a distant door
slides shut
—by Hosai
(Tr. David LaSpina)
(Sliding doors)
In Japanese houses rooms are typically separated with sliding doors rather than doors that swing open in the Western style. The wood of the door sliding over the wood of the frame makes a very distinctive sound that is hard to miss, even if the person sliding it open or closed is careful to be as quiet as possible.
Hosai was a free-verse haiku poet with a drinking problem who later took Buddhist vows and became a monk. That probably sounds familiar. Many haiku poets fit that bill, none more so than Santoka. Unlike Santoka, however, Hosai never made peace with his drinking problem nor found any. He joined a number of different temples only to be kicked out due to drunkenness. Eventually he found a position as caretaker of a small Buddhist temple on the island of Shodo. He was almost completely isolated there. In loneliness, he embraced haiku writing, all of which would be published in one book after his death.
Like Santoka, all of Hosai's haiku were free-verse and most of them explored other topics than the nature-based ones typical of haiku. These days he is considered one of the finest haiku poets of the past century.
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| Don't miss other great haiku in the Haiku of Japan series! |
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Recent Haiku
- 81 — Winter Game
- 82 — Hated Crow
- 83 — Passing Through
- 84 — Dried Salmon
- 85 — Little Demon Hunters
- 86 — Still Alive
- 87 — After Demon Purification
- 88 - Burning House
- 89 — Cold Night
Collections
- Collection 1 :: Haiku 1–10
- Collection 2 :: Haiku 11–20
- Collection 3 :: Haiku 21-30
- Collection 4 :: Haiku 31-40
- Collection 5 :: Haiku 41-50
- Collection 6 :: Haiku 51-60
- Collection 7 :: Haiku 61–70
- Collection 8 :: Haiku 71–80
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I post one photo everyday, as well as a haiku and as time allows, videos, more Japanese history, and so on. Let me know if there is anything about Japan you would like to know more about or would like to see.
| Who is David? | |
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 | David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time. |