162Haiku 俳句
五月雨をあつめて早し最上川
さみだれをあつめてはやしもがみがわSamidare o atsumete hayashi Mogamigawa
“Gathering the rains of June, how swiftly flows the Mogami.”
The meaning
A thousand scattered rains become the force of one river. The image tells the power of small things gathered — drops, efforts, days.
At the origin
Bashō's haiku on the Mogami river swollen by fifth-month rains (1689).
The characters
- 五月雨 samidareearly-summer rains
- を o(object)
- あつめて
- 早し
- 最上川
をParticleMarks the object: what the action falls upon.
In practice
Gather your scattered small efforts into one bed: they will become a current.
Themes
Similar proverbs
- 225 五月雨や大河を前に家二軒 June rains — facing the swollen river, two houses.
- 101 月に叢雲、花に風 Over the moon, gathering clouds; over blossoms, wind.
- 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?
- 135 晴耕雨読 Plow when it shines, read when it rains.
- 136 花鳥風月 Flowers, birds, wind, moon.