I was out taking a walk the other day when this came to mind.
gravel crunching underfoot—
an uguisu's cry
Into Japanese the first and last line are easy, but the middle I'm less sure about. Hmm.. perhaps something like:
砂利を踏む音
鶯の声
The uguisu is a pretty famous bird in Japan, more for its call than for its appearance. Its cry is a sign that spring is here, so everyone is always looking forward to it. And has always been looking forward to it. In the 11th century The Tale of Genji, the bird was often mentioned as a symbol of spring and love. In The Pillow Book from around the same time, Sei Shonagon also often mentions the bird. In one passage she writes:
鶯はなかなか良い鳥である。いつ聞いても、その声はなんとも言えず心地よいが、春になると特に、笛の音のような、恋の歌を聞かせてくれる。
"The uguisu is a delightful bird. Its voice is always a joy to hear, but especially in spring when it sings of love in a voice as clear as a flute."
The bird has long been featured in poetry, including haiku. All the greats—Bashō, Buson, Shiku, and Issa—wrote several haiku with the uguisu.
By itself, "Uguisu" is a kigo (season word) for all of spring. While uguisu do sing in summer as well, they are most associated with spring, and it is thought that the ume blossoms are their favorite trees.
Here is a video of one making its most famous call:
I was taking a walk when I heard it. I wasn't quite in the middle of nowhere, for the path had gravel over it so the city probably maintains the area, but it was also a little away from it all and there was enough greenery to maintain the illusion. I didn't have my camera as I often do because I was going more for walking meditation (called kinhin, 經行, if you are curious) than for a photowalk. I did, however, have a few notecards in my pocket and a pen. I always have that much. I call that my Hipster PDA. I've written about that before but perhaps one of these days I'll do a post solely about it so I can have something to link to whenever I mention it. Anyway, when I heard the uguisu the words to that haiku immediately popped into my head so I decided to write them down instead of allowing them to drift away as I really should have done if I were doing proper kinhin. Yeah I have my phone and many notes apps, but a screen invites one to be distracted and waste time (I have a post on this coming) so I prefer to stay analogue for some things.
Anyway, this is the best season to take nice walks and listen to the uguisu. The haiku is just bonus.
❦
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David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. |