165Haiku 俳句
朝顔に釣瓶とられてもらい水
あさがおにつるべとられてもらいみずAsagao ni tsurube torarete morai mizu
“A morning glory has claimed my well bucket — I beg water next door.”
The meaning
Rather than tear the flower wound around the well rope, the poet goes asking for water elsewhere. Delicacy toward beauty comes before convenience.
At the origin
A haiku attributed to the poet Kaga no Chiyo (1703-1775), one of Japan's best loved.
The characters
- 朝顔 asagaomorning glory
- に niby
- 釣瓶
- とられて
- もらい水
にParticleThe point of arrival: a place, a moment, a destination.
In practice
Accept a small detour to preserve something beautiful or alive.
Themes
Similar proverbs
- 106 秋の日は釣瓶落とし The autumn sun drops like a well bucket.
- 227 朝顔や一輪深き淵の色 A morning glory — one single bloom, the blue of a deep abyss.
- 091 魚心あれば水心 If the fish loves the water, the water will love the fish.
- 109 ゆく河の流れは絶えずして、しかももとの水にあらず The river flows on and on, and yet the water is never the same.
- 160 古池や蛙飛び込む水の音 Old pond — a frog leaps in, sound of water.