裏を見せ表を見せて散る紅葉
ura wo mise omote wo misete chiru momiji
it shows its back
then, its front
falling autumn leaf
—Ryōkan
(Tr. David LaSpina)
(Print by Tsuzen Nakajima)
This was Ryokan's death poem, told to his companion Teishin. Composing a poem as you were dying used to be a thing, and still is actually, though it is not as common as it once was. The idea is somewhat similar to the epitaph used in the West; however, death poems were ideally to be spontaneous, composed in the moment when death was near.
In 1826, Ryokan was no longer able to continue living as a hermit due to his failing health. He moved into the house of one of his patrons where he was cared for by a young nun named Teishin. The two of them soon grew very attached to each other and exchanged a number of love haiku. Of Teishin, he wrote in his diary "With her now, I have all that I need".
In addition, the verb chiru, which means fall as in falling leaf in this haiku, has a suggestion of “to die a noble death”.
With these two things in mind, I'm sure the meaning of this death haiku becomes a little clearer.
Don't miss other great haiku in the Haiku of Japan series!
#1–10 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #1
#11–20 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #2
#21–30 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #3
#31—40 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #4
#41 — Falling Camellia
#42 — Snow Falling
#43 — Morning Glory Shack
#44 — My Father's Face
#45 — Dragonfly Hunter
#46 — Fallen Butterfly
#47 — Fading Dreams of Ancient Warriors
#48 — Battleground Pear Tree
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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.
 | David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time. |