H3017 Haiku by Basho – Not spilling the glistening dew …
by Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase
Not spilling the glistening dew,
the bush clover,
undulating [1]
shiratsuyu wo kobosanu hagi no uneri kana |
白露を こぼさぬ萩の うねりかな |
bashou | 芭蕉 |
Asataro Miyamori suggests the translation:
The lespedeza flowers sway and sway,
But not enough to shake down their white dews. [2]
Miyamori goes on to write, “The hagi or lespedeza is an autumn herb with graceful pliant stems and little lovely flowers, either red or white. A beautiful verse quite worthy of the graceful flower.” [2]
E. S. Stephenson suggests the even lengthier translation:
Ah! those feathery, willow-like banches of the hagi curving so softly –
How tenderly they cradle the dew-drops and do not let them fall! [3]
Stephenson explains, “This pombungling [sic] paraphrase can give but a poor idea of what Basho’s seventeen syllables convey to a Japanese. But anyone who has seen the hagi in the freshness of the morning in some old Japanese garden, with the shining dew-drops nestling on those dainty branches, can feel the truth and beauty of Basho’s word-picture – and appreciate the unerring artistry that gives you the essential character of the plant so simply and yet so graphically.” [3]
Robert Aitken suggests the translation:
The bush clover flowers
don’t let their white dew fall
despite their swaying. [4]
References:
[1] Translation by Timothy L. Jackowski, Takase Studios, LLC.
[2] 209.
[3] Anonymous. (2015). Theosophical Path: Illustrated Monthly …, Volume 16. Arkose Press. United States. 164.