< Easy Haiku to Understand >

I think it is very important for any literary work as veil as haiku that anybody can easily understand the work and get its message.
A haiku that fails to make itself clearly understood is one that lacks consideration for the reader, thus failing to convey the writer's poetic sentiment to the recipient. I am very sorry that it happens.

Readers synpathize with the sentiment of your haiku only when they share the feeling you had on site and visualize the scene which you saw. Please keep this in mind and review your haiku to make sure that your readers share the feeling and imaginary scene of haiku with you even Without knowing where it was made.

Always try to make haiku which anyone can understand. When you hear a speech difficult to understand, you may feel that the speaker looks all the more respectable. When you read a haiku difficult for you to understand, you may be inclined to conclude that the author has much academic knowledge, also that the work must be too excellent for your comprehension. You are wrong.

One who has a thorough understanding of a subject will talk about it in a most plain language. flis routine and easy Words convey well his profound thought and feeling to the audience. In contrast, some people take advantage of difficult words and expressions, give a seemingly authoritative story, and leave you impressed for a moment. But later you find little substance in their speech. Same with haiku.You may not be impressed enough When told to use a plain language. But implied sentiment and message are born from plain Words and add to the taste of haiklu.
There is no need whatsoever for you to use sophisticated words and expressions to make your haiku look superior.I Plain expression of your feelings helps easy understanding and makes a haiku worthy of lasting appreciation

tsuri-bito ni
nami o okurite
oyogi keri (Kyoshi-"Saijiki")

some fishing
ripples developing
some swimming

This haiku helps us visualize the sight of a quiet pond. It seems that some people are seated and fishing on the bank, also that some are swinming in the pond. Ripples from the swimming reach the fishing floats. It describes the scene in a detached manner, yet brings home a quiet and cool atmosphere about the pond. You can also imagine that the swimmers are not many in number. When you come across a very impressive scene or an extraordinary incident, you may find it extremely difficult to control your excitement and make a haiku in detached plain language. It may be an idea that you keep your burning impressions stored away in your memory and recall them later for expression in a haiku, I,too,had such experiences.

Showers and thunders are so decisive as coolants of the summer heat that I used to be more attracted than scared of a darkening sky, torrents of showers, and fierce thunders.

Our villa in Mt.Rokko area is located close to Mt.Rai-in(Thunder-God) and commands in summer a clear view of many thunderbolts hitting the valley in firing blast. I enjoyed making haiku like:

rai ikari
kurui shi gotoku
sansou ni (Teiko)

thunders furious
like mad
in villa

Then came the day of unforgettable experience - I wonder how many years ago it was. I played one of my few golf games for the year in Rokko. The sky was threatening to rain any moment. The game was held in anniversary commemoration of the golf club. It was open to all the members of any handicaps. I had the courage to participate and was determined to finish the round regardless of the tine required.

It seemed that we heard Sone distant thunders, but nobody really seemed to care. I had a three-some with Mrs. N and her son. As we teed off at Hole 1, we had drops of rain but managed to finish the.hole. By the time we walked for the teeing ground of Hole 2, drops had turned into sheets of rain with the popular Rokko fog completely blinding oursight.

"Can I' shoot now?" I Shouted to the caddie, but apparently my voice did not reach her because of the thick fog.
"Anyvay, my ball Won-t go mch distance", I said to myself and finished my shot. No sooner had we taken steps toward the fair.way than the distant thunder reached and caught us in thick clouds.

In the lukewarm air. a thunderbolt with crashing metalic sound broke the torrent of rain, cut the darkness of thick clouds, and hit the ground in dazzling blast of fire shoving a part of the lawn fair-way. We had been told that not a few people Were killed by thunder, bolt on the golf course.

Three of us and the caddie grabbed all the metalic things and threw them far away, including golf clubs, spiked shoes, jumpers, caps with metal hooks on the back, and even pins on the hair.Luckily I had taken off my rings and the watch as nuisance for the play. I got nervous with the fasteners on my Skirt but did not dare to throw them away.

"Oh yes, I had a piece of gold stuffed in my back toothl", a flash of fear crossed my mind. No more than a minute had passed before we got rid of all metalic belongings,

Fierce thunderbolts crashed within arm-s length and there was no shelter. All you could do Was just lie flat on the lawn and pray for the thunder to pass quickly.Quick to come, thunder was quick to go. In the aftermath of fearful thunders, with the rain and the fog gone, appeared another party on the greeny lawn. Shuttered by total horror, nobody suggested the idea of continued play. We were all busy collecting our belongings. Unable to get on their feet, some moved around on all fours and appeared perfectly natural under the circumstances.

Thunders which I used to admire for manly decisiveness turned out now to be most dreadful! For some time after that.I could not make a haiku on thunder. After a long interval, at a haiku gathering this year. I came across the assigned theme of "thunder."

kaminarino kioku to iuwa akiraka ni (Teiko)
thunders too vivid for confinement in memory

Several years later now, I recalled the past day and finally managed to write down the dreadful memory in haiku.

We are now coming close to the last chapter. I occasionally introduced my personal experiences and always tried to explain haiku in such a way that you can understand it as easily as possible. After all of this, my concluding advice is that you make a haiku "easy to understand." I sincerely hope that you, as my patient reader, understand my message.

While it is very important that you study halku in books, I believe it most important that you make haiku yourself. Why don-t you make one in the space below? Review it thoroughly and improve it for easy understanding and rich implication.

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