Shuoshi was born in 1892, a number of years after Japan switched to the western calendar, but he seems to be referring to the traditional calendar in this haiku. Japanese roses bloom in spring and in the old Japanese calendar New Years would have fallen at the beginning of spring, so the idea of seeing roses blooming with the New Year was not a strange one.

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.

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1. That is, me! If you like this translation, feel free to use it. Just credit me. Also link here if you can. ↩