Haiku by Students at AIU (7)

 

In the posting this time, I take up AIU Festival 2010 held on October 10-11 at Akita International University（国際教養大学）and the haiku presentation by students at the AIU class of Japanese literature.

 

AIU Festival 2010 (Part 3)

 

The theme is shown in the following photos:

 

 

 

 

Here is a photo of those who enjoyed the festival.

 

 

Our network participated in the festival with the title:俳句とHAIKU （INTERNATIONAL HAIKU）.

We exhibited haiku poems and haiga paintings contributed to our website by AIU professors, students, and other haiku poets worldwide. We also gave live art of haiga painting and poetry recitation.

During the festival, we enjoyed haiku, haiga painting, and recitations with students, teachers and visitors.

 

Minoru KONO（幸野稔）, a tanka poet, gave a tanka recitation for audiences.

 

 

 

Masuda Junko （桝田純子）, a haiku poet, gave a haiku recitation too

Haiku Presentaion (Part 3)

 

Professor Alexander Dolin teaches Japanese Literature and Civilization Studies at AIU. He also writes haiku.

 Recently Professor Alexander Dolin took up haiku in his class of Japanese Literature, where I participated in the haiku presentation by students as a referee on November 15.

His students kindly contributed their haiku to our netwotk, which I post in the website, dividing them into three parts.

 

Gaku Kanno （管野岳） 

 

缶コーヒー広がる湯気と白い息

Kan kouhei  hirogaru yuge to  shiroi iki

 

 A can of coffee 

steam, and white breath

spreading

  

 

紅葉狩落ち葉の絨毯踏みしめて

Momijigari  ochiba no juutan  fumishimete

 

Hike in autumn colors

stepping on the carpet

fallen leaves

 

 

古き良き古典片手に秋の夜

Furuki yoki  koten katate ni  aki no yoru

 

 Autumn night 

passing with good classics in

my left hand

 

 

秋告げた赤黄の木の葉枯れ落ちて

Aki tsugeta  akagi no konoha  kare ochite

 

Red and yellow leaves 

tell the coming of fall

already gone

 

 

最期まで立派に騒げ秋の蝿

Saigo made  rippa ni sawage  aki no hae

 

Till the end 

make a lot of noise ― 

the fall fly

 

Christine Omiya

 

 

Losing its white form

and with the sun’s radiance

snow melts into spring

白き雪日の輝きに春と化す

Shiroki yuki  hi no kagayaki ni  haru to kasu

From the freezing trees

fall leaves glide down to the ground

chilled by the strong winds

 

凍てし木々秋の葉滑る風の中

Iteshi kigi  aki no ha suberu  kaze no naka

 

A new moon tonight

to illuminate the dark

Are the city’s lights

新月の暗やみ照らす街の灯や

Shingetsu no  kurayami terasu  machi no hi ya

 

His body shivers

he cannot win against it

war with the cold night

 

身の震え夜の寒さと戦えり

Mino furue  yoru no samusa to  tatakaeri

 

Fresh rain of spring falls

thirsty flowers soak it up

dropped by passing clouds

雲降らす春の雨かな花ひたる

Kumo furasu  haru no ame kana  hana  hitaru

 

Jae Kim

 

 

In the morning

the sight of taxis and business people bustling

near Shinjuku Station

せわしさや新宿駅の朝景色

Sewashisa ya  Shinjuku eki no  asageshiki

 

A winter night

a pillar of smoke

rising from the quiet campsite

 

冬の夜キャンプサイトの煙草かな

Fuyu no yoru  kyanpusaito no  tabako kana

 

Hassled by the dead line

the salary man

drank one shot after another

締め切りやサラリーマンの一気飲み

Shimekiri ya  sarari-man no  ikki nomi

The furious boss

dictatorially

stands above frightened employees

 

独裁や恐れる社員ボスに伏す

Dokusai ya  osoreru shain  bosu ni fusu

 

A drunken student

on a bench

in the park

花見酒ベンチの上の学徒かな

Hanami zake  benchi no ue no  gakuto kana

 

Herel, I refer to one of ideas of what haiku is.

 

Claire Gardien, a French poet, gave us his idea through exchanged mails.

Claire Gardienさん 9月25日 8:15 報告

Hello Hidenori,

Could-you tell me, please, why “haiku” is called “hai” (ku) ?
If “hai”, means “crazy” as I think it does, why “hai” or why “crazy” ?
I (personnally) don’t see haiku as something crazy !
Or, does-that mean “humour” (as, past times haikins had humour)?

Thank you to tell me if you don’t mind about it.
I don’t come often on Fb, that’s why I rarely comment photos…

Thanks anyway,
Claire

Hidenori Hirutaさん 9月25日 20:30

Hello, Claire, this is a very good question.

First of all, according to the dictionary of Chinese characters (explained in Japanese), “hai” has three meanings. One of them means “clowns”, afterwards “actors”. The second one means “fun” , or “joke”. The third one means “to wander”, or “to walk right, and sometimes walk left”.
Secondly, “haiku” comes from “haikai, or comic in English” , which was a popular style of Japanese verse originating in the sixteenth century.
As opposed to the aristocratic “renga”, “haikai” was known as the “low style” linked verse intended for the commoner, the traveler, and those who lived a more frugal lifestyle.
Last of all, I would like to refer to “haiku” some day.

Best regards,
Hidenori

Claire Gardienさん 9月30日 11:01 報告

Hello Hidenori,

And, thank you for your nice/ interesting answer.
I can’t help viewing Bashô’s “hai” smile when reading what you wrote ! This “hai” seems to be the correct, good adjective to qualify these sixteenth century’s poets meetings after some lapse of time ; was-it a good way to celebrate some new meeting than to write linked verse together ? It seems so… Anyway, humour is the top word qualyfing “haikai”… “renku”.
Thank you to tell me too, that “haikai” means “renku”. I thought it only meant (or, was an older form) of “haiku”.
I was wondering to; what was the diference between “renga” and “renku”. So, thank you, I can imagine better now.
Can you (and other Japanese people involved in the haiku genre), have that humour spirit they seemed having (although not always writing comic things… The death poems, for instance ? Or, even, when Bashô says that the carps are crying at the end of spring in “te Narrow Road to the North”. This is quite an other world, nowadays.
Here, the sixteenth century was Ronsard and the Rose. It was Montesquieu’s horse travels too, and especially abroad ; his lessons on how to be a good traveller and visiter abroad (particularly interesting when comparing to some narrow to-day’s points of view.
Well, if you have any questions on here, literature, poetry, please ask !

Best regards (and a nice dry autumn),
(“First snow on Mount Fuji”, that was a kigo on Gabi Greve’s pages!
It’ dry, here, but light is declining now.

long summer evenings
when crickets song ang bats fly
(the) butterfly’s last dance…

Claire

Last of all,

In celebration of the coming of the New Year 2011, we hold International Haiku New Year Festival 2011 .

 

This festival is aimed at welcoming the New Year 2011, reciting haiku.

 

Let’s share haiku!     Let’s recite haiku!

 

・What is it?

 It is an online festival designed to give our readers an opportunity to share the Japanese short forms of poetry with each other, and enjoy writing, reading, and reciting haiku. 

 

・When is it?

We are happy to announce that the Festival with run from January 1st – 3rd 2011.

 

・Where is it?

On the website of Akita International Haiku Network

 

・How do I get involved?

Please give us a comment on this site, saying that I would like to send two haiku.

Please send the comment by December 23.

You will receive an e-mail from Hidenori Hiruta with his e-mail address.

We sincerely hope that you will enjoy our online festival on the Internet.

 

The next posting ‘Haiku by Tad Wojnicki (2)’ appears on Decembber 18.

―　Hidenori  Hiruta