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These are my modern English translations of Takaha Shugyo haiku and tanka...

hatogata horarete ichiju haya mebuku

A single tree
with a heart carved into its trunk
blossoms prematurely
—Takaha Shugyo, loose translation by Michael R. Burch

dôkefuku nugazu tentômushi no shi yo

Still clad in its clown's costume—
the dead ladybird.
—Takaha Shugyo, loose translation by Michael R. Burch

ochitsubaki ware naraba kyuryu e otsu

Oh, fallen camellias,
if I were you,
I'd leap into the torrent!
—Takaha Shugyo, loose translation by Michael R. Burch

kari sugishi ato zenten o miseitari

Wild geese pass
leaving the emptiness of heaven
revealed
—Takaha Shugyo, loose translation by Michael R. Burch

kurumi waru kurumi no naka ni tsukawanu heya

Inside the cracked shell
of a walnut:
one empty room
—Takaha Shugyo, loose translation by Michael R. Burch

Michinoku no hoshiiri tsurara ware ni kure yo

Bring me an icicle
sparkling with the stars
of the deep north
—Takaha Shugyo, loose translation by Michael R. Burch

matenro yori shinryoku ga paseri hodo

Seen from the skyscraper
the trees' fresh greenery:
sprigs of parsley
—Takaha Shugyo, loose translation by Michael R. Burch

Our life here on earth:
to what shall we compare it?
It is not like a rowboat
departing at daybreak,
leaving no trace of us in its wake?
—Takaha Shugyo, loose translation by Michael R. Burch

Are the geese flying south?
The candle continues to flicker...
?Takaha Shugyo, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Such gloom!
Inside the walnut's cracked shell:
one empty room
?Takaha Shugyo, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Tree crickets chirping—
after I've judged
a thousand verses today!
?Takaha Shugyo, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Crickets chirping discordantly—
how to judge
ten thousand verses?
?Takaha Shugyo, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch



Original Haiku

Dark-bosomed clouds
pregnant with heavy thunder ...
the water breaks
?Michael R. Burch

Am I really this old,
so many ghosts
beckoning?
—Michael R. Burch

Brittle autumn leaf,
how was I to know
you were my life?
—Michael R. Burch

Sleepyheads!
I recite my haiku
to the inattentive lilies.
—Michael R. Burch

Early robins
get the worms,
cats waiting to pounce.
—Michael R. Burch

Fireflies
thinking to illuminate the darkness?
Poets!
?Michael R. Burch

Keywords/Tags: Takaha Shugyo, haiku, translation, English, nature, camellias, ladybug, geese, walnut, tree, rowboat
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