Monday 3 March 2008

Haiku of Ricard Wright(51)

(Original)
As the sun goes down,
A green melon splits open
And juice trickes out.



日が暮れると
青いメロンが割れて
汁が溢れた



(Hohsai)
財布はたいてしまひつめたい鼻だ

(English version)
I've spent my last penny,
And my nose is cold.

■At first, I don't think Wright's haiku is so good. But I read it several times, and I burst out laughing. I think it has dry humor. In the case of Hohsai's haiku, he laughs about himself. His haiku is sort of self-mocking. But laughing about oneself includes the momenta of consideration for others, relativization of secular values, and self-emancipation rather than simple self-mockery. So I think his haiku means something profound.

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