Beneath the Snow ~ Haiku of Japan
It seems like many of the northern countries are getting quite a bit of cold weather from the latest polar vortex, and in some cases that cold weather is bringing a lot of snow. Thinking about that brought this haiku from Issa to mind.
yamadera ya yuki no soko naru kane no koe
from deep under the snow
the sound of a bell
—Issa
Ever the jokester, Issa is giving us a bit of a tall tale here: arriving at a temple and finding temple and bell completely under snow, but hearing the bell ring as usual. Even snow can't stop the workings of temple life, it seems.
At the same time, he is making a spiritual statement as well. The temple bell, which represents Buddhism, will endure and continue no matter what disaster befalls it. Let's dive more into this.
Issa followed Jōdo Shinshū (True Pure Land Buddhism). In that particular sect, they teach that we are living in a corrupt and fallen age, called Mappō (末法), an age of moral decline when while the teachings of the Buddha still exist, the ability to practice them correctly and achieve enlightenment through one's own efforts (jiriki, 自力) is impossible. Therefore, the only hope, especially as Shinran taught, was to be be reborn in the Pure Land of Amida where one can finally practice correctly and be enlightened.
Under that lens, we see that the snow here can very much be a metaphor for the difficulty with following the Dharma (i.e., practicing Buddhism) in this fallen world, but yet the practice is still available, it still persists beneath the hardship of the snow.
He wrote this early in his career, in 1790, when he was only 26 years old. This mixture of the spiritual and comedy would very much be a hallmark of his haiku throughout his life.
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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. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Twitter or Mastodon. |
That is, me! If you like this translation, feel free to use it. Just credit me. Also link here if you can. ↩
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It's definitely been a very widespread cold this time. More so than usual it seems. Either that or we just don't all talk about it at the same time like we have for this season.
It seems to be larger this year but less severe maybe? Last year the blast of that Arctic air was more sudden. Remember it knocked out the texas grid. Maybe it's more spread out this year? If so, would that be good or bad? If the polar jetstream is getting weaker and letting more arctic air out over a longer period of time, that seems bad. But no idea if that's what happening. I'm sure the climate scientists will tell us the details after it's over. You might be right—we might just be talking about it more this year, which makes it seem worse.
I think parts of Texas were having issues again this year. Things definitely seem to be getting crazier, but I don't know if it is a warning sign or just something cyclical with the weather.
I think the climate scientists have pretty much set on the fact of the warming Arctic and the weakening polar jetstream being linked. They don't know exactly why the warming is destabilizing the jetstream, but the link between them seems hard to ignore. But you're right, it could be part of a larger cyclical trend that we just don't have enough data to show.
Whatever the case may be, it's definitely getting crazy. I didn't see that Texas is having problems again. Oy...
Yeah, they were talking about how parts of the grid were down with no alternative.
Two days of snow here. Now Friday more snow
So it's not over yet? Wow... round 2.
Yep starting in a few hours now
We got 6 inches on Saturday, and it didn't melt. We got another three inches today. The problem isn't the snow. It's the people who can't be bothered to learn how to drive in it. 😑
!DHEDGE
Well, yeah. People who think driving on snow is the same as driving on dry road and so they slide everywhere? I remember that. When I was a kid, before moving to Japan, it seemed like at least a handful of times every winter I'd see people stuck in a snowdrift on the side of the road and I'd have to stop to help push them out.
Yeah, it never fails. Do you see a lot of that when it snows in Japan?
On the China Sea side of Japan they see a bunch of snow. Lake effect (or sea effect, I suppose) comes into play there, so some areas get many feet of the stuff. But the Pacific side, where I am, is fairly warm in winter and doesn't get much snow at all, maybe a single snowfall of a few cm per year.
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I'm glad you liked it! It's one of my favorites too.