The Truth of haikai

Author(s): William Ritchie Wilson

Source: Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 26, No. 1/2 (1971), pp. 49-53
Published by: Sophia University
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2383606
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The Truthofhaikai1

by WILLIAM

RITCHIE

WILSON

as 'truth'can alsobe
whichI havetranslated
CHARACTER readmakoto
In itssenseas
'true-heartedness'.
'fidelity',
in onerangeas 'sincerity',
translated
Basho,the firstgreat
'truth',it can alsobe 'reality','honesty','genuineness'.
heldthattrueexamplesofthesepoemshad thisquality,
or haiku,
masterofthehaikai
andit seemshe meantthisin all itssenses.
masterfromhisthirty-fifth
BashalivedfromI644 to I694, andwas a haikai
year.His
ofhispoemsandinpoeticprosesuchas his
ownworkis foundmainlyin thecollections
certainworksin thegenreknownas
poetictravelaccounts.Afterhisdeath,however,
inaccordance
ofhaikai
andaesthetics
onthetheory,
ortreatises
practice,
discussions
bairon,
compiled
inhiswords,begantoappear.Thesewvere
ofBash5andoften
withtheteachings
to illustrate
by disciplesofBasho'sschool,andit is fromtheseI havetakenselections
and
abouttruthin baikai.The twoworksI haveusedaretheSanzJsbi
Basha'sthinking
as AkasJshi,
and
Shirososhi,
in threevolumesknownrespectively
The first,
KyoraishJ.2
in printin I776. Itscomin I703 andpublished
was compiled
orKurosjshi,3
Wasuremizu
in baikaicirclesin
ofBasha,one HattoriDoh5,4prominent
pilerwas a contemporary
wholivedfromI65I to
by MukaiKyorai5
I657 to I730. Kyoraisho,
Iga, wholivedfrom
and
his
betweentheMaster
disciples.It was written
on talkabouthaikai
I704, centers
aboutI704 andpublishedin I775.
' NHE

andArt Theories
in the De- discussionofBashain his Literary
AUTHOR is AssistantProfessor
ofSouthern in 7apan, Western Reserve UniversityPress,
ofAsianStudies,University
partment
Cleveland,i967, and Zeami,Basho,Teats,Pound;
California.
in 7apanese
andEnglish
poetics,
Mouton,The
1 Haikai no makoto *tWO)S. I am indebted a study
fortheselectionofthesefivepassagesto a section Hague, I965.
2 = fi
v/withthesametitlein Takeda Sukeyoshiand Hi3
a
term
which may also be rendered
Koto
Soshi,
E
eds.
A
itt,
Xt~
3-,
Sen'ichi
samatsu
3 A 4 * Wt 3, KadokawaShoten, simplyin kanaor as 4fX, impliesa book made
gakk6koten
however,is by bindinglettersor paperstogether;also it is a
i96i.The text used fortranslation,
generictermforworksin kana such as poetic
taikei1 *Wt
bungaku
vol. 66 of theNihonkoten
old tales, diaries, and miscellanies.
writings,
2k
66).
to
as
NKBJT
referred
(hereafter
A,
Soshi
and annotation Here thetitlesmeanRedSJshi4 k tk,WYhite
This volume,with commentary
f , Forgotten
orBlackSoshi(last inkana).
A
WYater
by Kida Saizo *A
4tZ A and Imoto Noichi *4
4 4AV-*L
haironshg
it
A-, is titledRengaronshi
5 T63
is
mine,
The
commentary
I96I.
Iwanami,
N,
but I have been stimulatedby Makoto Ueda's

THE

MN: XXVI,I-2

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XXVI,I-2
Monumenta
Nipponica,

50

theShirososhi:
is from
The first
are thewayofpoetry.
together
linkedverse,and haikai,
Chinesepoems,tanka,
over,and to theverylimitsofwhattheyleave
The firstthreeleavesomething
who
over,thereis no pointthathaikaido notreach.Through'the nightingale
edgedropsdungon thericecakes',
with,'on theverandah's
singsin theflowers',
and again,throughthe
we perceivethisNew Year timestillmoreamusingly;
frogwholivesin thewater,settingit freein saying'The soundofwaterwhen
in thenoisewhenthefroggoes
hejumpsintotheancientpond,'we heara haikai
in fromtheshaggymidstofgrass.It liesin seeing;it liesin hearing.As soon
it becomesa poem-thisis thetruthofbaikai.6
as thepoetperceives
something,
ShirosJshi)
(SanzJshi:
do notreachthelimitsofpoeticpotentiality,
HereBash5notesthatearlier
poeticforms
lifts
on
this
he
the
do. In expanding
buthaikai
examplesfromthePrologueto Kokinshbi,
whosingsin theflowers,
'Whenwe hearthenightingale
and
first
Anthology:
Imperial
in
contexts
them
but
unfettered
in
the
water', perceives
thevoiceofthefrogwholives
The important
ofearlier
forms.
with
thingis whatthepoetperceives
bytheconventions
is
it
a
him
becomes
a
moves
and
ears-what
no
poem
poem-and
hisown, other's,eyes
Thisis thetruthofhaikai.
immediately.
and inspiration.
on freshness
it is
Moreover,
The foregoing,
then,putsa premium
tenorreinforces
a paraphrase
senses.Itsgeneral
thephysical
received
through
inspiration
usedelsewhere
byBasho,'Don'ttryforwhatthemenofoldleftbehind;tryforwhatthey
to achieve.'7
wvere
trying
is fromAkasJshi.
The secondselection
'Whatpertainsto thepinetree,learnfromthepinetree;whatpertainsto the
bamboo,learnfromthebamboo.'The tenorofthesewordsoftheMasteris: free
from
outlook.As to thispointof
from
subjective
interpretation,
personal
yourself
theobject',ifoneinterprets
'learnfrom
thingsas onepleases,onewillin theend
oflookingdeepandentering
intothe
notlearnat all.Saying'Learn!'is a matter
object,and as soonas its subtlelifeis revealedandonefeelsitsinnernature,it
theexternals
of
becomesa poeticpassage.Thoughwhatonesaysmayspringfrom
whichrisesnaturally
from
thatthing,theobject
ifitis notthesentiment
a thing,
does not reach
and oneselfbecometwo-they are split-and the sentiment
6

NKBT 66, p. 384.

Fromhaibun,47VtitledSaimon
noji 9 rl X X
(WVords
bya BrushGate),givenbyBashoto hisdisciple KyorokuS -' on the latter'sdeparturefor
his nativeplace in I693. The words are Kojinno
womotonomotometaru
tokoro
atowomotomezu,
kojin
7

He attributesthemto Kiikai, the founder

meyo.
of ShingonBuddhisminJapan,referring
to calligraphy(the Way oftheBrush).NKBT 46, Basho
bunshb ; t, haibun62, p. 206. See also Tsunoda,
De Bary,Keene, Sourcesof 7apaneseTradition
I,
Columbia, 1966, p. 450.

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W I L SO N, 'Truthofhaikai'

produces.8
truth.Such is the skewed designwhichpersonalinterpretation
CSanzishi:
Akas5sbi)
for
the pointof the first-therequirement
The burdenof thispassagereinforces
a
The capacityforexpressing
and objectivity.
forsincerity
in perception,
genuineness
himself
thepoetmustidentify
Butfirst
oftrueinsight.
inwordsis a measure
perception
in one's
one'spoemsofself-inself-effacement
withhismaterials.
Truthliesin freeing
approach.
(Preceptsfor
knownas SbugyJkyJ
The thirdselectionis fromthevolumeofKyoraisbh
Kyoraiis thewriter.
PoeticPractice).9
on hiswordswhenhe taught
Kyoraisaid:OurFormerMastersetnolimitations
to me,it was,'One neednotputso
disciplesofhisschool.Whenhe expounded
not
intoeverypoem.Again,oneshouldwriteeachpoemconcretely,
mucheffort
was,
to
Bonch510
it
elementclearly.'Again,
andbringout thehaikai
abstractly,
One mustnotplaceevenone
kanacharacters.
'One poemhas merelyseventeen
one
form
are
poetry.One must
ofJapanese
duecare.After
all,evenhaikai
without
All thiswas acmakethemso thatin eachpoemthereis pliancyin expression.'
of
eachpoet.For
the
and
of
the
mind
capacity
expressive
cordingto thenature
itwasa pathfrom
whichtheymightwellstray.In
thosewhounderstood
poorly,
about
it
were
many.The FormerMaster
ourschoolthosewhowerebewildered
from
thosewhichcomespokendownsmoothly
oneconsiders
said,'As forbokku,l"
Former
The
said,
Shad6,12
to
be
of
the
teaching
Master,
thehead
highest
quality.'
twoorthreeitemsas
together
'Hokku
arenotthingsinwhichonesimplygathers
Mastersaid,
youdo. Theyhavetobe likebeatingoutgoldintoleaf.'The Former
Onecallsskilful
those
one'smaterials.
comeintobeingwhenonecomposes
'Hokku
are
thosewhoarebad at it.' Kyorokusaid,'Hokku
whocomposewell; unskilful
Aboutthisthe FormerMastersaid,"Peopledon't realizethat
compositions.
talentis involved."' Kyoraisaid,
are
they thingsin whichthismuchliterary
versesare manyand theirrecitingis glib.Be'Creatingthroughcomposing,
mustbearall thisin mind,butwhenonereachesthepointofbecoming
ginners
is nolongertheproblem.'13
ornotcomposing
anadept,thequestionofcomposing
Shugy&kyj9
CKyoraishb:
students,
This passagepointsout thatonehas to learnto createbaikai.To different
It is notenoughsimplyto perceive-one
have to be emphasized.
different
principles
8 NKBT 66,

9 ol ITa
10

A t

p. 398.

seventeen syllables. Note the flexibilityin

to thisform.
reference
12 ,i

11 Hokku
*, are the firstkuoflinkedverse,
which, when existingseparately,are haikuof

13

NKBT 66, p. 364.

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52

XXVI, I-2
Monumenta
Nipponica,

mustputtheperception
inwords.ForKyorai,theMaster'semphasis
is on content:the
poemmustnotfallintointellectualizing;
it musthavethegenuineelements
characteristicofthehaikai.
For Bonchotheemphasis
is on structure:
pliancyimpliesflexibility,
whichis notonlyitsfirst
butalsotheideaofseverallevelsofmeaning
meaning,
achieved
ofwording.
Thereis alsoa matter
byambiguity
ofcontenthere,orperhapsdiction,
for
thewordfor'pliancy'-shiori-alsosuggestssadness.Finally,the pointis madethat
areturned
outquicklybytheskilful
whilehokku
wheninspired,
theyare,infact,composed
in accordance
withprinciples.
Suchcomposition,
is
it suggested,
is essentialto their
truth.
is alsofromKyorai,thevolumeknownas Criticisms
The nextselection
bytheFormer
Master14
(thatis, Basho).
ni
Whenonelies
7idaraku
Nereba
suzushiki Sloppy,clothesloosened,
Cool evening!
Lubekana.
wasbeingcompiled,
WhenSaruminol5
Soji,askingtohaveoneofhispoemsputin,
cameand recitedseveralpoems,but nonecouldbe accepted.One eveningthe
Mastersaid,'Wellnow,makeyourself
Former
comfortable.
I'll liedown,too.'On
thisSoji said,'Pleaseallowme.WhenI relaxwithclothesloose,I'm cool.' The
FormerMastersaid,'This is a bokku,'
andhavingmadethepoemabove,he said,
'Putit in thecollection.'6 CKyoraisbJ:
Sensbibyo)
oftheideaoftruthor genuineness
This littleepisodeis illustrative
in hokku.
We may
guessthatSoji'spoemswhichBashowouldnotacceptwereobviously
he had
contrived;
northetalentto transform
thegiftofperception
it intowords.Butsuddenly,
neither
he revealsa perception,
is a
by accident,
which,exceptfora fewsyllabicadjustments,
Bash6immediately
hokku.
elseis known,
recognizes
it,and S6ji,17aboutwhomnothing
Anotheraspectof haikaipointedup againhereis thevalue givento
is memorialized.
offeeling,
ofexpression
without
genuineness
regardtothetraditional
poeticconventions
the'serious'poetryofearlierperiods.
ofdictionwhichregulated
is fromthesamesourceas thepreviousone.
The finalselection
Iwabanaya
Amongtherock-heads
Kokonimobitori Herealsoa lonechanter
nokyaku
Guestofthemoon[Kyorai].
Tsuki
WhentheFormerMasterwentto thecapital,Kyoraisaidto him,'Shadaspoke
thispoemas "monkeybeneaththemoon",butI said"guest"was better.How
did I do?' The FormerMastersaid,'Whatsortofthingis it to say"monkey?"
and Boncho,is dated I69I.
Senshiby5
7X$G
16 NKBT 66, p. 38.
M , a collectionof haikuin six
Sarumino
17 ,--;
volumes and two books compiled by Kyorai
14
15

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W I L SO N,

53

'Truthofhaikai'

ofwhenyoumadethispoem?'Kyoraisaid,'As I was
Whatwereyou thinking
reciting
poetryundera brightmoon,I saw
wilderness
walkingabouta mountain
The FormerMastersaid,'When
and also a lonepoetchanting.'
therock-heads
is this
guestofthemoon,"how graceful
one putsit "Here also a lonechanter,
poem.I toovalue
ofoneself!One couldonlymakeit a self-revealing
revelation
Oi
no
Kobumi.'18
My poetic
andwillwriteit intomycollection
thispoemhighly,
to thisbytwoorthreelevels.WhenI lookedat it withthe
wasinferior
intention
idea oftheFormerMaster,perhapstherewas in it also someflavorofa crazed
I left,whenI lookedat it as a selfaboutit after
poet.Separatenote:on thinking
floatedup in it,andI
delirium
a
poetic
in
person
poem,a visionofa
disclosing
thistentimesbetterthanmyfirstdesign.In all truth,thepoetdid
considered
SenshibyJ9
CKyoraishb:
notknowhisownheart.19
Allthreeareintermsofanimaginary
inhaikai.
totruth
Herewe havethreeapproaches
and among
rock-pillars,
scene,typicalofpoeticthemesofSunginkpainting:towering
Peris thatofa monkey.
ForShada,thefigure
loneinthemoonlight.
thema tinyfigure,
is a
a poet.Kyoraisaysthefigure
hapsthepictureis a satire:themonkeyrepresents
moon,
undera bright
poeticizing
as Kyoraiwaswalkingaboutinthemountains
sjkaku;20
in thisword
by them.The characters
thenthisloneromantic
he saw therock-heads,
onewho
designates
or noisyguest',althoughthecompound
mean'boisterous
literally
of
however,
overtones,
a poet.It hasadditional
is addictedto theelegantand graceful,
verses.
outhis
singing
as a guestat a party,
intoxicated
sucha personintheactofpoetry,
perceives
Hereheis theonlyguest,themoonis host.Bashahasaninsight:heinstantly
ofthe
himselfHe valuesthepoembecauseofthegenuineness
thatKyoraiis describing
a picture-hehimself
describing
doingmorethanobjectively
vision.Kyoraiwasactually
withpoetry.AlthoughBashohad to
delirious
was thefigurein thedream-landscape,
withthe
layin Kyorai'sidentification
pointthisoutto him,thetruthoftheperception
poet,madinpraiseofthemoon.
aboutthehumanmindin termsofabstracis a systemofgeneralizations
Philosophy
intoa philosophic
generalized
cannotbeintellectually
tions.Yetman'slifeintheuniverse
as
himself
oftheuniverse,
Haikaiareman'sperceptions
system-itis alwayschanging.
concrete
one
presents
Each perception
partofit, and all aspectsofthisrelationship.
intermsofimage
generalization,
an unknowable
is concrete-within
possibility-reality
butlifealsois ambiguous.
it,itmaybe ambiguous,
Othersmayexistwithin
ormetaphor.
Thoughmancannotknowtheultimatetruthaboutnatureand hisplacein it,he can
andembodythesein haikai.
perceiveaspectsofit in tranquillity,

, evidently
a collectionofsuperior 19 NKBT 66, p.
)jX>A
poemsplanned,but never completed;differentOp. Cit. p. 455.
20O
froma travelhaibunofthe same title.
18

3 I4.

See also Tsunoda etal.,

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