Haiku: Autumn

Autumn is the first of the four books of haiku translation that have been grouped around the times of the year. Since the seasons in haiku are set on the old japanese calendar, the first day of autumn is 8 August.

The book is divided into two equal parts, in the first are presented the three most famous authors of the classical period - Matsuo Bashio (1644-1694), Josa Busson (1716-1783) and Kobayashi Isa (1763-1827), and in the second - the reformers of the late 19th century and some contemporary poets. Between these two parts is the work of Masao Shiki (1867-1902), who in 1896 defined the main differences between the classics and the reformers. He also introduces the term haiku. Before that, this lyrical form was known as hokku.

This new translation is by Bratislava Ivanov, a Japanese language lecturer at Sofia University and one of the best connoisseurs of this poetic genre. Each haiku is presented in original, transcription and translation and accompanied by its corresponding original colorful artistic illustration.