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Writer's pictureVidya Shankar

triveni spotlight: 27th October 2023

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. _()_

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10 Comments


joanna ashwell
joanna ashwell
Oct 27, 2023

bobble hat

whipped away

across the fields


Joanna Ashwell

UK


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Linda Papanicolaou
Oct 27, 2023

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).


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Keiko Izawa
Keiko Izawa
Oct 27, 2023
Replying to

“Wherever I Lay My Hat”…beautiful song🎩✨

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Robert Kingston
Oct 26, 2023

with the rain

the doff of his cap

at the passing hearse

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Keiko Izawa
Keiko Izawa
Oct 27, 2023
Replying to

Thank you, Robert🤍

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Keiko Izawa
Keiko Izawa
Oct 26, 2023

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.

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