松尾芭蕉
Matsuo Basho
この道や 行く人なしに 秋の暮れ
On this road | with no one passing by | Autumn dusk
季語 kigo seasonal words - Within the poem, at least one word or phrase should symbolize one of the four seasons.
切れ字 kireji cutting words - These are small words that often function as a placeholder so the verse has the right number of moras. They also function to give a certain emotional or sentimental flavor to the poem.
COMMENTARY
遠くに続くこの道は、誰も通るものがなく、寂しく秋の日が暮れていきます。私が続けている俳諧の道もこのようなものかもしれません。
This road that stretches into the distance, with no one passing by, is desolately engulfed by the setting of an autumn sun. The path I am pursuing in Haikai may be like this.
VOCABULARY
- この this
- 道 road; path
- や (emphasizes the preceding word) [it’s a kireji (cutting word) which indicates a pause, both rhythmically and grammatically, and may add an emotional flavor to the word/phrase preceding it]
- 行く to walk along (e.g. a road); to go
- 人 person; people; human beings
- なしに without
- 秋の暮れ autumn dusk [秋 (autumn; fall); の (of; modifier); 暮れ (dusk; sunset; nightfall)]
- 遠くに into the distance [遠く (far away; distant place; a (great) distance); に (into)]
- 続く to continue; to go on
- は (indicates the sentence topic)
- 誰も通るものがなく with no one passing by [誰も (no one; nobody); 通る (to pass by; to use (a road); to go by); もの (person); が (marks the subject of the immediate verb phrase); なく (non-existent; not being (there); continuative form of ない (plain negative form of ある (to be; to exist)))]
- 寂しく desolately; lonelily [adverbial form of 寂しい (lonely; lonesome; solitary; desolate); how to form: drop the ending い of い-adjectives (exception: いい (good) → よく) then replace it with く]
- 秋の日が autumn sun [秋 (autumn; fall); の (of; modifier); 日 (sun); が (marks the subject of the immediate verb phrase)]
- 暮れていきます setting (of an autumn sun); darken [from 暮れる (to get dark; to grow dark); ~ていきます is the polite form of ~ていく (relates to the time flow from speaker’s point of view, focusing on how things have been changing or will change); how to use: Verb て-form + いきます]
- 私 me; I
- 続けている pursuing; is continuing [~ている form of 続ける (to continue; to keep up; to keep on; to pursue) which is used to describe a continuous action; how to use: Verb て-form + いる]
- 俳諧の道も the path in Haikai [俳諧 (haikai (collective name for haiku, haibun, haiga, senryū, etc.)); の (of; in; modifier); 道 (path; road); も (emphasizes the preceding word)]
- このような like this [この (this); ような (like; as; similar to ~)]
- もの (is used to emphasize emotion; indicates a general tendency)
- かもしれません might; perhaps; may be; possibly
Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) is undoubtedly the most famous of the classical haiku poets. His mastery of haiku and his wanderings around Japan are attested by the many monuments with his poems. His most famous collection of poems and writings is called, "Oku no Hosomichi." It was written while on a long journey in Edo Japan in the spring of 1689. Today many people trace his footsteps for themselves.
More Haiku by Matsuo Basho