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