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To white plum blossoms,
Each night just dawning,
Evermore. ^[1]

Buson

Cursive
 

Cursive Design

Cursive Design

Cursive Design

Semi-Cursive

(5 designs in catalog)

To white plum blossoms,
Each night just dawning,
Evermore. ^[1]

This was the final of three poems that Buson wrote on his death bed. There are (at least) two schools of thought on how to translate this beautiful poem. One is to translate exactly what the poem says and the other is to translate what the poem means - of course the latter is subject to far more interpretation.

Of first school of thought Kai Hasegawa gives the most direct translation, "With white plum blossoms, the dawn is about, to break." Hasegawa writes, "The poem describes how he was waiting impatiently for spring to come, knowing his end was approaching. When that day broke, Buson would no longer be able to stand beside the white plum blossoms described in the poem."  ^[2]

Haruo Shirane is also of this school writing, "Plum blossoms, which are admired for their light fragrance, appear at the beginning of spring when the weather is still cold. The darkness of the cold night turns into the dim light of dawn amid the faint whiteness of the plum blossoms, which embody Buson's spirit as it disappears into the light of dawn. This poem is also about the transition from winter to spring." ^[3]

The other school of thought being that this is Buson's vision of what is to come: That this life has been winter and, in death, every night will dawn to a world of white plum blossoms. Saito and Nelson give a hint of this in their translation "With white apricot blossoms, Each day dawns - That time has come." ^[4]

Buson died not seeing the dawn and not seeing again the plum blossoms that he envisioned in his poem. He died on the last day of winter and the plum blossoms outside, the harbinger of spring, perhaps spoke to him of what was to come. In this sense T. Imoto focuses his commentary on the image of a single, white plum blossom representing the absolute first light of dawn that grows and grows until the entire world is filled. And he uses this as a metaphor for the afterlife that Buson envisions before him. ^[5]

Whether all Buson was saying was that it would be enough for him to see the plum blossoms just one more time in the morning or that he is speculating on the afterlife ... forever in our hearts will be Buson's image of night breaking into dawn ... starting as a small plum blossom and expanding to fill one's entirety.

This is for Victoria.
 

Original Japanese Haiku Designs by Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase   Personal Use Starting from $14.95 Custom Artwork from $135 Commercial Use from $34.95 Custom Scroll Starting from $220

Haruo Shirane suggest the translation:

Amid white plum blossoms
night turns to dawn -
the time has come.  ^[6]

Kai Hasegawa suggest the translation:

With white plum blossoms
the dawn is about
to break. ^[7]

Saito and Nelson suggest the translation:

With white apricot blossoms
Each day dawns -
That time has come. ^[8]

Makoto Ueda suggest the translation:

From now on
Every night will dawn
With white plum-blossoms.  ^[9]

Calligraphy Notes:

1) 明る (akuru) today is written 明くる (akuru).

2) For purely artistic reasons I have used kana for shira. So sometimes I use 白梅 (shiraume) and others しら梅 (shiraume).

Translation Notes:

1) 白梅 (shiraume) - meaning "white plum blossoms". This combines the kanji 白 (read shira here) and 梅 (ume).

2) に (ni) - As Henderson puts it ni is "A postposition with many uses (at, in, to, by, for, etc.). These are usually indicated sufficiently in the literal translation."  ^[10] Most translators view this as translating to "with" in this case. Sharane suggests "amid" ^[11] and we have used "to".

3) 明る (akuru) today is written 明くる (akuru) and means "next; following".

4) 夜 (yo) - means "night; evening"

5) ばかり (bakari) - meaning, in this case, "just" (as in "just dawning").

6) と (to) - meaning, in this case, "that"

7) なり (nari) - according to Jeffrey's Japanese <-> English dictionary,  "(2) (after dictionary form verb) as soon as; right after; (3) (after past tense verb) while still; with previous state still in effect;"

8) に (ni) - see above.

9) けり (keri) - according to Jeffrey's Japanese <-> English dictionary, "(1) indicates recollection or realization (i.e. of hearsay or the past); (2) indicates continuation from the past to the present; (3) end; conclusion". Henderson offers, "A kireji marking either a pause or final stop. It was originally a verb suffix indicating a past tense, but has now no special meaning." ^[12]