Poem
Shinjiro Kurahara
The Absent Man
On a hill at the base of a mountainstood an old temple dedicated to Kannon.
I paid a visit to a monk living there.
I had been there several times
meaning to drink newly picked tea with him.
As always he was absent today, too.
The three side doors of the temple were open.
Over the hearth, without fire,
a dusty pot was hanging.
A single
blue-and-white teacup . . .
A blue blew in
and alighted on its rim.
High over the open temple,
the peak of a thunderhead, rare and radiant . . .
© Translation: 2010, Mariko Kurahara, William I. Elliott, Katsumasa Nishihara
From: Iwana
Publisher: Dowaya, Tokyo, 2010
From: Iwana
Publisher: Dowaya, Tokyo, 2010
不在の人
不在の人
山すその丘に古い観音堂がたっている
そこに住む僧を訪ねた
新茶をいっしょに飲もうと
何度か来たのだが
やっぱり 今日も不在だ
堂は三方あけっぱなし
火のない炉にほこりだらけの鍋がかかっている
ぽつんと一つ
染付の湯呑があった
風とともにシジミ蝶が飛んできて
湯呑のふちに来てとまった
堂のむこうに
めずらしく積乱雲の峰がまぶしい
© 1964, Shinjiro Kurahara
From: Iwana
Publisher: Dowaya, Tokyo
From: Iwana
Publisher: Dowaya, Tokyo
Poems
Poems of Shinjiro Kurahara
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The Absent Man
On a hill at the base of a mountainstood an old temple dedicated to Kannon.
I paid a visit to a monk living there.
I had been there several times
meaning to drink newly picked tea with him.
As always he was absent today, too.
The three side doors of the temple were open.
Over the hearth, without fire,
a dusty pot was hanging.
A single
blue-and-white teacup . . .
A blue blew in
and alighted on its rim.
High over the open temple,
the peak of a thunderhead, rare and radiant . . .
© 2010, Mariko Kurahara, William I. Elliott, Katsumasa Nishihara
From: Iwana
Publisher: 2010, Dowaya, Tokyo
From: Iwana
Publisher: 2010, Dowaya, Tokyo
The Absent Man
On a hill at the base of a mountainstood an old temple dedicated to Kannon.
I paid a visit to a monk living there.
I had been there several times
meaning to drink newly picked tea with him.
As always he was absent today, too.
The three side doors of the temple were open.
Over the hearth, without fire,
a dusty pot was hanging.
A single
blue-and-white teacup . . .
A blue blew in
and alighted on its rim.
High over the open temple,
the peak of a thunderhead, rare and radiant . . .
© 2010, Mariko Kurahara, William I. Elliott, Katsumasa Nishihara
From: Iwana
Publisher: 2010, Dowaya, Tokyo
From: Iwana
Publisher: 2010, Dowaya, Tokyo
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