3.11 Haiku from the Romanian Haiku Group (2)

 

On August 15, here in Akita prefecture（秋田県）, Northern Honshu, Japan, we celebrate the Bon Festival（お盆）.

According to popular Buddhist belief, ancestral spirits return to their families during the Bon Festival.

Religious services are held at all temples, and families pray in front of the home altar and family grave, offering flowers, incense and small sweets.

Many lanterns are lit to guide the spirits in their journey home, and so the Bon Festival is also called the feast of Lanterns.

During this festival, people throughout Japan perform Bon folk dances（盆踊り） in the evening to comfort and entertain their ancestors.

After the Bon season is over, the spirits are said to return to heaven.

 

Here is a photo of a Bon folk dance called Nishimonai Bon Odori（西馬内盆踊り）, which is held from August 16 through August 18 in the southern part of Akita prefecture.

  

 

再会や精霊帰る盆踊り

saikai ya  seirei kaeru  bon odori

 

reunion ―

spirits return in Bon

folk dancing

 

I believe that the spirits of the victims in the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, are returning to their home towns, wishing for the reunion.

This is because I post some poems and photos dedicated from the Romanian Haiku Society, and my haiku and photo, in the hope that we would share the sorrows and sufferings with those poets who have kindly contributed their condolences and prayers through haiku or pictures, and that this posting would make some comfort and consolation to the spirits of those who are returning home after the passing in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

 

Courtesy of Mr. Corneliu Traian Atanasiu, editor of ROMANIAN KUKAI, here is RO KU Magazine – Japan, between suffering and hope, which I took up in the last article.

Here is a pdf file of the magazine.

RO KU JAPONIA 

 

津波

MARELE VAL

TSUNAMI

TSUNAMI

 

cireşi înfloriţi –

deodată un val

şterge tot

cherry trees in bloom –

suddenly a wave

washing all away

花の咲いている桜の木―

突然の波

全てを押し流す

 

tsunami –

în locul satului natal

vuietul mării

tsunami –

instead of his village

the rumbling sea

津波―

彼の人の村に代わって

とどろく海

 

ţipăt de cocori –

pe valuri de tsunami

muguri de cireş

crane’s cry –

on tsunami waves

cherry buds

ツルの鳴き声―

津波の上には

桜のつぼみ

 

după tsunami –

un copil strângând la piept

haina mamei

after tsunami –

a child embracing

his mother’s jacket

津波の後―

子供がひとり抱きしめている

母さんの上着を

 

în fiecare

cană de ceai verde

vuiet de tsunami

in every

bowl of green tea

tsunami roar

あらゆるわんの中で

緑茶の茶わんの中で

津波がごうごうと鳴る

 

Marele Val –

pensula scapă din mâna

Maestrului

The Great Wave –

the brush is dropping

from the Master’s hand

大きな波―

筆が落ちそうである

師の手から

 

同情

COMPASIUNE

COMPASSION

DŌJŌ

 

aburi de orez –

în linişte aşteptând

o nouă listă

steamed rice –

in silence waiting

for another list

蒸かしたごはん―

無言のまま待っている

別のリストを

 

tsunami –

cineva-şi aminteşte

o rugăciune

tsunami –

somebody remembers

a prayer

津波―

誰かが思い出している

祈りを

 

candelă în geam –

bonsaiul înmugurit

leagănă luna

icon lamp at window –

the budded bonsai

rocking the moon

窓にアイコンのランプ―

つぼみを持った盆栽

月を揺り動かしている

 

11.03 –

brusc Japonia-i mai aproape

de Europa

11.03. –

Japan moved suddenly

much closer to Europe

11時3分―

突然日本が動いた

ずっとヨーロッパの近くへ

  

Japonia-n doliu –

cireşii întârzie

să înflorească

Japan in mourning –

the cherry trees retard

their bloom

哀悼の日本 ―

桜の木は遅らせる

花の咲くのを

 

lacrimi în ocean –

cireşii pictaţi de copii

se dizolvă

tears in the ocean –

cherry trees painted by

children dissolve

大洋の涙 ―

子供たちが描いた桜の木々

消滅する

 

casa ceaiului –

o lacrimă tulbură

luciul oglinzii

in the tea house –

a tear disturbs

the mirror luster

茶室の中で ―

涙がかき乱す

鏡の光沢を

 

străinii plecând –

aş vrea să zbor acolo

s-aştept cocorii

foreigners leaving Japan –

I’d like to fly there

to wait for the cranes

日本を去る外国人 ―

私はそこに飛んで行きたい

ツルたちを待つために

 

Lastly , let me post my haiku and photo I did on March 28 at my haiku blog: http://akitahaiku.blogspot.com/.

 

On the afternoon of March 27, I visited the temple named Shouhei-ji （勝平寺） near my house in Akita-city （秋田市）, Alkita prefecture （秋田県）.

In the graveyard is an image of Buddha, which was built recently for those who died leaving nobody to look after their graves.

Visiting there, I found snowflakes wandering over the image of Buddha.

I felt as if each snowflake is the spirit of the victim killed by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

I also felt as if the spirits are crying in tears over Buddha, and Buddha did too.

 

 

 

精霊に涙の仏陀祈りけり

seirei ni namida no budda inori keri

Buddha

praying for spirits

in tears

仏涙や残りし者の幸祈る

butsu rui ya nokorishi mono no sachi inoru

 

Buddha

praying for survivors

in tears

 

 

The next posting ‘3.11 Haiku from the Romanian Haiku Group (3)’ appears on August 20.

 

― Hidenori Hiruta (member of HIA)