Category: Bashō no yōna

Moderation

何事もほどほどに――「ほどほど」にすることさえも。

Nanigoto mo hodohodo ni — “hodohodo” ni suru koto sae mo.

hodohodo — not one, just enough, not too much

“Everything in moderation—even moderation itself.”

Asking Matsuo Basho, he replies:

閑さや
岩にしみ入る
蝉の声

Shizukesa ya
Iwa ni shimiiru
Semi no koe

Absolute calm, when —
one cry of the cicada
sinks into the rocks.

時には

一

十分です

Tokiniha ichi jūbundesu.

Sometimes,

one

is enough.

August 2026

Basho’s disciple is at the lake which is perfect.

Japan tips

Japanese teahouse

Basho’s disciple who is planning a trip to Japan in November is giving himself some advice and hoping he takes it.

  1. Plan but don’t over plan Japan.
  2. Be mindful of the sounds and the smells and the shape and the color of the maple leaves in November.
  3. Be respectful.
  4. Learn enough Japanese to pass yourself off as one who is trying to be respectful. Hai, arigato…
  5. Embrace the culture.
  6. Eat fish and other strange things.
  7. Avoid the tourists.
  8. Wander.
  9. Wonder.
  10. Enjoy.

One Bashō-like addition:

11. Leave room for what you did not expect.

Surprise is the act of creation.

For the best moments on the Way are often the ones no guidebook could have planned for.

Five-Seven-Five

Friday, July 31, 2026

Walking to the corner bookstore in 100 degree weather… composing haiku.

Five-Seven-Five

Five-Seven-Five

I wish I knew why – Haiku

Makes no sense at all

Sipping hot coffee

In the middle of summer

Makes no sense at all

Ladies in bookstores

Well read, and so attractive

Often wear glasses

Forgive me if this is not PC — author’s confession

Cicadas

Summer Cicadas

When the sun rises, Summer cicadas are mechanical, persistent, inescapable, until the sun sets.

Like an alarm clock,

Try as I might, I can’t stop.

— Cicadas crying

To Matsuo Bashō the voice of a cicada is quite profound.

静けさや
岩にしみ入る
蝉の声

Shizukesa ya
Iwa ni shimiiru
Semi no koe

Ah, such stillness—
The sound of a cicada
sinks into the rocks.

Speak

As you like it:

When the frog meets the pond, when you speak,
Whether you whisper or shout, it’s
— the sound of existence.

— Bashō no yōna, Thoughts on Basho’s most well-known haiku

Whether you whisper or shout,
When you speak, like the frog and the pond, it’s
— the sound of existence.
— Bashō no yōna, Thoughts on Basho’s most well-known haiku

To write, to be, or not to be, one must write to be.

Fragile as dew on a blade of grass,
Heavy as a stone tossed in a lake,
To be heard one must speak
— Bashō no yōna, Thoughts on Basho’s most well-known haiku