Haiku with Yukari

Recently, Fay Aoyagi kindly translated one of my haiku and posted it on her blog . 春の夜の線路は北へ行く鎖骨／西生ゆかり the rail in a spring night is a collarbone going to north Compared to the original one, which has a rather dark atmosphere due to the strong impression of the kanji characters for “chain” (鎖) and “bone” (骨),  the English translation has a lighter sound and seems to be the beginning of a pleasant journey. In the same  blog , I also found Sayumi Kamakura's haiku, which describes a pale and solemn scene. 鶴ねむり眠れぬ天は雪を降らす／鎌倉佐弓 cranes sleep the insomniac sky sheds snow

 I have taken some of Koji Ooka's haiku from here and translated them. しばのとを たたきつづけて われとなる keep knocking on the brushwood door until I become myself いちじくの 葉に照らさるる 男かな a man― in the light of a fig leaf Although sometimes it is rigid and difficult, I like the mythic and religious mood in his haiku. Hope you like it!

Most people write haiku in Japanese in one line. But a few people write them in two or more lines. For example, here is a haiku by Koji Ooka, an avant-garde haiku writer in the 60s. ともしびや おびが驚く おびのはば torch― a kimono belt surprises at its own width (translated by me) The division of the lines emphasizes the rhythm. It is also interesting that the unusual appearance of the haiku surprises us, just as the width of the kimono surprises the kimono!