Akita International Haiku Network

On September 30, the activities of our network were reported in the Akita Sakigake newspapers （秋田魁新報:Akita Sakigake Shinpou）.

 That afternoon one of the readers sent to us haiku about ‘autumn rice fields’ , or ‘秋の稲田(aki no inada)’ .  The Kanji characters ‘ 秋田‘  are used as the name of Akita City and Akita Prefecture.

The reader is a haiku poet named 伊藤貞順 (Itoh Teijun) living in 能代市 (Noshiro-shi) , Akita.  She also sent us a beautiful picture of the golden rice fields in the countryside.

First of all I’d like to post her haiku.

秋空に黄色輝く稲穂かな 

akizora ni  kiiro kagayaku  inaho  kana  

Under autumn sky

their yellow color is shining

ears of rice

収穫に稲穂傾く黄色かな 

shuukaku ni  inaho katamuku  kiiro kana

For harvest

ears of rice bending down

how yellow!

金色の稲穂に感謝秋の空 

konjiki no  inaho ni kansha  aki no sora

A lot of thanks

for golden ears of rice

autumn sky

秋の風黄色の海原稲実る 

akino kaze  kiiro no unabara  ine minoru

Autumn wind

rice ripen in fields

like a yellow sea

Secondly, I’d like to show you a picture I took at the foot of Mt. Taihei (太平山　Taiheizan) in Akita, and my haiku.

天高し稲田見守る太平山

ten takashi  inada mimamoru  Taiheizan

Mt. Taihei

watching rice fields

autumn high skies

Last of all, I’d like to show you haiku written by Matsuo Basho on ‘the Narrow Road to Oku’, in 1689.

早稲の香や分け入る右は有磯海

wase no ka ya  wakeiru migi wa  Arisoumi

Sweet-smelling rice fields!

To our right as we push through,

The Ariso Sea.

          Translated by Donald keene

―　Hidenori  Hiruta