A.B.Tsunezawa: Japanese-English Bilingual IT/CATIA Specialist, Technical Translator: Taneda Santoka (種田山頭火, 1882 - 1940)

Taneda Santoka (種田山頭火)

English version Wikipedia introduces him as follows.

“Taneda Santōka (種田山頭火, birth name: Taneda Shōichi 種田正一; 3 December 1882 – 11 October 1940) was the pen-name of a Japanese author and haiku poet. He is known for his free verse haiku.”

He started off on his journey with sandals on a certain day of April 1925. This actually happened to be my first reading of Taneda Santoka. I have forgotten how old I was.

分け入つても分け入つても青い山

Deeper I go

Still deeper
Still green mountains

When you read this in Japanese, you will instantly notice this Haiku doesn’t follow the traditional 5-7-5 syllable rule. This irregular form actually appealed to my eyes and ears when I first read it. (Haiku is an art that largely appeals to our ears. The rhythm greatly counts.) But I also had a funny feeling about some of his Haiku poems. Most of the Haiku he composed sounded so familiar to me. As a “mendicant friar” (I know I am not quite sure if this is the correct translation for 乞食僧), he had lived on the money received from local people while walking along the roads and streets. His, what is called, “literary works” were basically the same as private notes or diary. His diary contained thousands (or more) of Haiku poems. In the diary, he wrote about whether he could receive good enough money or the food he ate. He also wrote about the water, weather, or other natural settings. He wrote about the inns he had stayed or the people he had interacted with.

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あるけばかつこういそげばかつこう

I walk - There is a cuckoo

I hurry on – There is a cuckoo

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へうへうとして水を味ふ

I taste this water as if blowing the whistle

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It is interesting to recognize that I can even visualize something from those Haiku poems.

According to my old Japanese supplementary reader, Santoka was born in 1882. He had lived with parents, but his grandmother took over the custody. His mother killed herself in the well when Santoka was 10. Challenges continued. His father was running a sake brewery, but the business faced fanatical difficulties. His house was sold off when Santoka was in his 20s. He got married the following year, and then begot a son a year after that. His father disappeared when the business went bankrupt. Santoka was 34. In the same tear, his younger brother committed suicide. He started running a second-hand bookstore the same year, but couldn't bring the business on its feet. He started dealing with drawing frames instead of books, but things were just the same. Three years later, when he was 37, Santoka left home and divorced his wife.

He was a brilliant kid as a high school student. He graduated Shuyo Gakuen, now Bofu High School. It is said he started composing Haiku at around this time. Years after that, he was admitted to Waseda University in Tokyo, however had to give up his course due to mental illness.

At age 41, Santoka had been intoxicated when stopped a local train on the rail. After this incident, he was admitted to live in a Buddhist temple, where he continued composing Haiku. He attempted suicide when he was 50. He traveled across the country to create even more Haiku. Many of the writings I read are said to be written during this period. One of the source information said he had been telling his acquaintances that he wanted to die instantly without having to feel any pains. Just as he had wished, he died instantly in 1940, at age 58. It was one year before Japan declared a war on the United States of America in the Pacific Ocean.

What impresses me about Santoka is that his Haiku poems were simple, honest, and straight forward. There is no pride or vanity to be found from them (as far as I read what he wrote).

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生まれた家はあとかたもないほうたる

The house where I was born

Not a trace anymore
Fireflies

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After reading this Haiku, I thought, “This sounds like my situation.” I also wanted to name myself Santoka, but with different Kanji characters. I secretly called myself “三等火”, instead of “山頭火”.

[三等火] Fake Santoka composed:

生まれた家はあとかたないかもめ気味が悪い

The house where I was born

Not a trace anymore
Creepy seagulls

Here are some other Great Santoka’s haiku.

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[山頭火] Real Santoka composed:

酔うてこほろぎと寝ていたよ

I was drunk

When laying myself with crickets

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鴉啼いてわたしも一人

A crow caws

I am alone too

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まつすぐな道でさみしい

This straight road

Lonely

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Here is another one I like.

[山頭火] Real Santoka composed:

どうしようもないわたしが歩いてゐる

Me - hopeless and helpless -

Walking

This gave me a hint of composing my own Haiku as a fake Santoka, 三等火.

[三等火] Fake Santoka composed:

どうしようもないお菓子が並んでいる

The snacks – nothing is worse than these –

For sale

Now here’s another wonderful haiku by the Great Santoka.

[山頭火] Real Santoka composed:

おちついて死ねさうな草萌ゆる

The weeds

I can die calmly on them
Sprouting

And my version will be like this.

[三等火] Fake Santoka composed:
病気で死ねそうな甘み萌ゆる

The sweats

I can get sick and die with them
Sprouting

Here is a haiku by the Great Santoka.

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[山頭火] Real Santoka composed:

生死の中の雪ふりしきる

Between life and death

Snow falls with no end

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My version will be this.

[三等火] Fake Santoka composed:

下痢で生死の中　道路ひたすら続く

Between life and death with diarrhea

Road is stretched ahead with no end

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[山頭火] Real Santoka composed:

すべつてころんで山がひつそり

I slipped and fell

A sound mountain

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[三等火] Fake Santoka composed:

家に財布忘れてレジ店員ひっそり

Oops, I left my wallet at home

A silent cashier

(I actually forgot taking my wallet while shopping a few times this year. One time, when I left my wallet at home, a shop clerk said I could get that drink for free... My wife got to know all about it later, shook her head, and said it was a big embarrassment...)