in the spring wind a single begging bowl
harukaze no hachi no ko hitotsu
1933–1934 · Begging journeys out from the hermitage
Sōmokutō · On the Begging Road (Gyōkotsu tojō)
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The hachi no ko is the iron bowl in which a mendicant monk receives rice or coins. This one bowl is all he owns; beyond it, only the spring wind is blowing. The lightness of possessing nothing and the loneliness that comes with it melt into one in the soft spring wind. Known as one of Santōka's signature poems.