triveni spotlight: 27th October 2023
- Vidya Shankar
- Oct 27, 2023
- 1 min read
triveni spotlight A FEATURE EVERY ALTERNATE DAY! hosts: Kala Ramesh and Vidya Shankar GUEST EDITOR: Keiko Izawa 27th October 2023
waga natsubō dokomade korobedomo kokyō
my summer hat
wherever it rolls down
still the home town
Shūji Terayama (1935-1983)
from “Umi Ni Kiri ” (Fog In The Ocean), Shuji Terayama Tanka and Haiku Collection, 1993, Shuei-sha, Tokyo
During this month, I’d like to introduce contemporary Japanese haiku, including kigo, which are referred to as “yūki haiku(有季俳句)”. In yūki haiku, toriawase (matching kigo and the remaining phrases) is the key point, not to mention its creativity and originality. In my view, Japanese haiku are generally simple compared to English (language) haiku, but the subtle sensibility is embedded within as the synergies with the power of kigo. I hope you enjoy karumi (lightness) blended with seasonality in these haiku.
Keiko Izawa
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Thank you for being our next guest editor Keiko Izawa You are bringing something fresh and this is going to be a treat for all our members. _()_
bobble hat
whipped away
across the fields
Joanna Ashwell
UK
I enjoy the play of language in this one—“to hang your hat,” means to be resident somewhere (Oxford English Dictionary says this is a North American idiom).
with the rain
the doff of his cap
at the passing hearse
Shūji Terayama is a poet and playwright. He presided over the avant-garde theater group "Upper Gallery", which advocated a theater laboratory in the late ‘60s to mid-‘70s. His works captured the hearts of many young people of the time.
He was born and raised in Aomori before moving to Tokyo for work. This poem is filled with his nostalgia for his hometown through the summer hat.