咳をしても一人
Seki o shite mo hitori

even coughing
I am alone
—Hōsai

(trans. David LaSpina^[1])

^{"Canal by the Moonlight" by Koho}

Hōsai embraced free-verse haiku (juyuritsu, 自由律) without a season word (muki, 無季). Like his contemporary Santōka (who also famously practiced free-verse haiku), he was a Zen monk with a tragic past that he could never escape from. Unlike Santōka, he settled in a isolated temple and spent most of the latter part of his life alone. This is one of his most famous verses and has been copied and referenced countless times in Japanese literature, poetry, and even in anime.

Santōka never actually met Hōsai, but they both studied under the same teacher who influenced them both to take up free-verse haiku, so he was well aware of him. He referenced it with his own:

鴉啼いてわたしも一人
karasu naite watashi mo hitori

a crow cries
I also am alone
—Santōka

(trans. David LaSpina^[1])

The weekly prompt made me think of this. This is not a breakup as we typically think of it, but it is a breakup of sorts, as Hōsai was breaking up from the world. The first half of his life was full of failure that proved too much for him and led to him becoming a heavy drinker which led to all kinds of problems. Finally tired of this life, he became a monk at age 36 and joined an isolated temple where he composed the bulk of his haiku, most of them about isolation, loneliness, disgust at himself, and heartbreak at withdrawing from the world.

You might say he did it to himself, and perhaps he did, but that doesn't mean we can't feel sympathy for him. His tragic poetry speaks to us all.

❦

David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku.

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1. That is, me! If you like this translation, feel free to use it. Just credit me. Also link here if you can. ↩ ↩