A Study of Birth Signs in Haiku Part I
by an'ya
Note: excerpts are all quoted from astrologyonline.com (which is just one of many sites it its kind, and other sources of information may vary). This information doesn't necessarily reflect my own beliefs, nor do I profess to be any kind of expert on the matter, rather, this study article is written strictly as one writer's personal and conceptual observations. The haiku quoted here are all from Mountain Tasting, Zen Haiku by Santoka Taneda.
Born December: Santoka Taneda (1882-1940)
"The Sagittarius enjoys travelling and exploration, the more so because their minds are constantly open to new dimensions of thought."
To start my study off simply, I will say that this seems obviously present to me in one of Santoka's most famous haiku:
going deeper
and still deeper-
the green mountains
In fact, I can see this particular quality in so many of his other haiku, that I need only mention but an additional few here to give you more of an idea:
winter rain clouds
thinking:,going to China
to be torn to pieces
the sound of waves-
now distant, now close
how much of my life remains
in the blazing sun
railroad tracks
perfectly straight
no inn
to spend the night the moon leads
the way
"The Sagittarius also has a positive outlook on life, and optimism is one of the traits they possess, although the negative inherent in everything will sometimes find manifestation, and in such cases, restlessness, uncertainty, misjudgment and distortion of the truth are probable."
For instance, in this one particular haiku written by Santoka, I read both of these factors:
nice road
leading to a nice building
it's a crematorium
Interestingly, in this haiku (above), Santoka starts out being almost overly optimistic in his view
of the road (perhaps even metaphorically "the road of life" as he literally travel led it extensively.) Positive thoughts of a "nice road" leading to a "nice building", until ultimately we end up with the surprise of it being a "crematorium." Possibly this gives us as readers, insight as to the above mentioned "negative inherent" in the Sagittarius birth sign, insofar as perhaps how his family matters (the suicide of both mother and brother for example), played a pertinent role in some of Santoka's haiku writing.
"Sagittarius are full of enterprise, energy, versatility, and eagerness to extend experience beyond the physically familiar."
Looking at this statement in only a literal sense, here are three haiku recorded in Santoka's diary, when he once fell ill in a remote village:
I laid out
my feverish body on
the frozen earth
perhaps
I'll die like this lying
on the cold earth
feverish
I stretch out my body
along the ground
In each of these haiku, Santoka actually takes reader beyond the physically familiar feeling of everyday sickness, into an illness that he deeply associates with nature. "lying on frozen ground", not something ordinarily done when one is just ordinarily sick. Or in these haiku, where Santoka makes use of the above-mention "energy, vitality and eagerness to extend beyond the physically familiar."
to the mountains
to the sky
the heart sutra
the green grass
I return
barefoot
the sky at sunset
a cup of sake
would taste so good
"Sagittarius are basically ambitious and optimistic, and continue to be so even when their hopes are dashed. Their strongly idealistic natures can also suffer many disappointments without being affected.:
it may be sunset
but still there is no inn
shrikes sing
In this haiku, as sunset approaches, and Santoka has no place in sight to stay for the night, he notices the Shrikes sing, and that is enough.
and these haiku also show Santoka's optimistic traits and idealism:
shining brightly
in the sunshine
my meal of boiled rice
a stomach
full of water
I sleep soundly
Just a meal of boiled rice, but look how it shines!, and Santoka's thankfulness for even "a stomach full of water".
In these next haiku, again his ambitiousness and optimism comes through:
if only
one plows the fields
you'll soon hear a song
tomorrow I'll come
cooking wild vegetables
for your visit
"People born under the Sagittarius birth sign, are honorable, trustworthy, truthful, generous, sincere, with a passion for justice; usually on the side of the underdog in society, they will fight for any cause they believe to be just, and are prepared to be rebellious. They balance loyalty with independence".
Here is what I feel are examples of Santoka's truthful and often times brutally honest side:
pricks ad pussies
boiling together
in the overcrowded bath
making my way
through fallen leaves
I have a good shit in the fields
sweat
gathered up
in my navel
nonchalantly
urinating by the road
soaking the young weeds
naked in the bath house
the conversation grows
more lively
and here's an example of his honorable and trustworthy personality:
mother! I am sharing
the white noodles offered
for your memorial day
autumn
one thing to pawn taking
it in, redeeming it
I offer incense
to the Taneda mortuary tablet
it's all that remains of my family
And his generous and sincere attributes that show up in these haiku:
they could
feel my hand the village flies
escaped easily
I told a lie
a lonely moon
appears
each day
we meet both demons
and Buddhas
even snow
cannot be good snow
with smoke from the factories
And last but not least, balancing loyalty with independence, these simple words from Santoka:
we've separated
and my backpack
is heavy