(yoru hisokani / mushi wa gekka no / kuri o ugatsu)
a worm in the moonlight
drills into a chestnut
—Basho
(Print by Andrew Stone)
A simple thing, but he describes it so brilliantly. Basho was all about observational haiku and he avoided bringing in imagined things; we can guess he actually did notice a worm feasting on a chestnut when he was moon-viewing and decided to record a verse about it.
Don't miss other great haiku in the Haiku of Japan series!
- Traveling to the inn
- Childless Woman
- Old Dancing Butterfly
- Seeing the Moon
- Checking the Scarecrow
- Skill of Insects
- The Spider Lilies
- A Thousand Green Mountains
- Falling Lead Enlightenment
- Lonely Night
- Her Day Off
- Autumn Crow
- Faint Footprints
- Alone on the Road
- Autumn Begins
- Early Morning Moon Viewing
- Mistaken for a Scarecrow
- The Galactic River
- The Love of Cats
- Autumn Waterfall
- The Thief and the Moon
- My Frozen Balls
- Saké Waves
- Friends with the Moon
- Falling Flower
- Winter Rain and No Hat
- Sleeping Boy
- Reward of Persimmons
Thank you for reading. :)
If you enjoyed this post, please like and resteem. Also be sure to follow me to see more from Japan everyday.
I post one photo everyday, as well as some misc posts such as haiku, 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. |