already alive. We sat on the porch and ate our breakfast in profound silence. My thoughts were at Basho's lesson of yesterday.
"I am looking forward to my next lesson of master Basho", I said.
Kichirou looked at me. "He must be special".
"Yes he is, my brother. In a way I feel like him. We even have a connection, a click, with each other. It feels like I know him for a long time instead of just a few weeks. I am excited how our renga will evolve ..."

After a warm cup of tea I took off and went to Basho. He embraced me and gave me a kiss on my forehead. "Good to see you again Yozakura. I am looking forward to create our renga together. I think we will do a half kasen-renga. That means only eighteen verses instead of thirty-six. Is that okay?"
"Yes i think so too. I love to create a complete kasen-renga, but it's not easy to create that as a starting poet. So ... yes let us create a half kasen-renga".
I had a wonderful day with master Basho. The sun was already downing as we finally had created our half kasen-renga.
"You did a great job Yozakura", Basho said.
I blushed and bowed my head. "Thank you master Basho", I whispered.
He looked at me and shook his smiling head.
"You really did great Yozakura. You are looking at a very proud master". He embraced me.
"It's time. The day runs towards its end. Go home Yozakura enjoy the renga we created".
He gave me small booklet we had created from our renga. He even had painted a wonderful scene on the cover. "It's my gift to you Yozakura. Do I see you again tomorrow?" I nodded.

Dew drops shimmer (image found on Pinterest)

After dinner I took the small booklet of our renga and I read it. It made me proud and I love to share the renga Basho and I created with the world. So here it is:

Dewdrops shimmer 

At dawn
Birds sing their song
Dewdrops shimmer

Cherry blossom blooms again
Shelter for young sparrows

The pale moon hangs
Still fresh against the sky
Trailing morning glories      (© Dolores)

A new day rises on my naked body
The sheet that covered me slipped away

Birds sing their song
Dewdrops shimmer like diamonds
Just an illusion

Her feet caress the fresh grass
The moist of the wet earth

Reflection
In puddles of rain
Clouds are dancing

Cherry blossom petals sway on the wind
Their temporarily beauty gone

On this grave
Beneath the blooming wisteria
Her name

After the rain, clouds break open
The blue sky in all her beauty

Dragonkite
Climbs towards heaven
Reaches for the sun

In front of the fireplace
Two souls become one in a glass of wine

Sparkling wine
Flames dance in her hand
He is granted a smile

After the heat this summer night
Honeysuckle perfume and coolness

Warm embrace
Skin to skin we lay down
On the beach

Seagulls cry against the wind
Waves splash in the light of dawn

Reaching for the sun
Swaying on the warm air
Swallows dance together

Dewdrops vaporise as a new day rises
Morning glories bloom for just a moment

"That's a very nice renga Yozakura", Kichirou laughed. "Can I read it again?" I saw how he enjyed the renga and his smile made me proud.

- to be continued -

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #31 Troiku ... "bare branches"

!!! Open for your submissions next Sunday May 6th at 7:00 PM (CEST) !!!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our weekend-meditation feature. In this "new" weekend-meditation I have chosen to challenge you to create a troiku (more about troiku you can find above in the menu).

For this weekend-meditation I have a wonderful haiku for you to work with and create a troiku with. It's a haiku by Yozakura, the unknown haiku poet and apprentice of Basho. Maybe you can remember our Ghost-writer episode about him or our continuing story "Wandering Spirit" about him.

Here is the haiku from which you have to create a Troiku:

bare branches
a painting against the blue sky
leaves under my feet

© Yozakura, the Wandering Spirit

Yozakura, the Wandering Spirit

Well .... I think I have given you all a nice challenge for this upcoming weekend. Take your time to meditate and contemplate and surprise us all with your Troiku. Have a wonderful weekend.

This episode is open for your submissions next Sunday May 6th at 7:00 PM (CEST) and will remain open until May 13th at noon (CEST).

Carpe Diem #1420 Tears (one-bun)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the penultimate (regular) prompt for this month. This month it was all about story telling or as they call it in Japanese "kamishibai". We explored several kinds of haibun and I think you all have enjoyed this month a lot. I enjoyed making it and I am already looking forward to our new month.
In May I love to go on another journey. This time we will visit South America and we will travel by train through the Andean Mountains. It will be an adventure and we will visit the highest station on this railway ... Galera, on the Ferrocarril Centro Andino at 4781m above sea level. During this journey we will dive into the ancient history of this wonderful continent.

Mayan Art work

But ... before we go on a new journey we have to pass two regular episodes and one weekend-meditation episode. Today I ask you to create a one-bun themed tears. The "one-bun" is invented by Jim Kacian. The one-bun is an ultra-short haibun which has just one line of prose (including the title) and a (one-line) haiku. I will give an example of this one-bun written by Jim himself.

The light

of the most distant stars, which describes for us the size and age of the universe, won't reach us for aeons, leaving us to imagine ...

dark space the red shift of my mind

© Jim Kacian

Today's theme is "tears" and I am looking forward to your responses.

You all will be aware of our feuilleton about Yozakura "Wandering Spirit". I am busy with the new episode of this story, but recently I read it again and I ran into a nice example (extracted from the story) of a "one-bun" ... it even fits our theme for today, tears ...

After a few days 

at the Wisteria flowers lodging house I went into Edo on my way to meet my soon to be haiku master Basho, but before that I visited my mother's garden.

tears fall on this lonely grave Wisteria blossoms

© Yozakura

It's a re-done part of the story. I wasn't aware that I could create a one-bun from another story, but this one is amazing (how immodest).

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until May 3rd at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new weekend-meditation later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Weekend-Meditation #13 New Year's Eve

!! Open for your submissions January 1st at 7:00 PM (CET) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the last episode of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai 2017. We have had a wonderful year and I am looking forward to host CDHK for you in a whole new year. For this weekend-meditation I have chosen the theme New Year's Eve ...

I had a very busy day so that's the reason why this weekend-meditation is later than planned, this weekend-meditation takes also a day longer, because you can submit your Japanese poetry a day later than I mostly do. This weekend-meditation is open for your submissions January 1st at 7:00 PM (CET).A New Year is within reach ... what are your plans, your dreams, your thoughts and ideas for 2018? Maybe you can share them with us through your posts or through your Japanese poetry. I hope to make CDHK even better than it already is and there are several ideas I am thinking about to make CDHK better than ever. Of course I hope to create several CDHK E-books and we will have again our season retreats in 2018.

!!!! Our CDHK prompt-list for January is ready you can find it above in the menu !!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

The theme for this weekend-meditation is New Year's Eve so here are a few haiku for your inspiration.

In classical Japan (following the Lunar calender) there was a fifth season ''New Year", and this season was from approximately 20 december 'til 20 January. I have a few haiku which have been written for this season:

the Great Morning:
winds of long ago
blow through the pine trees

© Onitsura

The Great Morning is the morning of New Year's Day.

for this New Year's Day
the sight we gaze upon shall be
Mount Fuji

© Sokan

And a last one:

the first sunrise
there is a cloud
like a cloud in a picture

© Shusai

All wonderful haiku on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.

And here are a few haiku by Issa and Basho:

my shadow too
in good health...
"Happy New Year!"

New Year's gift of tea--
where did you go
on your journey back to me?

© Issa

Both are wonderful "new year" haiku. Let me look at a few haiku by Basho on New Year:

has spring already come?
I feel wealthy this New Year
with five sho of old rice

New Year's Day
I feel lonely just like
an autumn evening

And what do you think of this one by Yozakura, the Wandering Spirit?

nothing changes
every day will be the same
this new year

A wonderful series of haiku about New Year's Eve of New Year's Day. Let those haiku inspire you this weekend.

after New Year's Eve
life hasn't changed a bit -
another year gone

listen! listen!
the sweet silence 
the day after

New Year's Eve
fireworks enlightens the sky -
bad ghosts flee

© Chèvrefeuille

This weekend-meditation is open for your submissions January 1st at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until January 8th at noon (CET). Have a great weekend and a wonderful start of 2018.

Wandering Spirit Challenge #1 a new feature, a call for help

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

As you all (maybe) know I am writing our CDHK feuilleton "Wandering Spirit", about the life of Yozakura, the unknown haiku poet. Recently I started writing the new episode in which I describe Yozakura's first year as an apprentice of Basho. In that episode Basho and Yozakura start to create a chained verse, a renga. Yozakura has the honor to write the starting verse, or hokku.

at dawn
birds sing their songs
dewdrops shimmer

© Yozakura

Basho has to write the second verse (or waki) of two lines and he comes up with this:

cherry blossoms bloom again
shelter for young sparrows

© Basho

Yozakura has to write the third verse (or daisan) of three lines, but he struggles with, because he has to use the "moon" or a reference to "moon" in it. Yozakura wishes to ask you all for your help with this. Can you help him with the 3rd verse (daisan)?

spring moon

Share your third verse with him through the comment field. He will choose the third verse he likes the most and as it is your verse? Than he grants you the opportunity to be featured in a Wandering Spirit Special (something like our CDHK Special).

Of course I have given it a try too, so here is my third verse to help Yozakura:

fragile beauty
makes the night mysterious
she ... the one I love

© Chèvrefeuille

I hope you like this challenge and I am looking forward to your responses. You can respond through the comment field until October 25th 10:00 PM (CET). Have fun!

Wandering Spirit - Masutaa no kaigi (meeting the master)

Masutaa no kaigi (Meeting the master)

Kichirou had made us breakfast and after morning tea he introduced me to Kikaku, one of Basho's apprentices and close friend. Kikaku was a handsome man with a bright smile and an open mind. As I let him read a few of my haiku he was excited.
"These are beautiful Yozakura".
I blushed. "Thank you, but those are just the first haiku I ever created. I just wrote them from my heart, without knowing the rules of writing haiku", I said.
"Kichirou, you have never told me that you have such a gifted, such a talented brother. His haiku are amazing".
"I didn't told you about him Kikaku, because I hadn't met him before yesterday. I knew I had a brother, we have the same father, but I didn't know when I would meet him. We ran into eachother yesterday while we were visiting our mothers graves", Kichirou said.
"Praise the gods", Kikaku laughed. "It's a great day. You my friend have found your brother".

a new day
life starts again
spring has come

© Kikaku

We enjoyed the morning. Kikaku was a nice guy to have around. He told us about his life and how he met Basho, his sensei and friend.
"I love Basho", he said. "But not as in a love relation, but as my friend. I love him for his friendship and his work as a haiku master and renga master. You have to meet him Yozakura and show him your haiku".
"I would love to meet him", I said. "And let him read my haiku. He is the goal of my journey to Edo, but I am afraid that he will be disappointed as he reads my haiku".
Kikaku laughed. "Don't worry about that. He will praise you for the beauty of your haiku Yozakura. Basho once said to me: "Kikaku now you know the rules of writing haiku ... forget them immediately. Look at the pine as it is a pine. Write from the heart and not from the mind or by using my education. Be your own master. You can do it Kikaku". Yes Yozakura that's what he said. So don't worry he will surely praise your haiku".
I was astonished. This ... Basho, that famous haiku master, saw a master in every apprentice of him. In every haiku poet!
"I would love to meet him".
"Later this afternoon I will be back at Kichirou's home and than we will visit him in his "Basho-hut". He will be glad to meet you Yozakura. I even think he will be giving you some points to work with to make your haiku better and more beautiful. I see you later today". With that said Kikaku embraced us and left.

Banana tree (Basho)

"I am so excited my brother. I don't think I can eat or drink. Finally I will meet Basho", I said.

finally
I will see
banana tree in bloom

© Yozakura

After lunch Kichirou and I walked into the city. "Do you think we can visit the spot were dad's grocery once was?" I asked.
"Yes we can visit it".

A while later we stood at the spot were my father once had his grocery. It was now an empty spot were the people of Edo had created a beautiful garden in honor of all those Edo-people who died in the Great Fire. It was really a wonderful garden were all kinds of blossoming trees and bushes were planted. there was a nice pond in which Lotuses floated on the surface and Koi-carps were swimming around. The pond was surrounded by a path of shells and several garden lanterns. It was a wonderful, peaceful, place to be. I enjoyed the beauty and the sound of water falling made the silence stronger and deeper. It was ... like the pure land. I felt the presence of my father's spirit.
"This garden is wonderful", I whispered.
"I know my brother. I am visiting this garden regularly, because it feels like a place in honor of father", Kichirou said. I could hear the tears in his voice and my heart opened up to him. He had loved father and he had the same experiences as I had. The same memories. I kissed him on his forehead.
"I am glad that I have found you".

in the garden
between blossoms
family reunion

© Yozakura

Later that afternoon Kikaku brought me to the master. Kichirou was invited too, but he decided not to come with us.
"It's your wish Yozakura to meet Basho. You came back for him. So I will not spoil your moment with him".
It made me a bit sad, but I understood why Kichirou wouldn't come. He granted me this special moment, because he loved me and he knew how much I wished to meet Basho. I hugged him.
"Thank you my brother. I love you".
A little later Kikaku and I arrived at the "Basho hut". It was really just a hut, but it was surrounded by a garden in which the Basho tree he got from Rika, one of his apprentices, was obvious present. Next to that tree the garden was planted with Cherry trees, Jasmine and Snowball. At the back of the "Basho hut" the Wisteria was in full bloom.
In the garden, under a cherry tree, I saw a small group of people, male and female, sit on the grass. They all listened to a young handsome man who was telling them about the beauty of nature and how to become one with nature.
"That must be him", I thought. "He looks so small, but in a way he is bigger than all others".

Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)

Kikaku coughed to get Basho's attention. Basho looked at him and smiled.
"Kikaku, my friend".
He got on his feet and walked towards us. He embraced Kikaku and gave him a kiss on his forehead.
"It is good to see you Kikaku". Than he saw me.
"And whom is this good looking young man?" He asked.
"This my friend is Yozakura he is a young haiku poet who wanted to meet you".
Basho bowed. "Welcome Yozakura. Welcome in my garden. My name is Basho". He took my hand.
"Come Yozakura let me introduce you to the others gathered here".
The others were already on their feet too as we walked towards them. I saw a nice group of people all with their own characteristics. All happy and smiling.
Basho introduced me to them one by one. Than we sat down together.
"Tell us something about yourself Yozakura", Basho said.
I told them the story of my life and how I had heard about Basho, than known as Tosei. "I was anxious to get to know you Basho. I had heard a lot of stories along the roads about you. You are the reason why I started to write haiku".
"Did you write haiku while on your way?" Ransetsu, one of Basho's apprentices, asked. I nodded.
"Please can you declaim a few of your haiku for us?"
I became nervous and I felt that I blushed.
"Don't be shy Yozakura", Kikaku said. "Your haiku are excellent".
Basho encouraged me too. "Please Yozakura".
I grabbed my rice-paper booklet from my knapsack. "These are just pieces I wrote that look like haiku, but they were written from the heart. As I told you my life wasn't easy and that made my heart cry".
"That, Yozakura, is the only way to write haiku. Right from the heart", Basho said. His disciples agreed.

spearflower berries
tempting the sparrows with their color -
graveyard in the mist

bare branches
a painting against the blue sky
leaves under my feet

moonlight on the river
thousand lanterns float to the horizon
honoring the dead

I looked around and waited. They applauded.
"Wonderfully crafted haiku Yozakura", Basho said. "But that last one can be so much stronger. Allow me to redo it?"
"Yes please", I answered. "I love to learn from you".
Basho took a piece of rice-paper and after a while he calligraphed his interpretation of the haiku I just had declaimed.

on the river
lights float to the horizon
the dead rejoice

© Basho

He gave this haiku to me.
"Thank you", I stammered. "I will keep this close to my heart in memory of today. The day I met you ... my sensei".


to be continued

Wandering Spirit - Edo ni modoru (Back to Edo)

Edo ni moduru (Back to Edo)

I traveled on with joy in my heart. Finally I would be meeting this Tosei, now known as Basho, after that seemingly not beautiful banana-tree with its tiny vague yellow blossoms and its useless wood. This banana-tree is beautiful through its ugliness and uselessness.
While I was on my way back home to Edo I contemplated about that banana-tree asking myself "why this famous poet had chosen this pseudonym.

banana-tree
unworthy to look at
beautiful ugliness

© Yozakura

After a few days I almost was at Edo. I sat down next to the road I was walking and looked at Edo. The town was rebuild and looked even more beautiful then it ever was. I saw the people, children playing and every were I looked I only saw happiness. As I sat there my mind went on a roll. Thoughts of my happy childhood and the sadness of losing both my parents fought for my attention. While I let go my thoughts and memories, tears covered my cheeks. "I still miss you both", I whispered.
I sat there for a few hours and when the shadows became longer and the sky started to change into the beauty of the sunset I walked into the city. Edo my home-town.

tears
thoughts of days gone
coloring sky

© Yozakura

Edo suburb lodging house (image found on Pinterest)

I found a small lodging house in the suburb of Edo named "Fuji no Hana", Wisteria flowers, and rented a room for a few days. It was a nice, not very expensive, lodging house and the owner was a beautiful former geisha with a bright smile, named Shiori, "poem". She was a great host and she wrote haiku also.

small faces
violets in thousand colors
bees humming

© Shiori

After a good meal I decided to go to sleep. I said goodnight to my host and went to my room. I was exhausted, but couldn't find sleep. I turned and turned on my sleeping mat, but the sleep wouldn't come. After a while I went downstairs to the dinner of the lodging house. All guests were already at sleep and only the host, Shiori, was still there. She sat at one of the tables with a booklet of paper that was still virgin white.
I coughed to get her attention. She looked up from the virgin paper. "Couldn't sleep", I said. "Can I sit with you?"
She nodded. "Tell me something about your wanderings", she said. "For starters ... what's your name?"
"My name is Yozakura", I answered.
She smiled. "I once knew a young guy named Yozakura", she said. "He was the son of a grocer". She looked closer to me. "You look somewhat like him".
"Would you like to tell me a little bit more about him?" I asked.
" His mother died when she was giving birth to him. I remember that his father wasn't loving him, but that was more a reaction, I think, on the fact that his wife died during labor".
Tears rolled down my cheeks. Shiori, in shock, looked at me as she saw me crying.
"What's the matter Yozakura?"
" I am that Yozakura you are telling about. My mother died in labor and my father was angry about that. As I became five years he decided to send me away to the shogun to get educated. After several years I returned to Edo and my father. He forgave me and asked my forgiveness for all he had said and done. We became closer then we ever had been. I lost him in the Fire of Meireki". My tears rolled freely now.
Shiori laid an arm around me and kissed me on my forehead. "Yozakura you are a righteous man and you needed this. You never mourned about them, maybe you fled for the thoughts and memories of them, but this ... death belongs to life, without that knowledge your life will never be complete. Come on let me help you to your room".

I awoke around noon and right then Shiori knocked on the door and entered my room.
"Did you sleep well Yozakura?"
" Yes, thank you. Thank you for all you have done".
Shiori smiled. "It's okay. Come go wash yourself and have lunch with me", she laughed. Her laugh sounded like a crystal brook and touched me. For the first time I felt something I never had experienced in my life. I knew right than ... I was in love.
After lunch Shiori and I made a chained poem together. This was the starting verse:

crystal brook
reflects the willow trees
birds sing their song

© Yozakura

After a few days at the Wisteria flowers lodging house I went into Edo on my way to meet my soon to be haiku master Basho, but before that I visited my mother's garden.

tears fall
on this lonely grave
Wisteria blossoms

© Yozakura

As I was sitting in front of her grave stone a young handsome guy walked into my mother's garden. In a way I felt a connection with him.
"What are you looking for?" I asked him.
He looked at me and smiled. "Finally I meet you Yozakura, son of Kyoshi and Fujiko, my brother".
"Who ... who are you?"
" I am your brother Yozakura. After your father send you away he and my mother became acquainted and married soon after. My mother, Sachiko, happy child, died shortly after I was born. Father send me to my grandmother. He couldn't handle the situation, because of your mother, who died during labor of you'.
I saw tears on his face and I saw similarities in his features with my father. "My brother ... I know what you are feeling right now. I felt the same. Please don't cry or let us cry together. What's your name ... my brother?"
" My name is Kichirou (lucky son)", he whispered.
" Where do you live?"
" Just around the corner of this memorial garden for both our mothers. My mother also was buried here by father".

Jasmine flowers

He took my hand. "Let me show you her grave".
Not far of my mother's grave I saw another marble stone, surrounded by Jasmine.
" This is my mother's grave". Kichirou said. "He planted Jasmine in her honor. She loved the sweet perfume of Jasmine".

sweet perfume
memories of a loved one
Jasmine blossom

© Yozakura

A little later Kichirou invited me to his home. It was a small, but cozy, home and it felt awesome. I smelled the sweet perfume of Jasmine and saw a small garden behind his home in which the Jasmine was in full bloom.

We walked into the garden and sat down on the cushions on the small wooden veranda. Kichirou presented me Jasmine tea. In silence we drank our tea. The sweet perfume of the Jasmine seems to become stronger and not a minute later it started to rain softly.

"Why have you come to Edo?" Kichirou asked me. I looked at him.
" I am hoping to become an apprentice of Basho, a famous haiku poet from Edo. Maybe you have heard of him".
" Yes I have heard of him. Recently he settled down in a small hut along the river. One of his apprentices gave him a Basho-tree and his hut is now called the "Basho hut" and he, Tosei, changed his name into Basho. I have visited him once. He is a handsome guy, not extraordinary beautiful, but handsome. He has a very loving character and his apprentices adore him. A friend of mine, Kikaku, is an apprentice of him, a very close relation they have. There is a rumor that they are not only friends, but also lovers. Basho is openly about his preference for guys, but as far as I know he and Kikaku don't have a relationship. They are just close friends".

Kikaku (image found on Pinterest)

"I would love to meet your friend Kikaku. Can you introduce me to him?"
Kichirou nodded. "I will introduce him to you tomorrow if that's okay with you?"
" Sure that's okay. Do you write haiku?"
" No I have tried it but it's to difficult for me. And you? Do you write haiku? "
" In fact I do, but they aren't really good in my opinion. Friends however say that my haiku are really beautiful and the encouraged me to go on and make them even more beautiful. That's the reason why I love to meet Basho. I hope he will be my sensei, my master, to help me to improve my haiku writing skills".
" Do you have a few examples of haiku you have written?"
" Yes, I have".
" Can I read them?"
" Yes of course". I picked up my knapsack and gave him a booklet of rice-paper on which I had calligraphed my haiku.
" Wow ... these are real beauties. For sure I know that Basho will take you as his apprentice".
I blushed. "Thank you Kichirou". I gave him a kiss on his forehead. "My brother ... I love you".
" I love you too Yozakura. I am glad to have found you my brother. Let us celebrate that. Do you drink sake?"
" Yes I do, but I do like it cold".

Sake set Wisteria blossom

Kichirou came back to the veranda with a bamboo tray on which he presented sake in a wonderful earthenware jar and two earthenware bowls. I remembered them. This sake set was decorated with Wisteria blossom and I knew that they once were in the possession of my father.
" This set I know", I whispered. " Father has made it".
Kichirou nodded. "I got them as a gift from father. He said "One day you and your brother Yozakura will meet. Please save them for that day". Well ... that day has come today. So let us drink to the health of our parents, and to the health of you and me. Finally we have found each other".

Wisteria blossoms
bloom in front of the veranda
feeling blessed

© Yozakura


to be continued

Wandering Spirit - Tochuu de Mouichido (On The Way Again)

Tochuu de Mouichido

I said my goodbyes to Yori and Yamato and promised them to come back. They had taken care of me and we were friends forever.

my promise
to return to them
like the sunrise

© Yozakura

Yori and Yamato walked with me to the outside of the village, there were the country side started. We embraced each other.
"Friends forever, we will see each other again somewhere on the path of life", said Yori. I felt his tears on my cheeks. His tears mingled with mine and felt like drops of rain on the sandy road and became one with the earth. Yamato's tears followed.
"One forever", he whispered.
Than I took the road not looking back. I waved without watching. Alone again but with a heart full of love. "We will meet again my friends", I whispered.

tears
will evaporate in time
like the dew

© Yozakura

I was on my way, clothed like a monk walking barefooted my staff in hand, to Kobe, to become a monk of the Taisan Ji Temple as was my former goal before I met Yori and Yamato in their lodging house.

My journey brought me and my once to become haikai master Tosei closer to each other. At the end of the day I found an old shed were I could spent the night. In the back of the shed I found a well and the bucket to pull up the water was still there. I unclothed and washed my body. The cold water felt great on my naked body. I felt free and right at that moment I saw a shooting star. I whispered a wish. A smile on my face.

cold water cleanses
my mind becomes free again
a shooting star

© Yozakura

After a hot cup of soup and a black piece of bread I sat down on my sleeping mat. Through the torn apart paper window I saw the moon. I heard the voices of nature, the wind , the rustling of the leaves and ... there it was the fragile and beautiful song of a Nightingale. It comforted me, but it made me also a bit melancholic.
After a while I decided to go to sleep. I dreamed about my mom and dad. They hugged me. "You will become a great poet my son", my mom said and my dad nodded. "Follow your dream Yozakura", he said. Than, after my parents vanished in a wonderfull light, I saw Hoshina. He smiled at me and kissed me. In an eye-blink we laid on a bed of roses and made love. I felt tears as he disappeared. "I will always love you Yozakura. Follow your dream become like Tosei ... now called Basho". Than I saw a small hut surrounded by Basho trees, banana trees and a young, gorgeous, man. He smiled at me: "You will find me Yozakura, but you have to return to Edo". With a shock I woke up. "What .. what ..."
As I recovered from the shock I saw that the sun was already high up in the sky. "How long did I sleep?" I thought.
I washed myself and picked up my belongings and took the road. The dream I had played again and again in my head. I cherised this dream and will never forget it. "I have to back to Edo", I whispered.

follow that dream
butterflies dance in the sun
without anxiety

© Yozakura

to be continued

Wandering Spirit - siikingu mai pasu (seeking my path)

After the death of Hoshina I traveled to Yokohama to visit Sayuri, the wife of Hoshina, to tell her the sad news that her husband, my lover, had died. She was sad and cried, but she was glad to know that I had taken care of him for such a long time.

“Thank you Yozakura”, she said. “Thank you for taking care of him. You have given a big part of your life to do that. So now … it is time for you to find your purpose in life. Go find your path”. I bowed. “Thank you Sayuri. Thank you that you have given me the opportunity to care for Hoshina. I will never forget that”. I embraced her and parted.

I became a wandering spirit again, but now it was just for my own cause … I had to find my path, as Sayuri called it. But what was my path? To find an answer on that question I decided to make a journey to the city of Kobe to become a monk of the Taisan Ji Temple. There I hoped to find my path. During this journey I clothed myself as a monk, because that was the only safe way to travel and it gave me the opportunity to find places to sleep without paying or only low prices. 

スィーキﾝグ・マイ・パス クローズド・ライク・ア・マﾝク・フォー・セイフティー ワイト・ローズ・イﾝ・マイ・ヘア

siikingu mai pasu kuroozudo raiku a manku foo seifutii waito roozu in mai hea

seeking my path
clothed like a monk for safety
white rose in my hair

© Yozakura

This was one of my first haikai-like poems I wrote during this journey to Kobe. Along the way I spoke often with other travelers and it was one of them who told me about a new poet who became more famous every day.

Lodging House "Masayuki"

One day I spoke another lone traveler, Yasuhiro, in a lodging house. He had traveled a few days and planned to stay for a few days in this lodging house, Masayuki, somewhere between Edo and Kobe.
“I was told about a famous poet”, I said to him. “Have you heard of him? His name is Tosei”. He looked at me and shook his head. “Never heard of a poet Tosei, but maybe someone else here in the lodging house knows him”.
The inn-keeper, Yori, brought us some rice and onions and sake. “I overheard what you asked your travel companion”, he said. “Did you ask him if he knew a poet Tosei?” I nodded. “Yes, during my journey I heard several times people talk about him. He must be a great poet, because there are so many people who know him. Do you know him?” The inn-keeper smiled. “Yes, just recently I read an anthology of poems, haikai, titled “Kai Oi”, the Sea Shell Game”, he answered. “This Tosei is a rising star in the world of poetry, but he is very young. He is 28 and he once was a servant of Tōdō Yoshitada, the son of a samourai”. “I was raised and educated by a samourai”, I said. “Maybe you know him”. The inn-keeper looked at me. “His name was Hoshina Masayuki”. The inn-keeper shook his head. “Never heard of him”. I was a bit disappointed as he said that, because his lodging house had the same name as my lover, but I let go of it. “Must be a coincidence”, I thought.

I stayed a few days in this lodging house and finally I found the peace to write haikai-like poems to clear my head. My head really full of all what I had experienced in the last years. I had to bear all the sadness alone and sometimes there were days that it made me depressed and that I thought to commit suicide. Happily I could resist those thoughts, because I love life and I want to take everything out of my life. At the lodging house I decided to visit this young poet who’s star was rising and maybe he would accept me as his apprentice, but then I had to write a few haikai-like poems to show him.

It wasn’t easy to create these haikai-like poems, but my hidden emotions and my background as a Shinto priest helped me to do it.

roonrii furauaa noo wan kan sii mai teazu batto za gaddozu

lonely flower
no one can see my tears
but the gods

fiiringu aroon roosuto in za wuddozu araundo iidoo - jasuto za attamu waindo

feeling alone
lost in the woods around Edo -
just the autumn wind

bea buranchazu a peintingu aggensuto za buruu sukai riivuzu andaa mai fiito

bare branches
a painting against the blue sky
leaves under my feet

atto doon ai woshu mai fiito wizu duu za roongasuto dei

at dawn
I wash my feet with dew
the longest day

roosuto in za wuddozu natto inafu raito tuu faindo za pasu - za kurai avu an auru

lost in the woods
not enough light to find the path -
the cry of an owl

© Yozakura

“Yozakura, these are beautiful”, the inn-keeper said with a smile on his face. “You have the talent my friend”. I blushed as he praised my work. “These are just my first attempts to write haikai-like poems”, I said. “I have tried to write down my feelings and the emotions hidden in me. My dad died in the Great Fire of Meireki  and my lover just recently died after a long bed of sickness”. Tears rolled over my cheeks and I couldn’t stop them anymore. Then I became unconscious. Several days later I found myself on a sleeping mat in the house of the inn-keeper. He and his friend had taken care of me after I passed out.
“Ah good to see you awake my friend”, the inn-keeper’s friend, Yamato, said to me. “You have been “out” for several days. A local doctor has examined you and he has diagnosed you with a pneumonia and exhaustion”.
I looked at him. “I was “out” for several days?”
“Yes, to be precise almost 7 days. You had high fevers. There was even a moment that we were afraid that you would die”. I was in shock as I heard what had happen. I couldn’t believe that I had been sick that bad.
“Thank you for taking care of me Yamato”, I said with tears in my eyes. “How can I ever repay you what you and your friend have done for me?” Yamato smiled and shook his head.
“No need to repay us Yozakura. Just remember us when you are a famous poet and then please visit us again”. With a big smile he helped me on my feet, embraced me and gave me a kiss on my forehead. “Friends forever Yozakura, friends forever. Yori will say that too I know that for sure”.
“Well … good to see you on your feet Yozakura. How are you? How are you feeling today?” Yori, who entered the room, asked me with a bright smile on his face.
“I am feeling great only still tired, but that will become better I think. Thank you for taking care of me Yori”.
“It’s ok Yozakura. Yamato and I have done it out of unconditional love for all and everything. So no thanks we loved doing it”, Yori said.

Shakuhachi player

Later that day, I sat together with Yori and Yamato at the table. Yori had made us a delicious stew and we drank a lot of sake. During our dinner a local musician played on his Shakuhachi. It was a nice peaceful evening and I felt at home. Through a hole in the paper window I saw the full moon. “A perfect day”, I thought.

a bamubuu furuuto kuaresusesu za muunritto naito - furajaru saundo

a bamboo flute
caresses the moonlit night -
fragile sound

As we went to bed the horizon started to color already. A new day was rising. I slept until midday and after a nice meal I decided to leave. On my way again to find the purpose of my life.

To be continued …

Wandering Spirit - aggen teazu (again tears)

After Hoshina's surprise visit I left Ise Grand Shrine to take care of him. At that time I was in my early twenties. Hoshina's health became little by little more worse, but he lived longer than he and I had thought. Our life with each other was a happy life. His wife, he was married with Sayuri, accepted me as her son and she also accepted that Hoshina and I were lovers.
Sayuri took care of Hoshina too, but mostly she let me care for him. One day she came to me. "Is it okay to ask you something Yozakura?", she asked. I nodded. She took me by the hand and led me into the garden. I could smell the Jasmine and the Wisteria. In the back of the garden Hoshina had a built an alcove. The alcove was covered with Honeysuckle and it was in full bloom. We sat down on the wooden bench. She laid her hand on my knee.

"Yozakura ..."
"Yes", I answered.
"Hoshina and you are so close. Your relationship must be strong and honest. How did it became such a warm bond? You were only a child when you became his Wakashu. How did you cope with his love for you?"
"It felt natural when he asked me to be his lover. My dad ...". I took a deep breath and swallowed away my tears. "My dad had told me what it meant to be a Wakashu. When Hoshina asked me to be his lover I felt honored that he ... such a great samourai ... asked me to be his lover. Of course it wasn't always nice to lay next to him, but as I became older my heart opened up to him fully. One day when I went to visit my dad. Hoshina kissed me and hold me tight. "I love you Yozakura", he said to me. "But I know that you have to leave me". I cried when I left that day, because he really was in love with me and I loved him dearly. After the Great Fire I didn't return, because I was mentally broken and had to find my purpose in life. At that moment I decided to become a monk of the Grand Shrine of Ise".
Sayuri looked at me and I saw tears in her eyes. "Sayuri don't cry", I said. "Hoshina has a big heart he has love enough for you and your children and me. He is a wonderful man. You have to cherish him. I have been here now for several years. I have learned a lot and I have seen how great your love is for him. I see that every day as you are taking care of him".
"I know Hoshina has a big heart, but ... as I see how he is looking at you than it feels like he loves you more, so much more than he loves me. I am not jealous, but I have some difficulties to cope with that. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I do understand what you mean, but ... what can I do to help you, to make you feel more comfortable with this situation?"
"You don't have to do something Yozakura. I have to do something". She looked at me and I saw tears in her eyes. "I will leave", she said. "I go visit my mother, she's ill and she has not long to live. Take care of Hoshina. He is my greatest love and I cannot cope with his love for you, but I also cannot cope with his fragile health. Take care of him Yozakura".
"I will take care of him Sayuri and I will cherish him. I will love him even more, because than he feels your love too. He really loves you Sayuri you will break his heart, but he will understand that you need to go to your mother'.

Hoshina's heart really was broken as I told him that Sayuri had left him to take care of her mother, but he understood. Hoshina's health worsened fast after Sayuri had left him. I took care of him and loved him. Together we wrote a short chained renga on his deathbed ... the last stanza, he had to write, but he never did that, because his health was that bad that he not even could write anymore. I sat next to him and hold him in my arms as he gave his last breath. Hoshina died in my arms, he was 62. After a few hours his color changed, his skin became young again ... "I love you Hoshina", I whispered.

After the cremation of Hoshina I left again ... again I was a wandering spirit. I had taken care of the one I loved for almost ten years.

I wrote the last stanza of our renga ... to close this part of my life:

ムーﾝライト・アﾝ・ザ・リヴァー サウザﾝド・ラﾝターﾝズ・フロート・トゥー・ザ・ハーイザﾝ アナーイﾝグ・ザ・デッド

muunraito an za rivaa sauzando rantaanzu furooto tuu za haaizan anaaingu za deddo

moonlight on the river
thousand lanterns float to the horizon
honoring the dead

© よざくら Yozakura

Yozakura

To be continued ...