Soliloquy No Renga – Santoka Taneda – May 5, 2016

Aki noyo ya inu kara morattari neko ni ataetari

Autumn night–

I received it from the dog

And gave it to the cat.

 

© Santoka Taneda

the cat worried it then left it
looking for some mice

an owl hooted loudly
the mice lay silent waiting
afraid in their nests

the cat looked for its rivals
the dog and now the owl

 first drops of rain
fell on the new-mown hay
I crawled under the sheets

my lover stretched out for me
and held me in his embrace

landing on the bed
the cat and dog tumbled
that autumn night

© G.s.k. ‘16

“Santoka Taneda (1882-1940). Santoka Taneda is known for his ‘free-styled’ haiku, no syllables-count, no kigo. He was really a free-thinker in haiku-land.”

Carpe Diem Tokubetsudesu #78 Soliloquy no Renga “autumn night” by Santoka Taneda

Haiga Festival – Dragon Fly – March 28, 2015

 

a springtime joke
dragonfly bloomed thorn tree
at the lake – ducks laugh

© G.s.k. ‘15

I haven’t seen any dragonflies around, but yesterday I did come across this odd thorn tree full of dragonfly like blossoms and couldn’t resist photographing it … but now to more serious work … for Carpe Diem Haiku Kai this is our last occasion to read our haiku master of the month Santoka Taneda (1882-1940:

the dragon flies
perch on my kasa
as I walk along

© Santoka Taneda

in summer
the dragon flies flit
upon the river
even without his kasa
they still savour life

© G.s.k. ‘15

Santoka Taneda’s 3rd “walking through ” – Haiga 16 – March 16, 2015

time passes
walking – the valley grows
hidden in brush grass

© G.s.k. ‘15

Linked to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai – Special: Santoka Taneda

Original Photo

Buddha’s Smile _ Haiga Festival (Santoka Taneda) – March 10, 2015

in the dusk
even this darkening sky –
Buddha’s smile

© G.s.k. ‘15

This time I’ve chosen the theme Buddha from Santoka Taneda’s haiku to create my all new haiga:

in the ceaseless sound
of the water
there is Buddha

© Santoka Taneda

One of the precepts of Zen Buddhism is the Buddha quality of all things … remembering that Buddha means “the awakened” or illuminated – it’s not hard to understand that in all things is Buddha including in each one of us …

“The goal of this CD-Special is to write/compose an all new haiku in the same sense, tone and spirit as the one given … and because Santoka Taneda was a fore stander of the ‘free-style’ haiku you don’t need to count syllables or use kigo or one of the other “classical rules” of haiku.” Chèvrefeuille

Haiga Festival with Santoka Taneda – Zen Sounds – March 10, 2015

wind and waves
this winter evening
– the sound of Zen

© G.s.k. ‘15

Today’s Carpe Diem Special is dedicated to Santoka Taneda with the title “there is Buddha” based on his haiku:

in the ceaseless sound
of the water
there is Buddha

© Santoka Taneda

“The goal of this CD-Special is to write/compose an all new haiku in the same sense, tone and spirit as the one given … and because Santoka Taneda was a fore stander of the ‘free-style’ haiku you don’t need to count syllables or use kigo or one of the other “classical rules” of haiku.”  Chèvrefeuille …

Morning Haiku and Waka – March 4, 2015

a cry at dawn
owl’s lonely voice
lost in the night

reflections
in muddy water
brown study

reflections
without a goal
this mountain path
leads no where
aimless wanderer

each moment
unique and ephemeral
melting spring snow

bittersweet
this passage of time
a gift and a bane

© G.s.k. ‘15

Lest anyone think that I’m in a “brown study”, let me explain that I’m trying to write haiku in “free style” following the lead of today’s haiku master SantokaTaneda:

Santoka Taneda (1882-1940)

I went to look for some examples of his poetry found some HERE:

looking at the mountains
all day no need
to put on my kasa

good news
bad news
spring snow falls
no road but this one
spring snow falls

my heart is weary —
the mountains, the sea
are too beautiful

© Santoka Taneda

I find the idea of writing haiku free style interesting and might try this more often, but now let’s will seek out Santoka Taneda’s master, Ogiwara Seisensui:

Free-style haiku in this case is based on the teachings of another great haiku poet, Ogiwara Seisensui (1884-1976), who was a strong proponent of abandoning haiku traditions, especially the “season words” so favored by Takahama Kyoshi (1874-1959), and even the 5-7-5 syllable norms. In his Haiku teisho (1917) (a kind of Zen Sermon on Haiku), he broke with Hekigoto (1873-1937) and shocked the haiku world by advocating further that haiku be transformed into free verse. His students included Ozaki Hōsai (1885-1926) and Santōka Taneda (1882-1940), our featured haiku poet this month. His (Seisensui) role in promoting the format of free-style haiku has been compared with that of Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902) for traditional verse, with the contrast that Seisensui was blessed with both vigorous health, and considerable wealth. He also was able to use new media to promote his style, including lectures and literary criticism on national radio.

Here are some examples of Ogiwara Seisensui’s haiku  (closer to my own inclinations) which I found HERE:

たんぽぽたんぽぽ砂浜に春が目を開く

dandelion dandelion
on the sandy beach
spring opens its eyes

赤ん坊髪生えてうまれ来しぞ夜明け

The baby was born
with a head full of hair!

Dawn

空をあゆむ朗朗と月ひとり

I.

Walking the sky
a clear moon

all alone

II.

skywalking
clear moon

alone

© Ogiwara Seisensui