HAIKU IN ASIAN POETRY: MATSUO BASHO VERSUS LIRA USONAKUN KYZY

Kazakova Nurzat Askarovna
International Ataturk-Alatoo University
Kyrgyz Republic, Bishkek, Assoc.Prof., Ph.D

Abstract
The paper studies the Japanese haiku genre and it analyzes the poetry of Matsuo Basho, who was the founder of haiku. The the research deals with the Kyrgyz haiku genre, that is famous with the poems of the Kyrgyz poetess Lira Usonakun kyzy. The comparative analysis touches upon haiku of Matsuo Basho and Lira Usonakun kyzy.

Keywords: Basho, compare, haiku, Japanese poetry, Kyrgyz poetry, poetry


Category: 10.00.00 Philology

Article reference:
Haiku in Asian poetry: Matsuo Basho versus Lira Usonakun kyzy // Modern scientific researches and innovations. 2017. № 2 [Electronic journal]. URL: https://web.snauka.ru/en/issues/2017/02/78032

View this article in Russian

Introduction

 There is an issue of impression  in literature.  Though poets and writes do not live in the same epoch and country, their works might have the same form, genre, content and aims. So, the Comparative literature aims at analyzing  the literary works of different poets and writers who live in various epochs and countries. This paper deals with the analysis of haiku genre in the Japanese poetry while comparing the literary heritage of two poets.

Haiku (then called hokku)-  is a  Japanese  traditional short three-line poem. It is one of the most developed genre in the traditions of East Asian poetry art.     Its origin dates back to the 17th century and consists of     17 syllables ( also known as morae though often loosely translated as “syllables”) and haiku does  usually not represent   rhyme.  Matsuo Basho  is recognized as the greatest master of haiku and his poems have been  translated into Kyrgyz by Akylbek Jumanaliev.  He claims that haiku is a miniature picture. Rendering haiku into another language is not an easy task:  Often focusing on images from aesthetics, haiku emphasizes  traditions, identity, world view, concepts. The translator must be aware of them. The   Japanese poetry is famous for  the haiku masters as Matsuo Basho,  Yuuzke Kuray and Yosa Buson. Their three-lined masterpieces became the  heritage of the world literature.   This research analyzes the haiku of Matsuo Chūemon Munefusa. which date back to the 17th century.  The following haiku belong to his pen:

Фудзи боорунан келген жел!                                       The gentle breeze is blowing  from Fuji

Шаарга алпармакмын сени желпигичке салып,  I would take you to city carrying in the blower,

Эң баалуу белек деп                                                     As the most precious gift.

Another haiku

Кайрадан ээледи жүрөктү                                               Again in my heart

Апам, атам жөнүндө кайгы-санаа                                  Feelings about my mother and father

Жалгыздаган кыргоол үнү! [ 1,24]                               A lonely song of the pheasant.

The first haiku interprets that according to the old Japanese tradition  a precious gift was carried in the blower and  metaphorically    Basho wanted to present wisdom and wit as a gift to the human society of his Edo period. Therefore, via the plot of the haiku, one can imagine the period that the poet lived in.

Fuji Mount (Fujisan)  is the name of the highest  mountain   that is     located on Honshu Island  in Japan. In the Arts it is called as Fujiyama and the mountain is an attractive volcanic cone and a frequent subject of world  art. Kyrgyz writer Chyngyz Aitmatov and Kazakh playwright wrote the play “The Climbing to Mount Fuji”.  I claim that reflection of the mountain in literature  represents humanism, goodness, wisdom and mercy of the human beings and the image of the mountain has some sacred strength to purify the inner world of the heroes in the play.    Therefore, the Fuji mountain has some universal function in the human life despite the periods change.

So,  Basho wants  to present the gentle breeze blowing from the Mount Fuji to the city people as a gift  “to purify the people’s heart” metaphorically in his haiku.

The second haiku renders  yearning for parents via the song of pheasant. In Japanese culture, a pheasant is the symbol of parents. According to beliefs, pheasants never leave their children. Basho expresses his melancholy feelings towards hid deceased parents via folk conviction. Reading the second haiku impresses the heart of everyone.

I argue that haiku has some specific features. One of the most distinguishable characteristics of haiku is the laconism of the poem. It consists of only three lines, but discusses the  universal phenomena.

Агат, кетет баары бу дүйнөдө!                                    Everything will be gone

Түтүн узайт шамдан,                                                    Even the smoke vanishes from the candle

Көшөгө бүттү жыртылып.   [ 1,24]                            The curtain was torn off .

All goodness, evil, troubles and prosperity will be gone in this world. It is not good to obey the misery of the life; one must be strong enough to overcome all sufferings. Sometimes people become too happy and too high-and-mighty, and all welfare will  go. Basho felt the essence of human life.  The three-lined poetry could reflect all quality of being alive in this world.

The second specific feature of haiku is the simplicity, i.e. it does not require rhyme.  Haiku is created spontaneously and there is no need to be elated and excited to create the poetry. The intuitive nature of the haiku leaves unforgettable impression on the reader.

Алачыгымдын алакандай                               The moon looking through   the window

Агартты төрт тарабын тең                              Brightened every corners

Терезеден шыкаалаган ай.   [ 1,28]               Of my tiny tent.

 

The Moon makes deep senses in the human soul and the moonlight tenders the heart, produces joy and elation, gives rays of hope.  While reading haiku one may enjoy different feelings. Haiku has special role in literature and it fulfills special functions in it.

Let’s analyze the following haiku:

Кайгы менен жан-дүйнөңдү агарткын!                         Let’s purify the soul by sadness

Даам татканыңда кыңылдап ырда ырыңды                  Lets sing your song

Сен, “ай капакору!   [ 1,24]                                            You are the sad person of the Moon!

Who is the sad person of the Moon?  He is poet Basho, who was sad and felt lonely seeing the Moon.  He did not that know  the poem  was the embodiment of the    Catharsis. Catharsis  is an emotional discharge through which one can achieve a state of moral or spiritual renewal or achieve a state of liberation from anxiety and stress. In literature it is used for the cleansing of emotions of the characters. The term was used as a metaphor in Poetics by Aristotle to explain the impact of tragedy on the audiences. The  Kyrgyz readers were introduced with haiku in translation of  Sagyn Akhmatbekova, Egemberdi Ermatov, Ramis Ryskulov,  Akylbek Jumanaliev. They  were the first poets who translated and created haiku genre in the Kyrgyz literature.  However, haiku genre   in Kyrgyz achieved its top level by the haiku of deceased young poetess  Lira Usonakun kyzy. Japanese haiku genre and similar poems to haiku did not exist in the Kyrgyz literature.

When the poets started translating haiku, the Kyrgyz poets attempted to write haiku in Kyrgyz. However, not all of them could create brilliant haiku in content and form.  Only the post-soviet Kyrgyz literature saw the magnificent  haiku by Lira Usonakun kyzy, her poetry impressed the Kyrgyz readers much. Scope of her haiku  covered human nature, life and death philosophy.  Deceased young poetess could establish the path to the Kyrgyz haiku genre and she  integrated it into the local context. Her haiku deal with the personal feelings and social issues of the modern society.

Lira Usonakyn kyzy claims that good and evil of human life go conjointly:

Эркелетет, беттен сылап,

Жетелейт да буттан чалат.

Турмуш деген чоң сабак.

The life is a big lesson

It loves and caresses you,

It leads you and breaks suddenly. [ 1,23]

The poetess emphasizes the role of mother in continuing the human line and admires the unity of mother and child in the following poem:

Табияттын кереметин карачы!

Бир денеде, бир убакта, бипбирдей

Эки жүрөк согуп жатат тынымсыз. [ 2,25]               .

How the nature is fabulous

The two hearts beat

With the same rhythm, in one body, at the same time

This haiku seems brilliant. Because in the short line the poet could include harmony of child and mother, that might be  quite difficult for other poets.  Woman with a baby in a womb is the sacred picture of the nature,  that is  the idea the poet wants to value.                                                                                                                              Nature is the eternal topic in the haiku of Lira Usonakun kyzy. She likes spring and always reflects it in the poetry, but some philosophical ideas still make us question about the sense of life.

Жакшы көрөм жамгырды,

Жан денем жашаргансып,

Жан-дүйнөм тазаргансыйт. [ 2,25]

I like Rain

It rejuvenates my body

It purifies my soul.

Rain is the metaphor for purifying all living nature and inner soul of human being.  The poet was very sensitive and romantic  to all outer phenomena.

This poem was  the last haiku of the author, who deceased at the age of 30 in May. It is called ‘I would love to  live’.

Кубалап кыштын ызгаарын,

Кучактап  жаздын жыргалын,

Жашагым келет, жашагым! [ 2,29]

I would like to live

Following the winter frost

Enjoying the spring beauty.

Spring is a miraculous time. The whole world comes alive after the winter.  The world comes filled with aroma  and the scent of splendid greenery:

“Тур, жатпай, жазды тоскун!”-деп,

Кубулжуп гимнин ойногон,

Келиптир куштар – оркестри. [ 2,29]

Stop sleeping and celebrate spring

Orchestra of birds sing

The hymn of flowering.

Spring gives  hope for rejuvenation of everything in this world. Spring is a time to renew the excitement and zest for life that lives inside:

Жабылуу ар бир эшикке,

Тараткым келди жаз жытын,

Жапжаңы, жакшы ыр менен. [ 2,29]

I would like to distribute

The aroma of spring to every closed door

With my new poems.

In conclusion, I would like to claim that haiku originated from the  Japanese literature has acquired some specific features in the form and content in the Kyrgyz poetry genre. It was introduced via translations and haiku was  created during soviet era when poets N. Baitemirov and A. Tokombaev lived. The post-soviet Kyrgyz literature saw the splendid progress   of haiku with the poems  of Lira Usonaly kyzy. The contemporary young  poets also continue to explore the haiku genre in the modern Kyrgyz poetry art.


References
  1. Matsuo Basho  . Yrlar. – Bishkek.-1996.-P.3-30
  2. Lira Usonakun kyzy. Jashagim kelet, jashagim…- Bishkek: Biyiktik.-2009.-P.20-29


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