I go visit the famous shrine in Osaka for this big festival every year, which is very well known and popular.  All the people there, that is, the visitors, people serving on deity, peddlers of the stalls on the approach, were smiling happily.

My whole body receives/

Chi from the gods/

Oh, the grand vernal festival/

Calligraphy and translation by Chio

You can send requests for Chio’s calligraphy to <chio_art@yushokai.com>.

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毎年お詣りします。大変な人気を誇るお祭りで、参詣の人たちも迎える神社の人たちも、参道で露天を営む人たちも皆楽しそうに笑っています。

知櫻の書のご依頼は、 <chio_art@yushokai.com> までお願いいたします。

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The white Japanese apricot flowers I arranged to adorn my entrance for the New Year are still blooming beautifully.

O, white Japanese apricot blossoms/

Moon is waxing gradually/

Calligraphy and translation by Chio

You can send requests for Chio’s calligraphy to <chio_art@yushokai.com>.

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お正月のために玄関に活けておいた梅の花はまだ綺麗です。

知櫻の書のご依頼は、 <chio_art@yushokai.com> までお願いいたします。

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Over the past several days, I have been feeling the New Year’s happy feeling because it is time to celebrate.  After getting carried away feeling like this for a while, however, I can’t help but wonder if this is really okay.  Maybe the cold weather is making my mood feel cold again.

An interpretation of this haiku simplifies, expressing a cold, cosmic loneliness where even the eternal may crumble under prolonged gloom.

In a long, depressed feeling/

Frozen star may be smashed to smithereens/

Calligraphy and translation by Chio

You can send requests for Chio’s calligraphy to <chio_art@yushokai.com>.

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新年だ、お祝いだ、と浮かれた気分でいると、こんな感じでいいのかしらとちょっと思ってしまいます。寒さのせいで気分も寒くなるのかな。

この句の解説には、長く続く鬱屈の中で、永遠に見えるものさえ崩れ去るかもしれない、という冷たい宇宙的孤独感も感じるとあります。

知櫻の書のご依頼は、 <chio_art@yushokai.com> までお願いいたします。

The year has started cold, but I went to the local shrine for my first formal visit of the year.

First shrine visit of the year/

Kyoto’s bone-chilling cold/

Tucked into my sleeves/

Calligraphy and translation by Chio

You can send requests for Chio’s calligraphy to <chio_art@yushokai.com>.

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今年のお正月はいきなり寒いですが、近所のお宮さんに初詣に行きました。

知櫻の書のご依頼は、 <chio_art@yushokai.com> までお願いいたします。

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I looked up what kind of porridge you are supposed to eat on January 4th and found that plain white rice porridge with nothing added is for this.  So I cooked some—though it felt more like clearing out New Year’s leftovers.

I looked up what kind of porridge you are supposed to eat on January 4th and found that plain white rice porridge with nothing added is for this.  So I cooked some—though it felt more like clearing out New Year’s leftovers.

What I find interesting about this haiku is that it features a double structure, where something truly familiar and close at hand, like porridge, coexists with the quietness of the universe.

O, the month of January/

Porridge and galaxy remain/

In my stomach/

Calligraphy and translation by Chio

You can send requests for Chio’s calligraphy to <chio_art@yushokai.com>.

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1月4日用のお粥としては何かあるかしらと調べてみたら、何も入らない白粥だと出てきましたので、作ってみましたが、つまりお正月の残り物整理かなという感じです。

この俳句は、お粥という極めて私的なものと、宇宙の静けさが同時に存在しているような構成となっているところが面白いと思いました。

知櫻の書のご依頼は、 <chio_art@yushokai.com> までお願いいたします。

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Before cooking Osechi-ryori, or traditional New Year’s food, I thought I would have a dry run.

Eating in two bites/

Slices of a rolled Japanese-style omelet/

That looked faintly yellow/

Calligraphy and translation by Chio

You can send requests for Chio’s calligraphy to <chio_art@yushokai.com>.

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お節料理に取り掛かる前に、ちょっと練習しておこうと思いました。

知櫻の書のご依頼は、 <chio_art@yushokai.com> までお願いいたします。

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The sasanqua tree is now full of blossoms.  It was in full bloom on the day my father passed.  It is a little surprising that the whole twelve years have passed since then.

Oh, sasanqua flowers/

They fall/

So as not to tear the darkness/

Calligraphy and translation by Chio

You can send requests for Chio’s calligraphy to <chio_art@yushokai.com>.

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庭の山茶花が満開です。父が亡くなった日も満開でした。ちょうど十三回忌だということがちょっと驚きです。

知櫻の書のご依頼は、 <chio_art@yushokai.com> までお願いいたします。