Proverb 19: Weak meat

Here is today's proverb:

弱肉強食

And in romaji:

jaku niku kyo shoku

And English: "Weak meat, strong eat."

This is the opposite of the Buddha's vision of the world — the law of the jungle, without compassion — but I could not resist including it because of the natural rhyme that happens in the English translation. I am also a fan of these 4-character sayings which are used both in Chinese and in Japanese, and in Korean too. You can see all three languages together on the same page here. These types of 4-character sayings are called chengyu in Chinese, yojijukugo in Japanese, and sajaseong-eo in Korean. This is a well-known saying, so I found lots of illustrated versions online, like this one:

My vocabulary for today:

肉
にく
"flesh, meat"

Haiku 28: Facing West

Here is today's haiku:

西方のはつ空拝む法師哉

And in romaji:

saihō no hatsu-zora ogamu hōshi kana

And English: "Westward, first sky of the New Year — the priest prays."

This is a haiku by Issa. The westward direction is auspicious in Pure Land Buddhism, where Sukhāvatī, Amitābha's "pure land," is in the west. This painting shows Amida welcoming Chūjō-hime to the Western Paradise; you can read more about Sukhavati and Chujo-hime at Wikipedia.

My vocabulary for today:

西
さい
"west"

Haiku 27: The Cat's Child

Here is today's haiku:

猫の子にかして遊ばす手まり哉

And in romaji:

neko no ko ni kashite asobasu temari kana

And English: "A loan for the kitten to play with: New Year's handball."

This is another New Year's haiku by Issa. The hand-ball, te-mari, is a lovely little embroidered ball; you can see pictures of temari balls at Wikipedia. As that article explains, mothers make these embroidered balls for their children as New Year's gift, putting a secret good wish written on a slip of paper inside the ball. In this haiku, Issa has loaned a temari ball to a cat's-child, neko-no-ko, which is Japanese for "kitten."

temari balls

My vocabulary for today:

手
て
"hand"

Haiku 26: Toshigami

Here is today's haiku:

とし神やことしも御世話下さるる

And in romaji:

toshi-gami ya ko toshi mo o-sewa kudasaruru

And English: "New Year god: I humbly beg your help this year too."

This is a haiku by Issa, humbling invoking the help of the Shinto god, kami, of the New Year, toshi: 年神, toshi-gami. He needed help last year, and this year too: も, mo. You can read more about Toshigami at Wikipedia.

Toshigami

My vocabulary for today:

神
かみ
"god"

Haiku 25: Lonely autumn evenings

Here is today's haiku:

元日や思へば淋し秋の暮

And in romaji:

ganjitsu ya omoeba sabishi aki no kure

And English: "New Year's Day... lonely thoughts of autumn evenings."

This is a haiku by Basho, and it expresses a backward-looking take on the New Year, and the loneliness of the days that have now passed.

(late 17th-century Japanese painting)

My vocabulary for today:

暮
くれ
"dusk, twilight"