冬霞　Fuyugasumi

冬季に立ちこめる霞。 Fuyu = winter, kasumi = mist, haze. 冬季に立ちこめる霞 This mei refers to the haze that hangs in winter, wrapping all things in a ghostly cloud as if giving form to the bitter cold.

朝雪 Asayuki

朝の雪景色。Asa = morning, yuki = snow. Asayuki is the scene of fresh snow laying in the morning.

雪空　Yukizora

今にも雪が降り出しそうな空のことです。しんしんと降り出しそうな雪空を見上げると、寒さを感じるが、銀世界の美しさや降る雪の結晶も美しく感じます。

“Yukizora” refers to the look of the sky just before it is about to snow. Looking up to the yukizora showing signs of a silent, steady snowfall, one feels the bitter cold as one also feels the beauty of a snow-covered landscape and falling snow crystals from the sky.

枯野　Kareno

芭蕉は辞世の句に、「旅に病んで夢は枯野を駆けめぐる」と詠みました。寒風が吹きすさぶ枯野は、荒涼とした感覚の他に、人生のはかなさや、人間の孤独を教えてくれるような気がします。

For the last poem before his death, Bashõ composed the following poem:

Tabi ni yande

Yume wa kareno o

Kakemeguru

Ailing on this trek;

My dreams roam and roam about:

Over a withered moor.

Basho – 1694

In addition to feelings of desolation, a scene of piercing wind howling through withered moorland is a metaphor for the transience of life and the solitude of humans.

Links

http://freett.com/roman/mei.html

http://river9.chagasi.com/tea9.html

http://www.sadoukaikan.com/tea/saijiki.html

http://blog.goo.ne.jp/m-tamago/e/5089b953f9ea030708353dd38853487c