The moon is brighter since the barn burned.
There is nothing you can see that is not a flower; there is nothing you can think that is not the moon.
On a bare branch a crow is perched - autumn evening
Kareeda ni Karasu no tomarikeri Aki no kure trans: On a bare branch A crow is perched - Autumn evening
Awakened at midnight by the sound of the water jar cracking from the ice
This autumn- why am I growing old? bird disappearing among clouds.
At one time I was weary of verse writing, and wanted to give it up. At another time I was determined to be a poet until I could establish a proud name over others. The alternatives battled in my mind and made my life restless.
Winter solitude- in a world of one colour the sound of the wind.
Real poetry, is to lead a beautiful life. To live poetry is better than to write it.
When composing a verse let there not be a hair's breath separating your mind from what you write; composition of a poem must be done in an instant, like a woodcutter felling a huge tree or a swordsman leaping at a dangerous enemy.
Ah, it is spring, Great spring it is now, Great, great spring - Ah, Great -
The journey itself is my home.
Summer grasses, All that remains Of soldiers' dreams
Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.
Seek not to follow in the footsteps of men of old; seek what they sought.
