168Haiku 俳句
菜の花や月は東に日は西に
なのはなやつきはひがしにひはにしにNa no hana ya tsuki wa higashi ni hi wa nishi ni
“Field of rapeseed — the moon in the east, the sun in the west.”
The meaning
A moment of perfect balance: day ends, night begins, and the golden field holds both. Passages — evenings, endings, transitions — have their own fullness.
At the origin
A haiku by Yosa Buson, the picture of a spring dusk.
The characters
- 菜の花 na no hanarapeseed blossoms
- や yacutting word
- 月 tsukimoon
- は
- 東
- に
- 日
- は
- 西
- に
やParticle“And” of an open list: among others. In a haiku it is the cut — a silence that parts the verse.
In practice
Tonight, watch the passage from day to night as an event.
Themes
Similar proverbs
- 101 月に叢雲、花に風 Over the moon, gathering clouds; over blossoms, wind.
- 175 花七日 Blossoms last seven days.
- 108 月日は百代の過客にして The days and months are travelers of a hundred generations.
- 111 花は盛りに、月は隈なきをのみ見るものかは Should we look at blossoms only in full bloom, at the moon only when it is clear?
- 136 花鳥風月 Flowers, birds, wind, moon.