Despite being ill for much of his life, Shiki wrote more than 24,000 haiku in his short lifetime. Many are archived on the Shiki Museum website. As some readers will already be aware, Shiki’s favourite fruit was persimmon and he wrote quite a few haiku about them. It is said that due to health issues he may not have been able to enjoy persimmons as much as he would have liked and for this reason they would often find themselves in Shiki’s haiku musings.

There are many different translations of the first verse so to avoid copyright issues, the first one is our version. You might enjoy reading this article on the World Haiku Review as it delves into the complications of haiku translation and offers an array of translations, thoughts on his trip to the ancient Horyuji Temple and this special haiku. Any suggestions on the translations would be appreciated. *

Note: these poems are written in one line so you may need to turn your screen or switch to desktop to view them in a one-line format. Also, keep checking back in because there are more coming!

柿くへば鐘が鳴るなり法隆寺

eating a persimmon on the bell's ring - Horyuji temple



Here is another persimmon haiku:


柿の實や口ばし赤き鳥が來る

persimmons - and a red-beaked bird is coming



橘や南圓堂の香爐盤

the temple’s incense holder - a tangerine


* location could be the southern hall at Kofuku Temple in Nara



Shiki also loved apples:


林檎くふて又物寫す夜半哉

mid-night - I take an apple and write a story



林檎くふて牡丹の前に死なん哉

if only I could die eating apples in front of the peonies



火燵から見える処に梅の花

plum blossoms - still visible from the bonfire



薫風や千山の緑寺一つ

fragrant breeze - one temple amongst countless mountains



古池やさかさに浮かふ蝉のから

old pond - a cicada shell floats upon its surface


Shiki also liked to observe spiders:


古壁の隅に動かずはらみ蜘

in the corner of an old wall - a still and hungry spider



人ばらばら蜘の子を散らすごとくなり

a dispersing crowd - like scattered spiderlings



秋の蜘枕刀にかくれけり

autumn spider - hiding behind a sheathed sword



古家の槍長刀や孕蜘

acestral spears, long swords and a pregnant spider



蜘蛛の子を散らすなかれと伏魔殿

spiderlings - don't scatter them or pandemonium