さくさくと saku-saku

making the sound, saku-saku

I walk on the pebbles

at the local shrine

ring the big bell

and give prayers

photo and rough translation by aunt jam
『コスモス』2017年4月号より

朝刊 morning paper

soft light of winter

on my back

I read the morning paper

 delivered at home

photo and rough translation by aunt jam

『コスモス』2017年3月号より

こんもりの森 woods on a mound hill

moved from Hamamatsu

it's been 20 days since I came to Nara

blue sky and woods on a mound hill

are embracing my life

photo and rough translation by aunt jam
『コスモス』2017年3月号より

湖の辺 by the lake

moved from the capital

lived by the lake

for15 years

I had been happy 

photo and rough translation by aunt jam

『コスモス』2017年2月号より

道の端 on the verge of the path

on the verge of the path

some weeds are in bloom

with white flowers

today, more than yesterday

I enjoy walking

 

photo and rough translation by aunt jam
『コスモス』2016年10月号より

どくだみ草 heartleaves

long time ago

I was a pharmacist

selling heartleaves

like the ones on this path

with good price

photo and rough translation by aunt jam
『コスモス』2016年10月号より

御握り rice balls

more than flowers

he likes rice balls

the small child

smiles with grains of rice

on his cheek

photo and rough translation by aunt jam
『コスモス』2016年7月号より

花の種 flower seeds

one day

I think of myself old

on another day

I think of myself 'not yet'

planting the flower seeds

photo and rough translation by aunt jam
歌集『六分の桜』(1999)   p122より

落日 sunset

 

 the beautiful sunset

trapped my eyes

for a while

I ended up scorching 

the stew in the pot

photo and rough translation by aunt jam

『コスモス』2016年5月号より

ひとへ桜 single-petal cherry blossoms

signle-petaled cherry blossoms

bloom so purely

the days when I was single-minded

come back to me

    

photo and rough translation by aunt jam 

歌集『六分の桜』p76より

この径 this path

the soles of my shoes

give me the felling of

tenderness of the soil

that is so nice

today on this path 

   

photo and rough translation by aunt jam
歌集『六分の桜』p121より

夕食 supper

 

nothing big

has happened 

I prepare supper

thinking of happiness

just as it is

   

photo and rough translation by aunt jam

『コスモス』2015年12月号より

宵臥 evening sleep

 

evening sleep is worth a thousand ryou*

morning sleep is worth a ten thousand ryou*

was what he said

and he slept well

the smiling face of my son

*obsolete unit of Japanese currency 

A thousand ryou was a fortune in the old days.

photo and rough translation by aunt jam

『コスモス』2016年1  月号より

秋の月 autumn moon

pounding rice to make mochi*

that rabbit on the moon**

is said no to exist

the night of Heisei***

is purified by the autumn moon

*rice cake made of mochi-rice

**Old Japanese believed that a rabbit who pounded mochi 

lived on the moon by looking at the shades of lunar craters.

***the current era in Japan, started from 1989

photo by aunt jam

 roughly translated by aunt jam

歌集『六分の桜』p128より

短歌の七・七 seven and seven syllables of Tanka

 

for our afternoon walk

my daughter-in-law came in

but I said to her

"seven and seven syllables of Tanka

need to be finished first"

photo and rough translation by aunt jam

『コスモス』2015年　掲載

山萩 shrubby lespedeza

compared to the last time

I went for a walk

the shrubby lespedeza　

looks redder and

blooms a little more

photo and rough translation by aunt jam
『コスモス』2015年1月号より

木村屋のあんぱん Anpan from Kimuraya

 

the Higan season*

starts tomorrow 

my deceased mother-in-law's favorite

Anpan** from Kimuraya***

is what I buy on my way home

 

*when the souls of the ancestors 

are believed to come close to our world

**sweet roll filled with read bean paste

***a long-estabalished bakery in Tokyo

photo by aunt jam

 roughly translated by aunt jam

歌集『六分の桜』p15より

朝顔 Morning Glory

 

 

becoming slightly

smaller in size

the morning glory

flowers are blown in the wind

 already with the autumn coolness 

photo by sDrake

 roughly translated by aunt jam

歌集『六分の桜』p9より

強きもの something strong

 

Something strong

lurked in my soul

forcing me

to act feminine

when I grew up

 photo by sDrake

 roughly translated by aunt jam

歌集『六分の桜』p25より

大相撲 grand sumo tournament

 

 the spring tournament

has started

I tell my deceased husband in the altar

and watch sumo

on TV

photo and rough translation by aunt jam

『コスモス』2015年6月号より

八月十五日 August 15

 

on August 15*

not having lunch

my husband

sat in silence

with his eyes closed

*the memorial day for the end of the war

photo by sDrake
 roughly translated by aunt jam
歌集『六分の桜』p34より
 

野いちご wild strawberries

 

wild strawberries

red and ripe

on the edge of the lane

looking delicious

I stop for a while

photo and rough translation by aunt jam 

『コスモス』2015年8月号より

あぢさゐ hydrangea

 

 

rain has come back from the rainy season

the blue color of the hydrangea is

getting deeper

the person who left this world so young

appears in my mind

photo by sDrake

 roughly translated by aunt jam

歌集『六分の桜』p67より

単身赴任 working away from home

before the wedding of our daughter

my husband said

she was working away from home

how stubborn he was

seemed funny to me

photo by sDrake

 roughly translated by aunt jam

歌集『六分の桜』p48より

六分の桜 Under a cherry tree

 

 

under a cherry tree

two thirds in bloom

I stand with my husband

not talking much

we are all right today too

 

photo and rough translation by aunt jam

 歌集『六分の桜』p78より