230Haiku 俳句
いくたびも雪の深さを尋ねけり
いくたびもゆきのふかさをたずねけりIkutabi mo yuki no fukasa o tazunekeri
“Again and again I ask: the snow, how deep is it now?”
The meaning
Confined to bed, the poet cannot watch the snow fall — so he asks, again and again. Curiosity for the world outlives everything, even immobility.
At the origin
A haiku by Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902), bedridden with tuberculosis, founder of modern haiku.
The characters
- いくたび ikutabihow many times
- も moagain
- 雪 yukisnow
- の
- 深さ
- を
- 尋ねけり
もParticle“Also, even”: adds or strengthens.
In practice
What you cannot reach, stay curious about anyway: ask.
Themes
Similar proverbs
- 220 雪とけて村いっぱいの子どもかな Snow has melted — the village is full of children.
- 224 うまさうな雪がふうはりふはりかな How delicious it looks, the falling snow — softly, fluffily down.
- 084 楽あれば苦あり、苦あれば楽あり After ease comes hardship, after hardship comes ease.
- 266 泣く子と地頭には勝てぬ Against a crying child and a local lord, no one wins.
- 102 柳に雪折れなし Snow does not break the willow.