banryoku-no naka-ya ako-no ha haesomuru

       amid the multitude

       of leaves ... my child's first teeth

       start to break through

       ---

       Kusatao Nakamura (1901-1983). From "Hi no Shima" (Island of fire) by Kusatao Nakamura, Ryuuseikou, 1939.

       The term "banryoku" (literally, "ten thousand greens," meaning "a multitude of green leaves") is a summer kigo that suggests that every plant now has its full complement of leaves and they are all deep green. While the trees have sprouted forth their leaves already and they are fully developed, Kusatao's daughter's teeth are only just starting to break through her gums. The whiteness of the new milk teeth contrasts well with the dark green of the leaves. The full-of-life feeling of the strong greens of the leaves also carries over as a wish by the poet to fill his child with life-energy.

       Selected, translated and commented on by Dhugal J. Lindsay

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